The European Commission has welcomed a new political agreement from the European Parliament and the Council of the EU that aims to improve the enforcement of passenger rights across all modes of transport.
Newly-proposed rules seek to ensure that passengers are better informed of their rights in the case of travel disruptions; better equipped on how to request reimbursement or compensation through common forms where carriers do not offer a similar process; and clearly informed on how to seek redress for their requests in case they do not receive the money.
These new rules will also aim to clarify the reimbursement process when flights are booked through an intermediary and, when reimbursement is processed via an intermediary, the intermediary will no longer be free to determine its own timeline for payment to the passenger.
Once it has received reimbursement from the airline, the intermediary will have a maximum of seven days to complete payment to the passenger, with the final payment required to include both the airfare and any intermediation fees.
Some micro-enterprises may be exempt from this rule in cases where passengers are informed of an exemption at an early stage.
Finally, special attention will be given to the needs of passengers with disabilities or reduced mobility in order to improve the quality of assistance where needed.
Where necessary to meet aviation safety requirements, airlines can require that passengers with disabilities are accompanied, but airlines will now be required to carry the accompanying person free of charge.
The provisional agreement enforcing passenger rights in the EU will now have to be endorsed by the Council and the Parliament, and will then be formally adopted by both institutions following legal-linguistic revision.
This regulation will then apply from the date on which the updated air passenger rights regulation will enter into application.
