The European Parliament has voted to improve airline passenger rights for compensation, seating fees and hand luggage, making fares more transparent and maintaining the threshold for financial protection.
The provisional agreement was reached on Monday and will be confirmed by both the European Parliament and the Council within the next six to eight weeks. It is the first time airline passenger rights have been updated in Europe since 2004, when Regulation EU261 was written into law. At that time, the rules also applied to passengers in the UK when it was part of the EU.
The UK adopted EU261 after Brexit, which covers compensation for flight delays and disruptions. It has not yet been updated in the UK, but it is understood that this is being considered by the Transport Secretary, Heidi Alexander.
The new legislation will benefit British passengers departing from any European airport, or arriving at a European airport with a European airline, such as Air France, Iberia, Transavia, Lufthansa, Norwegian, SAS, Finnair, and Air Baltic. UK law continues to apply to European airlines with UK subsidiaries, such as Ryanair and Wizz Air.
Here’s how passengers will benefit from the new European rules, which have been more than a decade in the making…
Luggage
The new rules include the right to carry on board one personal item, such as a small bag or backpack (with maximum dimensions of 40x30x15cm), without an additional fee.
Airlines, intermediaries and search portals must always display the airfare inclusive of carry-on luggage (defined as a trolley bag) by default at the outset of the booking process. Airlines may offer cheaper tickets for passengers who choose to travel without hand luggage.
The EU also says that “the feasibility of setting up uniform minimal rules for hand baggage should be assessed.”
Seating
Adults will not be charged for children under 14 to sit next to them under the changes (Photo: Ekaterina Demidova/Getty)Any adult passenger accompanying a child below the age of 14 should be seated in an adjacent seat without paying extra. The same right will apply to passengers with disabilities and reduced mobility, and to pregnant women.
In the UK, Ryanair is being investigated by the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) for its mandatory seating fees for adults to sit with children. The CMA will determine whether this is unfair under consumer law.
Vulnerable passengers
Passengers with disabilities and reduced mobility will have the right to compensation, rerouting and assistance by airlines if they miss a flight due to the airport’s failure to help them reach the gate on time.
Compensation
Passengers maintain the right to be reimbursed or re-routed in case of cancellation, and to claim compensation if a flight is delayed by more than three hours, if it is cancelled less than 14 days before a flight, or if they are denied boarding.
The thresholds for compensation are €250 (£216) for journeys up to 1,500 km, €400 (£346) for journeys between 1,500 km and 3,500 km, and €600 (£519) for all other longer journeys. Airlines can reduce compensation by 50 per cent for their longest journeys if passengers are offered re-routing to their final destination, or if arrival is not delayed by more than four hours.
Compensation is not payable if the disruption is beyond the airline’s control. An open list of extraordinary circumstances includes natural disasters, war, weather, unruly passengers, or strikes by airport, air navigation, or ground-handling service providers.
However, the airline does have a duty of care to delayed passengers regardless of the cause – providing refreshments every two hours of waiting time, a meal after three hours, and, if needed during long delays, an overnight stay of a maximum of three nights.
Airlines must electronically provide disrupted passengers with clear instructions on how to submit a request for compensation within four days of the termination of their journey, and must pay it within 30 days. Passengers will have nine months to make a claim.
Coby Benson, Solicitor at Bott and Co – which specialises in flight delay compensation – said: “This is a major win for passengers. The three-hour delay threshold is one of the most important protections available under the regulation and preserving it means millions of passengers will continue to have access to compensation when airlines cause significant disruption.
“This decision recognises the importance of strong passenger rights and ensures airlines remain accountable when delays are within their control.”
Other changes
Passengers will not be forced to stay on board a plane during delays under the changes (Photo: Oscar Wong/Getty)The “no-show” policy that penalises passengers who fail to take their outbound flight on a return ticket will no longer apply. An airline cannot charge additional fees or cancel a return flight in this instance.
Passengers also cannot be forced to stay on an aircraft during Tarmac delays of more than two hours.
Reasonable corrections of booking errors or administrative changes should be provided free of charge and should not constitute a ground for denied boarding.
What it means for UK airlines
The Department for Transport is monitoring the EU’s proposals to improve price transparency and any potential future reforms to UK legislation would be subject to public consultation.
Currently, UK regulations apply to passengers departing a UK airport on any airline or arriving in the UK on an EU or UK airline, as well as arriving at an EU airport on a UK airline.
The aviation regulator, the Civil Aviation Authority, provides guidance that young children should ideally be seated in the same seat row as the adult, or no more than one row or aisle away.
Ryanair has criticised the regulatory changes as “gobbledygook”, saying they will “force” airlines to advertise higher fares with a second cabin bag included. It says more than half of its passengers choose not to travel with a second cabin bag (the airline’s extra charges allow only the option to add a bundle of priority boarding with two cabin bags).
Ryanair’s CEO Michael O’Leary said, “Ryanair again calls on Ursula von der Leyen, and the EU Parliament, to stop making rubbish regulations which makes EU air travel less competitive.”
A spokesperson for industry association Airlines for Europe called the deal “a missed opportunity for a balanced reform that would have delivered what passengers care about most: getting to their destination on time and having the freedom to opt for the services that matter to them.”
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