Meeting in Luxembourg on Monday 8 June, European transport ministers discussed the revision of air passenger rights over a working lunch: the backdrop to this is that the provisional agreement concluded last week between the European Parliament and the EU Council is still awaiting final approval.
After several days of difficult negotiations, the co-legislators reached a compromise on Friday 5 June, thanks also to the mediation of the European Commission, several media outlets report. The compromise should maintain the current levels of compensation for flights delayed by more than three hours, as Members of the European Parliament had requested.
The core of the compromise, however, lies in the complaints procedures. While the EU Council had wanted the sending of pre-filled forms to become systematic, this new version ultimately provides for forms to be sent within 48 hours of the journey; they will be standardised, but not pre-filled.
The negotiators also agreed on the automatic inclusion of one cabin bag in the ticket price. As regards the practice of ‘no show’ policies, airlines would no longer be able to deny boarding to, or charge, a passenger who did not show up for one of the segments of their return journey.
The compromise is, however, drawing criticism from the sector. On Saturday, at a press conference in Rio de Janeiro, the Vice-president of the International Air Transport Association (IATA) for Europe, Rafael Schvartzman, deplored a compensation system that is already costing airlines “€8 billion a year”.
Pressure increased after the publication on Monday of an investigation by the Financial Times. According to the financial newspaper, European passengers could have claimed nearly €18 billion in compensation for flight delays between 2011 and 2025, but only €7.7 billion was actually paid out.
When asked about the ongoing discussions, Cypriot Transport Minister Alexis Vafeades spoke of “very constructive” exchanges, while acknowledging that no definitive solution had yet been found. A meeting of the permanent representatives (Coreper) is due to be held in the evening. Meanwhile, the European Commissioner for Transport, Apóstolos Tzitzikóstas, stated that he thought “there will be something new by the end of the week”. (Original version in French by Juliette Verdes)