The European Commission on Monday published guidelines on passenger rights to clarify the current rules and facilitate more effective enforcement of them by national bodies and air operators.
Passenger rights defined at the EU level are applied by transport providers and enforced by national bodies but disparities between national practices can create confusion for passengers. It can also be difficult for passengers to know how to find assistance.
The guidelines came together with the release of a new Eurobarometer survey. It shows that most Europeans still feel they lack sufficient information on their passenger rights, even if awareness increased compared to five years ago. Awareness of passenger rights for all kinds of transport, for example in connection with departure delays, was generally low.
The revised interpretative guidelines on air passenger rights update previous guidelines on air passenger rights. They take into account rulings handed down by the European Court of Justice from 2016 until now and case law.
What's new
The guidelines aim to provide greater clarity on a 2004 regulation (261/2004) which established common rules on compensation and assistance to passengers in the event of denied boarding, flight cancellations, or long delays of flights. A new section on massive travel disruptions has been added.
They also address questions regarding the rights of passengers with disabilities and reduced mobility. They explain how airlines must inform disabled passengers about transport-related safety rules and how they should be seated in the cabin. Airlines, travel agents, and tour operators are obliged to gather information from disabled passengers to provide appropriate assistance.
A Commission official explained that the review process had been postponed due to the COVID pandemic. Back then, the Commission issued notices addressing the extraordinary circumstances affecting passenger rights because of the lockdowns and cancellation of flights.
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The guidelines address common concerns of national enforcement bodies, passengers, associations and industry representatives, according to the Commission. Although they do not establish new legal provisions, they should allow the current rules to be more effectively and consistently enforced by the member states.
"The EU is the only area in the world where passengers are protected by a full set of rights – this is something we can be proud of," commented Wopke Hoekstra, Commissioner For Climate Action and responsible for transport. He also referred to a Commission proposal from November last year on new rules on multimodal journeys to better protect European citizens, no matter how they travel.
For information on air passenger rights in all official languages of the EU, see here.
M. Apelblat
The Brussels Times
