Changes from report parliamentary committee draft to plenary report

DRAFT EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT LEGISLATIVE RESOLUTION

on the proposal for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Regulations (EC) No 261/2004, (EC) No 1107/2006, (EU) No 1177/2010, (EU) No 181/2011 and (EU) 2021/782 as regards enforcement of passenger rights in the Union

Changed(COM(2023)0753 – C100434/2023C90434/2023 – 2023/0437(COD))

(Ordinary legislative procedure: first reading)

The European Parliament,

– having regard to the Commission proposal to Parliament and the Council (COM(2023)0753),

Changed– having regard to Article 294(2), Article 91(1) and Article 100(2) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, pursuant to which the Commission submitted the proposal to Parliament (C100434/2023),(C90434/2023),

– having regard to the opinion of the Committee on Legal Affairs on the proposed legal basis,

– having regard to Article 294(3) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,

– having regard to the opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee of 20 March 2024,

Added– having regard to Rules 60 and 41 of its Rules of Procedure,

– having regard to the opinion of the Committee on the Internal Market and Consumer Protection,

Changed– having regard to the report of the Committee on Transport and Tourism (A100000/2025),(A10-0136/2025),

1. Adopts its position at first reading hereinafter set out;

2. Calls on the Commission to refer the matter to Parliament again if it replaces, substantially amends or intends to substantially amend its proposal;

3. Instructs its President to forward its position to the Council, the Commission and the national parliaments.

Change 1

AddedRecital 2 a (new): (2a) In the interest of fair international competition and in order to ensure that passengers are protected by a uniform and coherent framework of rights, Regulation (EC) No 261/2004 should apply to all flights within the Union, as well as to all flights departing from or arriving in the Union.

Recital 4: (4) Simplification, consistency and harmonisation of the rules of Regulation (EC) No 261/2004, Regulation (EC) No 1107/2006, Regulation (EU) No 1177/2010, and Regulation (EU) No 181/2011 is required especially as regards rules dealing with the information to passengers on their rights before and during the journey, enforcement of passenger rights, national enforcement bodies powers and complaint handling for passengers. The existing rules in those Regulations should be amended to complement and harmonize those of the recently adopted Regulation (EU) 2021/782 of the European Parliament and of the Council9 as regards, designation and tasks of national enforcement body, complaints, complaint handling by national enforcement body or other bodies, forms to request reimbursements and compensation, service quality standards, obligations for carriers to share information with national enforcement bodies, and information of passengers by national enforcement bodies on alternative dispute resolution.

Change 2

ChangedRecital 4 a (new): (4a) The growing diffusion of claim agencies, private entities assisting passengers in claiming compensation under Regulation (EC) No 261/2004, clearly indicates the difficulties passengers face in obtaining the enforcement of their rights directly from air carrier; this phenomenon highlights that, in many cases, the complaint procedure and the recognition of compensation prove to be burdensome, uncertain, or excessively time-consuming for passengers, leading them to resort to commercial intermediaries who, retain a significant portion of the compensation due to the passengers themselves. This is symptomatic of the need to revise Regulation (EC) No 261/2004 in certain provisions, in order to enhance the effectiveness of its enforcement and to introduce more adequate mechanisms ensuring that air carriers comply with their obligations without requiring passengers to rely on costly intermediaries.

Change 3

ChangedRecital 5: (5) At present, as regards air tickets booked via an intermediary, the reimbursement process is unclear and should therefore be clarified. The intermediaries are involved in the reimbursement process in two different ways: either they transmitted the passenger’s (credit card) payment details directly to the carrier (‘pass-through’ intermediary), and the air carrier reverses the original payment flow so that the reimbursement arrives directly on the passenger’s account. In this case the reimbursement procedure should be in line with the provision laid down in Article 8 on right to reimbursement and re-routing. Or the intermediary paid the air carrier from its own account (‘Merchant of Record’ intermediary), and when the air carrier reverses the payment flow, the reimbursement payment arrives on the intermediary’s account. The intermediary then transfers the final reimbursement payment to the passenger. Where the procedure consists of intermediaries transmitting the passengers payment details directly to the carrier, such procedure should be in line with the provisions laid down in Article 8 on the right to reimbursement and or re-routing. Passengers are often not aware which reimbursement process the intermediary chooses. The intermediary and the air carrier should inform the passenger about the reimbursement process. In particular, the air carrierintermediary should state publiclyin a manner that is clear and a form that is highly visible , including during the process of booking, whether it cooperatesthere is an agreement with intermediariesthe air carrier selected to sell their tickets for the processing of reimbursements, and if so with which itone does so.

