Refunds for cancelled flights and new minimum service standards are headlining a federal government aviation overhaul that seeks to crack down on airlines shafting the flying public.

In a white paper published on Monday, Transport Minister Catherine King outlined 56 policies aimed at cleaning up the scandal-plagued airline industry, including a consumer charter.

It will be written by an aviation ombudsman, who will decide when consumers are entitled to refunds and how airlines should communicate with flyers about disruption to their travel plans.

But the government stopped short of moving ahead with a broader strengthening of consumer law that penalises airlines for failing to refund flyers, sparking fears people will still be left in the lurch.

Airline consumer advocate Adam Glezer, who helped spurned Qantas flyers navigate the carrier’s controversial Covid credits scheme, said the reforms in the white paper don’t go far enough.

“Disappointingly, it appears as if the Ombudsman’s main role is going to be enforcing the current Australian Consumer Laws,” he said.

“There is no indication that consumers will be entitled to refunds for all cancellations. It’s as if no lessons have been learned from Covid.”

The paper comes after public uproar over poor service from airlines since Covid-19, with flyers enduring soaring prices and rates of flight cancellations or delays that remain above long term averages.

Qantas has copped the brunt of criticism after the ACCC fined the national carrier earlier this year for selling tickets for so-called “ghost flights” that were allegedly slated for cancellation.

Central Queensland University professor Doug Drury said the broader ombudsman scheme will improve consumer protections and should also help improve service standards.

“This will drive change for the airlines to ensure that the delays and cancellations are minimised and to show cause for why the delay or cancellation occurred,” Drury explained.

The white paper also outlines government efforts to improve airline competition amid ongoing concern among experts that the duopoly of Qantas and Virgin is delivering higher airfares.

Consumer overhaul

The signature reform in the white paper that will seek to improve outcomes for flyers is the creation of an aviation ombudsman to police airlines and author a charter of customer rights.

The regulator, once chosen, will decide on a set of minimum service standards under the charter requiring airlines to refund – preferably in cash – cancelled or even some delayed flights.

Drury said it will establish what “reasonable conduct” looks like for airlines and airports.

“These same passenger rights are in place in several aviation markets around the globe,” he said.

The white paper says the charter will set expectations for what the regulator thinks is “fair and reasonable conduct by airlines and airports” including “refund entitlements and appropriate communication with passengers”.

But Glezer explained that consumers already have a right to remedy under existing consumer law, and that airlines such as Qantas have managed to wriggle out of their obligations to flyers.

The government said it’s “considering options” to boost consumer guarantee compliance, including fines, but stopped short of committing to a crackdown in Monday’s white paper.

The other plank of consumer reforms outlined in the White Paper were targeted at improving flying for those living with disability, notably through new standards requiring equal access.

Airlines will also be required to provide increased compensation for flyers whose mobility devices are damaged or even lost.

Competition looms large

Another key plank of the white paper aimed to address competition across the aviation sector, or lack thereof with Qantas and Virgin in control after the recent collapses of Bonza and Rex.

The reforms don’t outline a concrete plan for solving the airline duopoly that experts say is delivering higher airfares and poorer service, but there are nevertheless changes under way.

For example, the government is implementing an overhaul of the much-maligned plane slot management system at Sydney Airport that was recommended by a review in 2021.

Elsewhere, the government is commissioning a range of reviews and consultations into potential reforms around how airlines and airports negotiate prices and taxpayer travel purchasing policy.

The Productivity Commission will also be tasked with considering evidence about whether airports and airlines are “misusing market power” under an inquiry into the regulation of airports.