More rights for passengers: new EU rules on refunds, complaints, and passengers with disabilities

Brussels – Protecting the rights of EU passengers across all modes of transport. This is the subject of the provisional agreement reached today (25 June) between the EU Council and the European Parliament. The new rules aim to “simplify, harmonise, and improve the consistency of the existing framework” and relate primarily to the information passengers receive before and during their journey, the handling of complaints, and the enforcement of the rules. Today’s proposal will amend five specific pieces of legislation, as the current measures on passenger rights have proved to be inadequate. “Passenger rights across all modes of transport only make sense if they can actually be enforced. Today’s agreement represents another important step towards a more transparent, consistent and passenger-friendly regulatory framework across the EU,” commented Alexis Vafeades, Minister for Transport, Communications and Public Works of Cyprus—the country currently holding the six-month presidency of the Council of the EU until the end of June. According to the Cypriot minister, the agreement “will make it easier for travellers to obtain the information, assistance and reimbursement to which they are entitled, while strengthening protections for persons with disabilities and persons with reduced mobility and providing greater legal certainty for tickets purchased through intermediaries.”

Booking flights through an agent

The agreement introduces clearer rules “regarding refunds for passengers who book airline tickets through intermediaries, such as travel agencies or online booking platforms.” These rules allow passengers to receive a full refund, including any intermediary fees, in the event of a flight cancellation. The provisions also take into account the needs of smaller intermediaries, such as local travel agencies, which may face a “disproportionate financial burden.” To improve the transparency of transactions, intermediaries are required “to inform passengers at the time of booking about the applicable refund arrangements.” Airlines will also have to publicly state “whether they work with intermediaries to process refunds.” Under the new framework, those entitled to a refund must receive it within seven days, or within 14 days if the intermediary has paid the airline from its own funds. To increase transparency and ensure fair competition, airlines must know whether intermediaries issue tickets on their behalf. This aims to prevent practices such as screen-scraping, in which an intermediary books tickets without disclosing their role to the airline. Such actions will no longer be permitted from today.

Refund and compensation procedures

Standardised forms for refund and compensation claims will be made available across the EU for passengers to use to submit their claims. This also applies to “any equivalent form provided by the carrier, whether electronically or via other channels, including post”, and aims to make “the procedures accessible and straightforward, and to facilitate access to redress.”

Handling of complaints by the authorities of the Member States

Where passengers’ rights are infringed, there must be “a
clear, accessible, and effective avenue for filing complaints”. To this end, the agreement stipulates that national enforcement bodies (NEBs) or other competent authorities must be vested with “the necessary powers to take appropriate measures and effectively deter infringements”. To this end, they should be “able to act on the basis of passenger complaints, through audits, inspections and interviews.” Given the differences in administrative and legal systems across Member States, the agreement aims to provide “greater clarity on redress mechanisms, ensuring that decisions are taken by the competent authority and that passengers receive clear information on their rights and the procedures available to them.” To ensure that passengers’ rights are respected in a consistent manner across the Union, national enforcement bodies should “cooperate closely and coordinate their activities to ensure a harmonised interpretation and effective cross-border enforcement of the relevant regulations.” Where appropriate, national bodies responsible for managing and handling complaints “should exchange relevant information to strengthen cooperation and support the effective fulfilment of their respective responsibilities.” The agreement also proposes establishing a regular flow of information between “carriers, terminal operators, and intermediaries to national supervisory bodies on matters relating to the implementation of the Regulation” to strengthen “monitoring and supervision, enabling the authorities to carry out their supervisory role more effectively.” Finally, within the framework of this Regulation, the European Commission should “support dialogue and promote cooperation between Member States,” including through “the issuance of guidelines and the promotion of best practices.”

Enhanced rights for people with disabilities and persons with reduced mobility

The agreement also aims to strengthen the rights of people with disabilities and reduced mobility, with the aim of “ensuring equal access to transport services throughout the Union.” The passengers in question will continue to be entitled to free assistance throughout their journey, and even if “an airline requires a passenger to travel with a companion for safety reasons and is unable to provide the necessary assistance,” the passenger will be entitled to travel with a companion of their choice free of charge. On the other hand, the new rules allow airlines to ask people with disabilities to provide further information on their precise needs for assistance and may verify them when needed. 

Service Quality Standards

Finally, the organisations that manage airports, stations, and/or port terminals, as well as airlines and railway companies, are required to establish and publish “service quality standards relating to the rights of people with disabilities and people with reduced mobility.” This obligation also extends to airlines, bus and coach operators, and those managing their respective terminals, “with the aim of harmonising service quality standards across different modes of transport, taking into account the specific characteristics of each sector.” In order to “ensure that these standards bring about tangible improvements for passengers,” the Commission will carry out “a comprehensive assessment of their implementation and effectiveness within the framework of EU legislation on passenger rights, including the rail sector,” no later than five years after the new rules come into force. Should it deem it appropriate, the Commission may propose further legislative amendments.

The provisional agreement must now be approved by the Council and Parliament and, following legal and linguistic review, may be formally adopted by both institutions.