Brussels, 15/10/2003 (Agence Europe) - Meeting in conciliation on Tuesday evening, the European Parliament and the Council of the EU agreed on modalities for compensation and assistance for air passengers in case of denied boarding, cancellations or delays. "We have found a balanced agreement" which "will not sign the death warrant for airlines", said the Parliament's rapporteur on the proposed regulation, the Italian Georgio Lisi (Forza Italia). The agreement has still to be adopted by the Council and Parliament (in theory, during the November plenary session). If all goes according to plan, the regulation could enter into force early in 2004, and as the deadline for transposing the measures is twelve months, they could be in application early in 2005.
The main question pending between Parliament and Council on this dossier centres around the modalities to be applied if a flight is delayed. According to Tuesday evening's agreement, as soon as an airline knows a flight will be delayed, it must offer free assistance to passengers (meals, refreshments), depending on the waiting time (at least two hours of delay for flights of less than 1,500 km, at least three hours for intra-Community flights between 1,500 and 3,000 km and at least four hours for other flights). If take-off is delayed by at least a day, airlines must provide hotel accommodation for passengers (and transport to the hotel). Passengers will also get two free communications by telephone, fax or e-mail. Lastly, if a flight is at least five hours late, passengers will be able to choose between a refund of the purchase price of the ticket within 7 days, or a flight back as soon as possible. Apart from these provisions, the agreement provides for: - the definition of a "cancellation": the cancellation of a previously programmed flight on which at least one place was reserved; - the obligation for a passenger to have a confirmed reservation on a flight and to report to the gate in order to be able to benefit by the provisions of the regulation; - a Commission statement indicating its intention to promote voluntary agreements and to make proposals to extend this passenger protection system to other modes of transport, especially sea and rail transport.
Once it enters into force, this new regulation will apply to scheduled and non-scheduled flights (and therefore include package holidays) from and to Community territory. It will provide protection for passengers on several levels. In case of denied boarding (due to overbooking), passengers will be entitled to financial compensation (250 EUR for flights of less than 1,500 km, 400 EUR for flights of 1,500 to 3,000 km and 600 EUR for flights of over 3,500 km), their ticket refunded or to be re-routed to their destination and to free assistance (food, drinks, etc). If a flight is cancelled, they will also receive financial compensation, their ticket refunded or "re-routing", and free assistance. However, if passengers are advised two weeks before departure, or if they are informed in time and put on another flight close to the planned date, they will not be entitled to financial compensation. If a flight is delayed, passengers will also enjoy free assistance and hotel accommodation if the situation justifies it and, if the flight is at least five hours late, the refunding of their ticket.