Brussels, 18/09/2002 (Agence Europe) - The European Parliament's transport committee has adopted the report by Giorgio Lisi (Forza Italia) on the draft regulation establishing common rules regarding compensation for airline passengers in case of refusal to board and flight cancellation or important delays. The issue is on the agenda of the Transport Council of 3 October and the European Parliament's plenary session from 21 to 24 October (co-decision, first reading).
The draft regulation provides for, in case of over-booking, the obligation for the carrier to ask for volunteers to give up their seats in exchange of compensation. If there are not sufficient volunteers, the carrier must propose refunding the ticket or re-routing to the destination, taking on board all the costs inherent in the wait and financial compensations. Financial compensations would vary from 750 euro (for flights of less than 1500 km) to 1,500 euro (for flights over 3,500 km). The Parliament's transport committee has called for a modification to the amounts of financial compensation: 200 euro for flights of less than 1000 km, 400 euro for flights between 1,000 and 3,500 km and 600 euro for flights over 3,500 km. The regulation will have to apply to passengers leaving from a Community airport and passengers travelling with a Community carrier or travel agent from an airport in a third country with a Community airport as destination. The parliamentary committee also adopted an amendment by Mark Francis Watts (British, PES) urging the European Commission to adopt identical measures for rail transport and transport by bus or coach.