The State Prosecutor’s Office of Rio de Janeiro filed a penalty against the airline for violation of consumer rights. The opening of the administrative procedure was due to the fact that Itapemirim provided poor customer service, did not offer re-accommodation to passengers who had already purchased tickets, and did not provide them with all the clarifications requested by the agency.
After ITA announced on its website the suspension of its operations in Brazil on the night of December 17, Procon-RJ opened an investigation to determine whether the company was complying with consumer laws and the rules established by the resolution of the National Civil Aviation Agency (ANAC Brazil). The company was questioned but did not answer all the questions.
“When asked by Procon-RJ about the reason for the flight cancellations, ITA stated that the interruption of services occurred after subcontracted companies stopped performing operational technical services. The airline failed to prove this accusation and certainly cannot eliminate its responsibility by blaming a company contracted by it and which is part of the supply chain,” said the Head of Consumer Protection, Cássio Coelho.
According to what was reported by our partner Aeroin, as of January 12, 288 consumer complaints had already been registered in Procon-RJ’s customer service channels and on the consumer.gov.br platform.
The servers reported that the company does not assist consumers effectively, as determined by law, nor does it offer them the options that are guaranteed, especially the relocation to another company’s operation, as established by the Consumer Protection Code and Resolution No. 400 of ANAC Brazil.
Itapemirim has 15 days from the date of notification to present its defense. Along with the same, the company must also submit an economic report, detailing the gross revenues of the last 3 months, in order to determine its economic scope and calculate a possible fine.
