Speaking during a Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) committee hearing on Tuesday (14 June), chief executive Richard Moriarty said despite the authority being "among, if not the most, assertive regulator in Europe for upholding consumer rights", he believes the CAA’s powers are "weak in the modern circumstances of aviation".
"That’s why we really welcome [aviation minister Robert Courts’] consultation at the turn of the year, which will open a debate about how we can improve our powers, as at the moment they are quite cumbersome and it takes us a long time to go through court processes to get remedies," he continued.
"Within the powers we have, we are making sure airlines do what they are suppose to do. We do, however, use our social media channels to get as much information out to consumers as possible."
Moriarty said the CAA’s social media posts regarding passenger rights have been viewed by half a million people in the past 10 days.
"There is a real appetite and desire for people to know their rights," he continued."I’m keen to press the airlines harder as I think they should step up to the plate and provide more information to customers on what their rights are."
According to Moriarty, around 4% of flights were cancelled in the UK over the May half-term and Jubilee period, compared to a normal run-rate of roughly 1%.
"This is clearly distressing and unacceptable, and we want to make sure we have got a grip to get back to normal levels," he concluded.
