Almost 50,000 British Airways customers are still owed refunds – despite the airline suspending most flights in March

British Airways are holding refunds for almost 50,000 passengers for flights cancelled due to coronavirus even though they are supposed to get it within seven days.

Almost 50,000 British Airways customers are still owed refunds despite the airline suspending most flights in March, it was revealed today. Willie Walsh, boss of its Spanish parent company, has also revealed that 921,000 tickets for 2.1 million flights were refunded in cash – but 346,000 customers accepted a credit voucher for a future flight.

But there are still 47,400 people who are yet to see their money two months after the coronavirus crisis began.

Thousands of British holidaymakers are owed up to £7 billion for trips cancelled because of the global coronavirus pandemic with banks and airlines accused of flouting the law by refusing refunds.

There is growing anger that the government has not intervened when lenders and travel firms are illegally withholding cash that should be paid within a week for flights and 14 days for package deals.

It came as Transport Secretary Grant Shapps defended the proposed two-week quarantine for people arriving in the UK and said: “It seems fair and right that if we are asking the British people to stay at home and make such huge sacrifices in their own lives, then we would expect anybody coming back to the country to do the same thing.”