Brussels, 20/12/2010 (Agence Europe) - Good news for travellers who have been hit by the recent bad weather. On Monday 20 December, the European Commission pointed out that despite the exceptional circumstances, air and rail passengers are still entitled to: - a right to information; - a right to be taken on to their final destination under comparable conditions and as quickly as possible, which, in air transport, does not rule out having to transport them via another mode of transport (rarely applied in practice); - or reimbursing the ticket in the event of cancellation or delay (more than 5 hours for aviation and 1 hour for rail transport). In the latter case, the transporter's responsibility ends when the decision is made to reimburse the value of the ticket. All complaints regarding passengers' treatment must be submitted, in both the aviation and railway sectors, to the national authorities, the list of which can be consulted on the website of the European Commission: http: //ec.europa.eu/transport/passenger-rights/fr/index.html
This reminder from the Commission, in response to many questions from consumer organisations and journalists, comes when, for the second time this year, the aviation sector is held hostage by the climate. Unlike the situation in April, when many member states unilaterally decided to close their airspace due to a cloud of volcanic ash, the current disturbances are caused by major snowfall which has led to the closure of the principal airports of the EU. Heathrow, Gatwick, Munich, Frankfurt, Paris-Charles de Gaulle and Paris-Orly have all experienced major disturbances to traffic and have had to redirect flights to other European airports, mainly Brussels Zaventem and Schiphol Amsterdam in the Netherlands. According to the Association of European Airports (AEA), around 5,500 flights were cancelled between 30 November and 9 December. Many other cancellations were made over the weekend of 18 and 19 December, due to the airport closures.
Unlike the maritime sector (where the regulation on passengers' rights has not yet entered into force), European legislation in the aviation sector (regulation 261/2004) does not provide for any exceptions to the obligation on airlines to bear passengers' costs - irrespective of the reason for the cancellation or delay of the flight. The airline must cover the costs for the passengers' accommodation, provide meals and drinks and pay for any communication costs (e-mails, telephone) of the passenger. The legislation in force also provides for compensation (on top of the reimbursement of the ticket) in the event of cancellation or delays of more than three hours. These vary from €125 to €600 depending on the distance of the flight (from less than 1,500 kilometres to more than 3,500 kilometres). However, they do not apply in exceptional circumstances. It is up to the national authorities of the countries whose airports are experiencing difficulties to decree the exceptional nature of the circumstances.
The same applies to the rail sector (Regulation 1371/2007) (EUROPE 9455). Passengers travelling on international journeys must be offered a choice between the reimbursement of the ticket and being conveyed to their destination, once it has been demonstrated that the train delay has exceeded one hour. If they decide to continue their journey, passengers are entitled to assistance (accommodation if needed, drinks …) and automatic compensation varying between 25% of the cost of the ticket (in the event of a delay between 60 and 119 minutes) and 50% of the cost of the ticket (in the event of a delay of more than 120 minutes). If the train is stuck between the start and destination stations, it is up to the railway company to provide transport to the closest railway station allowing the passenger to take an alternative route to reach the final destination (where physical conditions allow it). Similar rights will apply for 2012 to passengers of boats and 2013 at the earliest to bus and coach passengers.
Airlines request responsibility to fly. Faced many times over the year with disturbances to air traffic beyond their control, the European airlines have described the legislation in force as “inadequate”. The AEA particularly hit out at the rules governing the responsibility of the airline, which is currently limited. It calls for clarification to these rules, particularly those of the “exceptional circumstances”, when the Regulation 261/2004 is revised in 2012. The association also welcomes the decision made recently by the British directorate general for civil aviation which, in the event of disturbances to air traffic, gives the airline the freedom to decide whether or not to continue to fly. According to the AEA, the principal of the responsibility to fly, which has long existed in American legislation, should be brought into EU legislation. For its part, the European Commission has called on passengers to seek information about whether their flight will take place before getting to the airport. “Check and recheck the information about your flights” before leaving home at, if necessary, “stay at home” contact the airline directly, advised Helene Kearns, the spokesperson to the Commission for Transport. (A.By./transl.fl)