On Monday 12 January, the European Parliament’s Committee on Transport and Tourism (TRAN) approved its position at second reading on the revision of the Regulation on air passenger rights, with 36 votes in favour and two abstentions.
All the compromise amendments published by Agence Europe on Friday 9 January have been adopted (see EUROPE 13783/7). MEPs want to maintain the current threshold for compensation for delays at three hours, as well as the amount of compensation. They suggest that this amount should be between €300 and €600, depending on the distance travelled, whereas the EU Council would like to set it at between €300 and €500.
In addition, they believe that airlines should provide a pre-filled form for compensation and reimbursement. “Parliament is sending a clear message: we will not step back from existing passenger rights”, said rapporteur Andrey Novakov (EPP, Bulgarian). “The rules people rely on today remain the baseline: we are determined to improve them, not dilute them”.
In their proposal, MEPs also stipulate that passengers should have the right to take with them free of charge one personal item, such as a handbag, rucksack or laptop computer, and one small item of hand luggage, at no extra charge, with a maximum dimension of 100 cm (length, width and height combined) and weighing no more than 7 kg.
The TRAN Committee considers that vulnerable travellers, such as disabled passengers, passengers with reduced mobility and children, should be entitled to compensation, re-routing and assistance from airlines if they miss a flight because the airport did not help them get to the boarding gate in time.
“We are ready to continue the fight for clearer, more predictable rules for airlines and a stronger aviation sector, but never at the expense of passengers”, warned Mr Novakov, ahead of negotiations with the EU Council. MEPs decided to halt the process in December, given the lack of leeway in the discussions (see EUROPE 13764/10).
The position will be put to a vote by the whole Parliament at the next plenary session.
Read the compromise amendments: https://aeur.eu/f/k80 (Original version in French by Anne Damiani)