The Dutch consumers association Consumentenbond is considering taking legal action against low cost airline Transavia for refusing to refund passengers whose flights were cancelled because of coronavirus.

The association says it has received multiple complaints about the airline and that talks aimed at clarifying the situation earlier this month failed to produce a result.

‘Transavia continues to dodge the issue,’ Consumentenbond director Sandra Molenaar said in a press release. ‘The answers they are giving us are vague, conflicting and in some cases, completely untrue.’

Consumers have been complaining about the airline’s refusal to make cash returns and the length of time it takes to get a voucher, about extra costs they are being charged to make new bookings and the difficulty of getting hold of the airline’s customer service desk.

What form a court case is likely to take is still being worked out but both individual cases and a class action suit are being looked at, the organisation said.

Earlier this month transport ministry inspectors told airlines to speed up repayments to consumers whose flights have been cancelled.

The association said it understood the financial problems facing airlines. ‘However, consumers have the right to get their money back,’ the statement said.