Change 4

RemovedRecital 10: (10) National enforcement bodies should be tasked to monitoring the compliance with passenger rights, which is based not only on complaints received but also on compliance monitoring activities such as inspections should ensure that national enforcement bodies are better able to detect and correct non-compliance by carriers and terminal managers with the existing rules.

AddedRecital 14: (14) Air passenger rights regulation should ensure its objective of raising standards of protection and of information for passengers, strengthening their rights and ensuring that air carriers operate under harmonised conditions, including hand baggage dimensions. In accordance with the CJEU ruling in case C-487/12, hand baggage (i.e. luggage that is not checked in) should be considered as constituting a ‘necessary aspect’ of the carriage of passengers on condition that such baggage meets ‘reasonable requirements’ in terms of its weight and dimensions, and that its carriage should not, therefore, be made subject to a price supplement. Regarding air passenger rights, the airline industry should collaborate to establish a unique and standardized dimensions for personal items and cabin luggage. These standards should align with the safety, operational, and technical requirements of various aircraft types and configurations. The publication of implementation reports by carriers on their quality standards should allow users to compare and make informed choices, encourage competition based on the quality of services, and facilitate uniform monitoring and enforcement by the national enforcement bodies. Airlines should also communicate carry-on baggage dimensions clearly to passengers.

RemovedRecital 13: (13) Carriers and terminal managers should define, manage and monitor service quality standards for all passenger services, reflecting the operational features of each mode. Those service quality standards should refer inter alia to delays, cancellations, assistance to persons with disabilities and persons with reduced mobility, complaint handling mechanisms, customer satisfaction, and cleanliness. Carriers should also make information on their service quality standards publicly available. The reports on service quality standards should be easily accessible to passengers, including persons with disabilities and persons with reduced mobility, on the website of the carriers. They should be available together with the general information on passenger rights for sake of efficiency and transparency.

AddedRecital 14 a (new): (14a) Greater clarity needs to be provided in the cases that a personal item or hand luggage is left behind or lost in the aircraft cabin in order to facilitate the handling of such requests, ensuring a streamlined process and preventing any additional burden or miscommunication for passengers.

RemovedRecital 14: deleted

AddedRecital 14 b (new): (14b) The concept of extraordinary circumstances has been subject to abundant case law. Greater clarity should be provided on what constitutes extraordinary circumstances to allow air passenger rights to be effectively and consistently enforced. In the light of case law, a distinction should be made between events originating internally and those originating externally to the air carrier. Events shall be considered external when they arise from circumstances beyond the air carrier’s control and result from a natural event or an act of a third party. Such external events shall be generally qualified as extraordinary circumstances. Events that do not meet these criteria shall be deemed internal and shall not be qualified as extraordinary circumstances

RemovedRecital 14 a (new): (14a) Air passenger rights regulation should ensure its objective of raising standards of protection and of information for passengers, strengthening their rights and ensuring that air carriers operate under harmonised conditions, including hand baggage dimensions. In accordance with the CJEU ruling in case C-487/12, hand baggage (i.e. luggage that is not checked in) should be considered as constituting a ‘necessary aspect’ of the carriage of passengers on condition that such baggage meets ‘reasonable requirements’ in terms of its weight and dimensions, and that its carriage should not, therefore, be made subject to a price supplement.

AddedRecital 17: (17) In the light of Article 9 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and in order to give persons with disabilities and persons with reduced mobility opportunities for air travel comparable to those of other citizens, if an air carrier, its agents or a tour operator requires a person with disabilities or person with reduced mobility to be accompanied by another person who is capable of providing the assistance required by applicable safety requirements established by international, Union or national law or by the competent authorities, the accompanying person should travel free of charge and sit next to the person with disability and reduced mobility. In addition, mobility equipment , including wheelchairs and assistive devices, is essential for passengers with disabilities and reduced mobility and its replacement remain difficult and costly. The loss or damage of such items has a significantly greater impact on the person concerned and therefore it should not be considered as standard luggage. Such items warrant specific treatment, higher standards of care during handling, and distinct liability and compensation provisions. Air carriers should provide full compensation to passengers in case of loss or damaged in respect to mobility equipment, assistive devices and recognised assistance dogs. In addition, free seating for the accompanying person and full liability for damaged mobility equipment in air transport should be aligned with the …

RemovedRecital 14 b (new): (14b) The concept of extraordinary circumstances has been subject to abundant case law. Greater clarity should be provided on what constitutes extraordinary circumstances to allow air passenger rights to be effectively and consistently enforced. In the light of case law, events where the origin is internal should be distinguished from those where the origin is external to the air carrier. External events which result from external circumstances which the air carrier does not control and arise from a natural event or an act of a third party should generally qualify as extraordinary circumstances. Events that are not external should be qualified as internal and hence should not be qualified as extraordinary circumstances.

