In a report published on Thursday 8 November, the European Court of Auditors noted that European passengers are not sufficiently informed of their rights in the event of a delay or cancellation of a journey; they make several recommendations to the European Commission on this matter.
The auditors who conducted the study do not seek to underestimate the legal framework governing the rights of passengers in the different modes of transport (air, rail, sea, inland waterway and road).
However, they point out, on the basis of surveys and polls carried out among individuals between November 2017 and January 2018 in ten EU countries, that they are not sufficiently informed of their rights and obligations. For example, in 2017, only 38.6% of respondents were aware of their rights and obligations and 46.9% of them had been aware of the rules before the survey.
The report also notes that the provisions of the regulations may be interpreted differently and regrets in particular that the amounts of compensation do not necessarily represent the actual value of the damage.
In an attempt to address the identified weaknesses, the auditors make ten recommendations to the Commission. Among these, it should be noted that they invite the institution to conduct an analysis of the various regulations or to publish guidelines to provide clarity to the texts.
They would also like to oblige transport operators to automatically compensate affected passengers for disruptions when they have provided the necessary information in time to do so.
In addition, the Court of Auditors' report gives a list of ten tips for passengers in order to fully benefit from the rights they are given under the rules of Union law when they are delayed or cancelled. This includes providing travel operators with a certain amount of information, taking pictures of the baggage, requesting proof of delay or cancellation or submitting a request for compensation when justified. (Original version in French by Lucas Tripoteau)