In order to mitigate the disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic in the civil transport sector, the European Commission published on Wednesday 18 March guidelines to ensure the consistent application of passenger rights across the European Union.
“In light of the mass cancellations and delays passengers and transport operators face due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Commission wants to provide [...] much-needed legal certainty on how to apply EU passenger rights in a coordinated manner across our Union”, explained Transport Commissioner Adina Vălean.
In particular, the Commission hopes to reassure passengers that their rights are protected, as Member States have introduced various measures in recent days, including travel restrictions and border controls, to combat the spread of the virus (see EUROPE 12448/1).
The guidelines thus emphasise that the carrier must refund or re-route passengers in the event of cancellation. “If passengers themselves decide to cancel their journeys, reimbursement of the ticket depends on its type, and companies may offer vouchers for subsequent use”, the Commissioner said. However, as the current situation is an ‘extraordinary circumstance’, certain rights – such as compensation if a flight is cancelled less than 2 weeks prior to the date of departure – cannot be invoked.
“The passengers cannot be double victims of the coronavirus pandemic. While every one of them must face necessary and emergency measures to try to avoid the spread of the virus [...], those people must benefit from the rights provided in the EU rules in case of delay or cancellation”, reacted Karima Delli (Greens/EFA, France), Chair of the European Parliament Transport Committee.
Covering travel by air, rail, sea or bus/coach, sea and inland waterway, the guidelines should also help to reduce costs for the transport sector, the Commission believes.
The publication of these guidelines comes on the day of the meeting of Member States’ Transport Ministers to coordinate their action and discuss measures to support the sector in the face of the pandemic (see other news).
It should also be noted that the EU regulations on rail (1371/2007) and air (261/2004 and 2027/97) passenger rights are currently being revised, each at a different stage of the legislative procedure.
The revision of rail passenger rights is thus at the stage of interinstitutional negotiations (‘trilogues’ – see EUROPE 12434/8), while the dossier on air passenger rights has yet to be agreed (‘general approach’) between the Member States (see EUROPE 12444/3).
Because of the coronavirus, the third trilogue session on rail passenger rights, which was originally scheduled for 18 March, has been postponed.
To consult the guidelines: http://bit.ly/2x9dMdL (Original version in French by Damien Genicot)