I think you're looking at it without any context and it doesn't do it justice. Here's the relevant piece from the article: > Ms Barber said she had requested t

I think you're looking at it without any context and it doesn't do it justice. Here's the relevant piece from the article: > Ms Barber said she had requested the vouchers - in effect store credit to the value of her flights - in March 2020, after Japan closed its borders to foreign travellers during the first wave of the pandemic. > Her frustration began, she explained, when her preferred destination of Japan did not reopen its borders to visitors as quickly as other nations. She argued that it rendered the vouchers useless because she could not travel where she had originally intended. > By December 2020, with Japan's borders still closed, she raised the issue with BA and requested a cash refund, but her request was denied. Essentially, she accepted the voucher in lieu of a cash refund on the premise that she would be able to use the voucher towards a similar flight in the near future — i.e. a flight to Japan. When it became clear that that wasn't going to be a viable option anytime soon, she wanted a refund. I think this is perfectly reasonable. Let's say I buy a ticket to a film but the cinema gets flooded, and the showing cancelled. I might be perfectly happy taking a voucher for a future showing over a refund. A week later though if the cinema still isn't open, I think it's fine to say "Hold on, I thought I would've been able to redeem this voucher by now. I've changed my mind & want my money back instead".