Air passenger rights in the EU

What is the proposed reform of the air passenger rights legislation?

The European Commission has proposed a reform to current regulations on air passenger rights and the liability of airlines in March 2013. A number of issues have come to light since the current rules were adopted. In particular, some provisions and definitions are unclear. This has led to inconsistencies and uneven application of the rules. Passengers also often find it hard to claim their rights, due to poor complaint handling procedures.

The proposed changes aim to ensure that air passengers have new and better rights to information, care and re-routing when they are stranded at the airport. At the same time, better complaint procedures and enforcement measures would be introduced, so that passengers can actually obtain the rights they're entitled to. The changes also aim to clarify legal grey areas in the current rules, and introduce some new rights.

In more detail, the Commission proposal attempts to clarify key principles such as:

• 'extraordinary circumstances'
• the right to compensation in case of long delays
• the right to rerouting
• the right to care
• missed connecting flights
• rescheduling
• tarmac delays
• the partial ban of the "no show" policy
• the right to information

It also attempts to ensure effective and consistent sanctioning and effective handling of individual claims and complaints. It aims to better enforce the passenger rights with regard to mishandled baggage, to take into account the financial capacities of the air carriers and adapt liability limits in accordance with general price inflation.

• European Commission proposal to revise EU rules on air passenger rights

In the Council

The Council held a first debate on the proposal at a meeting of the Transport, Telecommunications and Energy Council (TTE) on 10 October 2013. Ministers agreed about the need to clarify the current rules and discussed the issues of missed connections and compensation for long delays. Most ministers were opposed to linking the amount of compensation to ticket prices.

• Transport Council (press release, 10 October 2013)

Following continued work by the Working Party on Aviation, the Council's presidency presented a first progress report at a TTE meeting on 15 December 2013.

The European Parliament adopted its position at first reading on 5 February 2014 on the proposal to revise EU rules on air passenger rights.

A second progress report on the working party's work was presented at the TTE meeting on 5-6 June 2014. The major outstanding issues included thresholds for compensation in cases of cancellation and delay, compensation for connecting flights and whether clear provisions on the 'one bag rule' for cabin baggage should be included in the rules.

• Progress report by the Greek presidency on the air passenger rights proposal, June 2014

A further progress report was discussed at the TTE meeting on 11-12 June 2015. The presidency text showed progress in many areas, including agreement on a simplified definition of 'cancellation', and the clarification on which situations are considered cancellations or delays. Ministers also reached a compromise on the cabin baggage issue and on the decision to put extraordinary technical circumstances into a separate, exhaustive, binding list.

• Progress report by the Latvian presidency on the air passenger rights proposal, June 2015

Until 2019, work on the proposal was put on hold due to a number of outstanding issues to be resolved.

In 2019, the Finnish presidency restarted discussions on the proposal. The European Parliament reconfirmed its position.

In early 2020, the Croatian presidency made further progress putting forward new compromise proposals with the objective of reaching a general approach within the Council.