AddedRecital 17 a (new): (17a) The European Commission, in cooperation with Member States and organisations representing persons with disabilities and recognised assistance dog handlers, should assess the situation in each Member State, while taking into account their specificities and act, including through legislation, to ensure that recognised assistance dogs are mutually recognised throughout the EU. In case a person with disability is permitted to travel with a recognised assistance dog on the outbound flight, the dog shall be regarded as a recognised assistance dog for the entire duration of the journey, including the return flight, in order to ensure uniform access and non-discrimination throughout the Union.

RemovedRecital 15: (15) To make it easier for passengers to request reimbursement or compensation in accordance with the Regulations concerned, forms that are valid throughout the Union should be established for such requests. Passengers should have the possibility to submit their requests by using such a form. In order to simplify the procedure for passengers to apply for compensation and/or reimbursement and to ensure its accessibility, passengers should have the possibility to submit the common form for reimbursement and compensation requests either as a physical document or by electronic means.

AddedRecital 17 b (new): (17b) A proactive, collaborative approach is needed to identify and remove accessibility barriers for PRMs while maintaining aviation safety as the top priority. To ensure consistency and a data-based legislation, a comprehensive study should assess how PRMs are accommodated by airlines and airports and thus eventually identifying inconsistencies in current practices. Particular attention should be paid to the fact that, according to Article 4(1) of Regulation (EC) No 1107/2006 (PRM Regulation), airlines may only refuse carriage to PRMs based on their disability or reduced mobility due to safety reasons, and it is questionable whether there are different interpretations of the latter. Coordination between EASA, the airline industry, airports and representatives of PRM is essential to establish clear, uniform safety criteria. Based on the findings, EASA should set common standards for European flights, with efforts to align globally through ICAO.

RemovedRecital 15 a (new): (15a) For the purposes of encouraging the use of the common form for reimbursement and compensation by passengers, the Commission should disseminate the form in all official languages of the Union on its website, including in a version which is accessible to persons with disabilities and persons with reduced mobility.

AddedRecital 21 a (new): (21a) “The Flight Emissions Label established pursuant to Article 14 of Regulation (EU) 2023/2405 of the European Parliament and the Council is at the disposal of the service providers should they want to display, easily accessible on their websites and on tickets, accurate and objective information regarding the environmental impact of their travel on a comparable way.”

RemovedRecital 17: (17) In the light of Article 9 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and in order to give persons with disabilities and persons with reduced mobility opportunities for air travel comparable to those of other citizens, if an air carrier, its agents or a tour operator requires a person with disabilities or person with reduced mobility to be accompanied by another person who is capable of providing the assistance required by applicable safety requirements established by international, Union or national law or by the competent authorities, the accompanying person should travel free of charge. In addition, mobility equipment is essential for passengers with reduced mobility and its replacement remain difficult and costly. Air carriers should provide full compensation to passengers in case of loss or damaged in respect to mobility equipment, assistive devices and recognised assistance dogs. In addition free seating for the acoompanying person and full liability for damaged mobility equipment in air transport should be aligned with the existing rights in rail, bus and coach and waterborne transport modes in the Union. In addition, when information to persons with disabilities and reduced mobility is provided in accessible formats, it should be provided in accordance with the applicable legislation including the accessibility requirements set out in Annex I to Directive (EU) 2019/88212 .

RemovedRecital 17 a (new): (17a) Infants of less than 24 months and children under 12 years old are considered as a ‘Special category of passengers’ (SCP) under EU safety legislation. Therefore, they should be seated either with - for infants - or next to the accompanying passenger free of charge.

Regulation (EC) No 261/2004

Change 5

ChangedArticle 1 – paragraph 1 – point -1 (new), Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point l: (-1) In Article 2, point l is replaced by the following: / "(l)‘(l) ‘cancellation’ means the non-operation of a flight which was previously planned and on which at least one place was reserved. It shall be considered a cancelled flight when the aircraft took off but was subsequently forced to land at an airport other than the airport of destination, or to return to the airport of departure, or where the passengers of the aircraft concerned were transferred to departure on other flights, or when the departure time was broghtbrought forward by more than an hour by the air carier."carrier.’

