Changes from report parliamentary committee draft to plenary report

Over the last decades, the EU has established a unique framework for protecting and enforcing passenger rights across all transport modes. Nevertheless, according to a Eurobarometer survey, barely one in three EU citizens are aware of their rights. Moreover, shortcomings in the implementation and enforcement are preventing passengers from fully benefiting from them.

As a result, we have seen in recent years the spread of so-called "claim agencies" that help passengers obtain compensation from carriers for travel that is cancelled or suffers long delays. However, these services are rarely free and can cost passengers up to 50% of the compensation they are entitled to due to service fees and legal costs. The rise of these agencies underscores the inadequacy of the current framework.

In this context, the Commission launched on 29 November 2023 a review of the Passenger Rights framework to ensure effective and efficient enforcement of passenger rights across all Member States and to provide a more effective complaint handling for passengers. In particular, the Commission proposal aims at introducing more effective tools for national enforcement bodies (NEBs) for the monitoring of operators’ compliance with passenger rights. It also seeks to close regulatory loopholes in air transport, particularly regarding passengers who book flights through an intermediary. Special attention is also paid to the needs of passengers with disabilities or reduced mobility travelling by air, with a focus on harmonizing their rights across transport modes.

The Rapporteur welcomes the revision of the Passenger Rights framework, particularly its efforts to close the enforcement gaps and to ensure that passenger rights are upheld in a uniform way across Member States and across transport modes. In amending the Commission's proposal, the Rapporteur focuses on three key principles: strengthening passenger rights, harmonizing regulations across transport modes and Member States, and enhancing enforcement mechanisms. The Rapporteur considers that the recent developments in the new rail passenger rights Regulation (EU) 2021/782 constitutes a good starting point for the review of the passenger rights acquis.

Reinforcing Passenger Rights, Including for Those with Special Needs and PRMs

Harmonised conditions for cabin hand luggage and allocation of seats for minors free of charge are long-standing claims of passengers that the Rapporteur reckons deserve special attention.

By the same token, the Rapporteur supports the provisions on the rights for persons with disabilities and reduced mobility (PRMs) when travelling by air to oblige airlines to provide an additional free ticket whenever they oblige a disabled person to travel accompanied.

For passengers with reduced mobility, mobility equipment is essential, yet its replacement remains difficult and costly. Air transport is the sole transport mode where liability for the damage or loss of such equipment is limited. The Rapporteur therefore supports full compensation for passengers in cases where mobility equipment, assistive devices, or recognized assistance dogs are lost or damaged by an air carrier.

Transparency and Duties of Intermediaries

Currently, clear responsibilities for intermediaries have not been established in the Passengers’ Rights regulatory framework (except in the updated Rail Passenger Rights Regulation). As a result, passengers are often bounced between airlines and intermediaries, facing prolonged reimbursement delays.

The Rapporteur welcomes the introduction of the clear refund rules. However, such a review should go beyond time limits and provide a more efficient mechanism and price transparency. The Rapporteur believes that when a passenger purchases a ticket through an intermediary, the total amount of the ticket price should be clearly indicated, including possible optional services and should be refunded at no additional cost to the passenger. Moreover, the intermediary should be responsible for assisting passengers with tickets and providing alternative proposals in the event of travel disruptions.

Clear Complaint-handling Mechanisms and Simplification

The Rapporteur reckons that passengers should be adequately informed about the relevant procedures for submitting claims and complaints to air carriers, intermediaries and National Enforcement Bodies (NEBs) and should receive a reply within a reasonable time period.

The Rapporteur is in favour of the creation of a common European form for compensation and reimbursement and calls for it to be sent automatically to passengers in the event of service interruption by the carrier or the intermediary.

To streamline the process and to ensure that passengers’ rights are upheld, the Rapporteur proposes automatic compensation without any claim to be lodged by the passenger when extraordinary circumstances cannot be invoked by the air carrier for cancellation and long delays.

Enhanced Enforcement Mechanisms

The 2021 special report from the European Court of Auditors concluded that NEBs do not have a good overview of operators’ compliance with passenger rights. Commission evaluations also concluded that the overall approach of NEBs toward monitoring the implementation of the Regulations varies significantly: while some NEBs tend to be very proactive, others seem only to react to complaints which they receive. In addition, only a small percentage of NEBs have issued penalties for the breach of these Regulations, and even such penalties were generally small.

To address these shortcomings, the Rapporteur proposes a harmonized framework that strengthens enforcement mechanisms by granting NEBs independence, establishing a cross-border cooperation mechanism, enhancing their power to obtain information from carriers, and implementing a more effective penalty regime. The Rapporteur also proposes that NEBs be granted minimum investigation and enforcement powers vis-à-vis all actors with obligations under these Passenger Rights Regulations.

Furthermore, a regular flow of information between the Commission and enforcement bodies and the possibility for the Commission to conduct inspections would enable the Commission to better fulfil its monitoring and coordinating role of the national bodies and to support them.

Providing Legal Certainty

The EU legal framework for the air passengers’ rights is complex and on many occasions, the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) has been requested by national courts to clarify certain provisions of Regulation (EC) No 261/2004 on air passenger rights. This is particularly relevant regarding the concepts of “extraordinary circumstances” and “cancellation”.

To increase legal certainty for both air carriers and passengers, and to ensure a proper enforcement of passenger rights, the Rapporteur supports the introduction of clear and precise definitions of these concepts on the basis of the case law that has been consistently held in recent years.

The Rapporteur supports the EP mandate of the air passenger rights revision of February 2014 and acknowledges that it is in general still valid and fit for purpose. However, the Rapporteur considers that the above-mentioned elements would justify an update of the EP mandate on the concepts of “extraordinary circumstances” and “cancellation”.

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The revision of the Passenger Rights framework represents a crucial step toward strengthening and harmonizing protection for passengers across the EU. By addressing enforcement gaps, improving complaint-handling mechanisms, and ensuring clear responsibilities for all stakeholders, the proposed measures will enhance transparency, accessibility, and fairness for passengers. The Rapporteur supports these efforts and emphasizes the importance of effective enforcement, legal clarity, and strengthened rights. A robust and well-implemented framework will not only uphold passengers' rights but also foster greater trust in the EU's transport system as a whole.