Interview KUWAIT, Nov 27 (KUNA) -- As complaints and grievances against travel agents' malpractices have been on the rise, Kuwait's concerned agencies have adopted strict measures against violators in a bid to protect travelers' rights.
The complaint and arbitration committee of the Public Authority for Civil Aviation has recently taken a set of penalties against violating travel offices and unlicensed brokers, who are mainly to blame for financial losses and flight cancellations.
For instance, on October 22, 2025, the committee took action against 66 violations made by travel agents for breaking social media license rules and other relevant guidelines. In addition, two people were prosecuted for breaching business license rules.
On November 13, the committee adopted new penalties, including fines against eight travels agents and one aviation firm for breaking relevant guidelines.
In this context, Abdullah Al-Rajhi, the authority's air transport department director and the committee's chief said the agency has an updated database of 890 offices and firms involving 728 travel offices, 89 shipping offices and 73 airlines, which are all subject to the authority's oversight.
Speaking to KUNA, Al-Rajhi said the Public Authority for Civil Aviation is playing a holistic control role to check licensed offices and monitor violations, if there.
He added that the agency commits itself to overseeing the air transport market in order to protect travelers and safeguard their rights, pointing out regulatory decisions to prevent any malpractice or fraud.
The aviation official noted that the authority's grievance department had received a total of 3,012 grievance complaints during the period between January 1 and September 2025.
Al-Rajhi underlined that the agency deals seriously with the latest cyber scams, including fake sites and payment links and misleading ads, in collaboration with the Communication and Information Technology Regulatory Authority (CITRA).
In this regard, he cited such violations as fake air ticket sales via internet, illegal brokers or unlicensed offices, unlawful additional fees and fake promotions.
Therefore, the official urged travelers to make bookings only through licensed travel offices, rather than individuals, and to check booking-bearing information and terms, as well as payment links.
He added that the authority commits itself to a future plan designed to tighten control over the local air transport market by means of updating electronic systems to monitor malpractices, to promote cooperation with security and trade bodies and launch extensive public awareness in this regard.
For his part, Chairman of Kuwait Travel And Tourism Agencies Association Mohammad Al-Mutairi lashed out at brokerage and unlicensed travel agents as tarnishing the reputation of the country's tourism and travel sector and undermining consumers' confidence.
He remarked that licensed travel offices are doing their business in line with official regulations and hold legal and professional responsibility towards their customers.
Al-Mutairi cited key travel grievances as fake air tickets, cancellations without prior notice and unrealistic tourism promotions via fake social media sites.
He stressed that his association is closely working with the Ministry of Commerce and Industry and the Public Authority for Civil Aviation for carrying out media and awareness campaigns regarding secure bookings, unlicensed offices and fraud-reporting.
However, he cited recent statistics as showing a big drop in the number of complaints against travel fraud compared with last year thanks to the concerted efforts of the association and government bodies. (end) aam.ht.mt