(32004R0261)

Regulation (EC) No 261/2004

Change 6

ChangedArticle 1 – paragraph 1 – point 1, Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point z a (new): (za) “full cost“cost of the air ticket” means final price to be paid at the end of the reservation process that includes the air fare and all applicable taxes, charges, surcharges and fees paid for all optional and non-optional services included in the ticket, excluding intermediation fees, regardless whether those extras and fees have been paid together with the fares for the transport service or separately at a later stage;

Regulation (EC) No 261/2004

Article 1 – paragraph 1 – point 1, Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point z b (new): (zb) “intermediation fee” means any difference between the amount paid by the passenger and the amount received by the air carrier for the same service, and which is collected by the intermediary;

Regulation (EC) No 261/2004

Change 7

ChangedArticle 1 – paragraph 1 – point 1, Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point z c (new): (zc) ‘service quality standards’ means key performance indicators measuring howlevels passengerof rightsperformance areand implemented.”elements of compliance with passengers rights.

Regulation (EC) No 261/2004

Change 8

ChangedArticle 1 – paragraph 1 – point 1, Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point z d (new): (zd) “recognised'recognised assistance dog”dog' means a dog specifically trained to increase independence and self-determination of persons with disabilities, officially recognised in accordance with applicable national rules, where such rules exist.’exist.

Regulation (EC) No 261/2004

Change 9

RemovedArticle 1 – paragraph 1 – point 1 a (new), Article 3 – paragraph 6a (new): (1a) In Article 3, the following paragraph is added : / 6a. The rights of persons with reduced mobility or special needs laid down under this Article shall be without prejudice to the rights they enjoy under Regulation (EC) No 1107/2006.

AddedArticle 1 – paragraph 1 – point 1, Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point z e (new): (ze) ‘accessible format’ means a format that gives a person with disabilities or with reduced mobility access to any relevant information, including allowing such a person to have access to such information as easily and comfortably as a person without any impairments or disabilities, and that meets accessibility requirements defined in accordance with the applicable law, in particular with Annex I to Directive (EU) 2019/882;

Regulation (EC) No 261/2004

Change 10

RemovedArticle 1 – paragraph 1 – point 1 b (new), Article 5 a (new): (1b) The following Article 5a is added: / Article 5a / Extraordinary circumstances / 1. Extraordinary circumstances shall be considered events which, by their nature or origin, are not inherent in the normal exercise of the activity of the air carrier concerned and are outside that air carrier’s actual control . For the purposes of this Regulation, extraordinary circumstances are limited to the circumstances set out in Annex IIa; / 2 Where no proof of the existence of extraordinary circumstances is provided by the air carrier in a written form, the compensation referred to in Article 7 shall be paid automatically to the passenger by the air carrier in the event of cancellation and long delays. / 3. Where an unusual event outside the control of one or more Member States has occurred, which has a major impact on air travel with major unfavourable consequences for the aviation sector and that is not covered under Annex IIa, the Commission is empowered to adopt a delegated act in accordance with Article 16cb in order to amend the exhaustive list set out in Annex IIa by adding the relevant extraordinary circumstance, provided that this is strictly necessary to respond to such an unusual event.

AddedArticle 1 – paragraph 1 – point 1, Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point z f (new): (zf) ‘personal item’: means a small bag or an article with maximum dimensions of 40x30x15cm that the air carrier shall allow the passenger to carry on board, on condition that it fits under the front seat and complies with applicable security requirements.

Regulation (EC) No 261/2004

Change 11

RemovedArticle 1 – paragraph 1 – point 2, Article 8a – paragraph 1: 1. Where the passenger has bought a ticket through an intermediary, the operating air carrier may make the reimbursement referred to in Article 8(1) point (a) through that intermediary. In such a case, the intermediary shall reimburse the passenger in accordance with this Article.

AddedArticle 1 – paragraph 1 – point 1, Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point z g (new): (zg) ‘hand baggage’ means a piece of unchecked baggage which is not a personal item of a maximum size of 120cm and which complies with security and safety requirements.’

Regulation (EC) No 261/2004

Change 12

RemovedArticle 1 – paragraph 1 – point 2, Article 8a – paragraph 2: 2. The intermediary shall inform the passenger of the reimbursement process as provided for in this Article in a clear, comprehensible and easily accessible manner at the time of booking and on the booking confirmation.

AddedArticle 1 – paragraph 1 – point 1 a (new), Article 3 – paragraph 1 – point b: (1a) In Article 3(1), point b is amended as follows: / ‘(b) to passengers departing from an airport located in a third country to an airport situated in the territory of a Member State to which the Treaty applies, unless they received comparable benefits or compensation and were given assistance in that third country.’

Added(32004R0261)