Despite the frequency with which Colombians use air transportation, those who act as consumers of this service have entered a state of misinformation, ignorance, and even confusion regarding the rights that assist them.
Until the issuance of Resolution 1209 of May 25, 2015, the rights of consumers of air transportation services were regulated and governed by various normative bodies that differed in their provisions regarding the protection of consumer rights in the purchase of airline tickets and the provision of the service.
Article 47 of the Consumer Statute established the "right of withdrawal" as a prerogative of the user of aeronautical services when, after acquiring the air transportation service, they decide to "repent or withdraw" from their purchase, resulting in the full refund of the amount paid for the service not provided. On the other hand, aeronautical regulations, which did not contemplate the right of withdrawal, indicated "rescission" as the appropriate means to forgo the service, with the impossibility of a full refund of the money paid for the service. It was evident, therefore, that given the coexistence of norms of different hierarchy and specificity that postulated dissimilar rights for consumers in the air transportation sector, there was great legal uncertainty regarding the proper application and exercise of the Consumer Statute (right of withdrawal) and the Aeronautical Regulations (rescission).
With the aforementioned Resolution 1209 of May 25, 2015, the Civil Aeronautics included the "right of withdrawal" in its regulations and established special rules for exercising that right in the purchase of airline tickets, thereby providing a solution to the controversy regarding the applicability of its regulations and the Consumer Statute.
Since that time, the Civil Aeronautics has delved into the regulation of the right of withdrawal and rescission with respect to the purchase of airline tickets, air transportation service, and the execution of the trip, respectively, stipulating in Resolution 1375 of June 11, 2015, the following guidelines:
1. On the "Right of Withdrawal":
The purchaser of airline tickets shall have forty-eight (48) hours following the purchase of the ticket to exercise the right of withdrawal. However, airlines may retain the sum equivalent to sixty thousand pesos ($60,000) for domestic tickets or fifty US dollars (US $50) for international tickets, taking into account the official exchange rate reported by the Bank of the Republic on the day the passenger communicates to the agency or airline their decision to withdraw from the purchase.
Nevertheless, the Civil Aeronautics specified that the retained amount cannot exceed 10% of the fare paid by the purchaser for the ticket, excluding any taxes or administrative fees.
Regarding the refund of the corresponding amount at the time of exercising the withdrawal, airlines or travel agents have a term of thirty (30) calendar days from the communication of the decision. In cases where the ticket was purchased through an intermediary, they must proceed with the refund once the airline makes the owed amount available to them, taking into account the 30 days provided for the refund.
Finally, the purchaser of airline tickets must take into account that to effectively exercise the Right of Withdrawal, there must be a minimum period of eight (8) calendar days between the timely exercise of the right (48 hours after purchase) and the scheduled date for the start of the domestic flight. For international flights, the aforementioned period shall be fifteen (15) calendar days.
2. On "Rescission":
The passenger may dispose of and rescind their trip up to twenty-four (24) hours before their flight. In this case, the airline must refund the money to the purchaser within 5 business days, and if the sale was conducted over the Internet, the period for the refund shall be 15 calendar days.
In addition, airlines will be authorized to retain up to ten percent (10%) of the ticket value, excluding taxes or fees. In the event that the ticket purchase was made with a promotional fare, rescission shall not apply, unless the airline states otherwise in the terms of the offer.
Finally, regarding the processing of the refund in the event of rescission of the trip, the agency or airline shall have a maximum of five (5) business days following the rescission to request the financial institution to return the amount. This five (5) day period is contemplated within a maximum period of thirty (30) calendar days from the communication of the rescission to make the ticket refund effective.