After 13 years of dispute: EU says no to the airlines

After 13 years of negotiations, representatives of the EU countries have reached a preliminary agreement on new rules for air passengers’ rights. The proposal means that travellers will retain the right to financial compensation for flight delays of more than three hours, while airlines will be prohibited from charging for children to sit together with their parents. This is reported by Euractiv.

The agreement was reached at the last minute on Friday and must now be formally approved by the European Parliament’s negotiators on 15 June. If that does not happen, the entire reform risks falling through.

When the European Commission presented its proposal back in 2013, the aim was to modernise passenger rights for an aviation market that had changed significantly with the rise of low-cost carriers. During the negotiations, several member states backed the airlines’ demands to reduce compensation levels and raise the threshold for when compensation should be paid.

That proposal now appears to have been averted. Passengers will continue to be able to claim compensation for delays of more than three hours. In addition, airlines will be required to clearly inform travellers by email about how compensation claims can be made.

The European Parliament’s chief negotiator, Andrey Novakov, describes the agreement as a success for Parliament.

Fredrik Kämpfe, head of aviation at Transportföretagen, is not impressed:

"This is no victory for passengers if the result is higher prices, fewer routes and poorer accessibility. It is no victory for the airlines if the regulatory framework remains unclear, administratively burdensome and cost-driving. And it is no victory for Sweden if yet another EU regulation makes it more difficult for aviation in Sweden," he writes in a post on LinkedIn.

The new rules also mean stronger protection for persons with disabilities, improved rules on vouchers, as well as better protection for return tickets.

However, Parliament did not succeed in pushing through its demand that all passengers should have the right to bring one piece of hand luggage weighing up to seven kilos on board free of charge, in addition to a smaller personal bag. The issue has been one of the most debated during the final negotiations.

The industry association Airlines for Europe, which represents several of Europe’s largest airlines, is critical of the compromise and argues that it does not solve the underlying problems of delays and cancelled flights.

According to reports, all member states except four voted in favour of the deal. Spain and Latvia opposed the proposal, while Austria and Finland abstained.

If the European Parliament’s negotiators approve the agreement, it will then await final approval from both the Parliament and the member states’ ministers before the new rules can enter into force.