Less compensation for delays in sight?
Who last with the plane into the Holidays Tried, needed good nerves. Almost everyone was in the summer of last year Second flight in Europe. Instead of lying on the beach as planned, strolling through Rome or visiting the conference in Copenhagen, the waiting was frustration for frustration for holiday -hungry and business travelers. Depending on the distance, there was compensation between 250 and 600 euros, depending on the distance, if the delay was more than three hours. If it is after a few EU member states, this could change soon. Then a compensation payment would only be due from five hours.
The incumbent Polish Presidency has set itself the goal of promoting the reform of the EU flight law regulation. On June 5, the Minister of Transport should agree at their meeting in Luxembourg, at least politically. At its core, the debate about the question of what should be more priority: consumer protection or business interests? « It’s about a lot of money, » tried to explain a diplomat. It currently looks that the countries could hit the airlines side that regularly groan over high compensation claims.
Compensation in the event of delay: Airlines complain about high costs
The discussions at the EU level have been stalling for eleven years because the 27 countries are evident. The EU Commission already presented a proposal for an update of the now 21-year-old rules in 2013, and the European Parliament set its position in 2014. Although the Brussels authority had argued at the time that a three-hour period for the airlines was often too short to procure spare parts or aircraft or to make rebookings and therefore encourage companies to delete flights, the EU members insisted on leaving the threshold at three hours.
Most delays are between two and four hours, the European Consumer Association BEUC calculated and warned: 75 percent of passengers would no longer have a right to compensation if the relevant time thresholds were raised to five, nine and twelve hours. It would be « a significant lowering of the current standard of EU flight guest protection, which is not acceptable, » said Steven Berger from Beuc. The guideline currently applies to all machines that stand out in the EU, regardless of the nationality of the airline, and to flights that end up in the community when they are carried out by an EU airline.
Trouble about the political approach of the Polish Presidency
In the high house of Europe, in the meantime there is not only trouble about the content plans. Because with the help of an unusual procedure, the Polish Presidency wants to restrict the influence of the EU Parliament and « put the pistol on the chest » in order to push through its own position, as it was said. They strive for a point of view in so -called first reading. On the one hand, this means that the parliament receives less time to react. On the other hand, only an absolute majority could override the position of the council.
It is an « unacceptable process that the Member States are trying to use a procedural trick to improve parliament, » scolded the FDP MEP and coordinator in the transport committee for the liberals, Jan-Christoph Oetjen. « We won’t put up with that. » The CDU European Capa Parliamentarian Jens Gieseke criticized: « After over a decade of inactivity in the Council, a reform in urgent procedure is now to be whipped through-and at the expense of passengers. »
