EU Council versus EU Parliament: Air passenger rights on the brink

The reform of air passenger rights is at a crucial stage: the aviation industry is demanding less customer protection, while consumer associations are demanding more.

The reform of air passenger rights can no longer be quite so radical. As always, it will come down to a compromise. At the meeting of EU transport ministers on June 5, the parties were initially unable to agree on the rigorous measures. In particular, the planned drastic reduction in compensation for delays and flight cancellations met with disapproval in some states. Germany, Portugal, Spain, and Slovenia voted against it. A compromise has now been reached, but it still has to be passed by the EU Parliament on September 25, and consumer lobbies such as the Association of Passenger Rights Advocates (APRA) believe it will disadvantage millions of air passengers.

As a result, the EU Council's compromise proposal is already largely met with rejection by parliamentarians. Rarely have members of parliament across all parties been so unanimous in their rejection of the planned dismantling of air passenger rights. Among the most controversial changes in the reform proposal are:

Longer waiting for less demand

The most hotly debated proposal is that airlines would only be obligated to pay compensation after a delay of four hours. Despite a compromise, this proposal is still not off the table. Currently, compensation is available after just three hours of waiting. This would therefore reverse an airline passenger right. According to consumer associations, 60 percent of compensation claims for delays would be lost. Airlines naturally have a strong interest in raising the hurdles for compensation claims for delays.

Less compensation

At the same time, compensation amounts are also expected to decrease. For example, the EU Council proposes a flat compensation of €300 for flights canceled or delayed by more than four hours. This means that instead of being billed based on delay and flight distance, a flat rate will cover everything.

Fewer “extraordinary circumstances”

A perennial point of contention between airlines and passengers is the term "extraordinary circumstances." Now, the compromise proposal proposes a new definition in favor of airlines. This means that strikes, sickness absences, and technical defects resulting from flight disruptions could potentially be considered "extraordinary circumstances." This would eliminate any obligation to pay compensation. Whether this point will pass, however, is questionable, as the European Court of Justice has already classified such circumstances as foreseeable and within commercial control under certain circumstances.

Less time to claim compensation

By shortening the deadline, the EU Council's proposal further accommodates airlines by reducing the time limit for filing claims to six months. Currently, the timeframe is two to five years, depending on the EU country. According to consumer lobbyist APRA, this represents a de facto barrier to access to justice.

Free or paid: Hand luggage

The issue of hand luggage is also likely to be a major point of contention in the dispute between the EU Council and the EU Parliament's Transport Committee. While the EU Council wants to abolish free hand luggage, the Transport Committee is calling for one free piece of hand luggage weighing up to seven kilograms. The Council's reform proposal would allow airlines to charge for small items of hand luggage in the future. But what would passengers then do with their essential items such as medication, books, baby products, or laptops? APRA sees this demand as a violation of passengers' rights and cites the European Court of Justice ruling (C-487/12 "Vueling"), which defines hand luggage as an integral part of the contract of carriage.

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