Passenger rights: Compensation only after four hours late

According to the will of the EU countries, passengers will only be compensated for great resistance from Germany after four hours of delay – and not as before after three hours.

A sufficient majority of the EU transport ministers agreed to a corresponding change in European passenger rights at a meeting on Thursday evening in Luxembourg, as the Polish EU Presidency announced. However, the legislative process has not yet been completed, and the European Parliament has a say.

Up to 500 euros compensation

According to the will of the ministers, the four-hour rule should apply to distances of up to 3,500 kilometers. A period of six hours is scheduled for longer air travel. According to the EU countries’ compromise, there should be 300 and 500 euros in compensation in the future.

So far, passengers have been entitled to compensation for a flat rate of three hours from a delay of three hours if the airline is responsible for them. Specifically, there is 250 euros for flights up to 1,500 km; 400 euros for flights up to 3,500 km and 600 euros for long -haul flights with more than 3,500 km.

Germany was overruled

The German federal government had vehemently campaigned for passengers to be compensated as before from a delay of three hours and received a compensation of 300 euros for this. As a result, consumer rights would have been maintained, but also airlines would have been relieved on long -haul flights, said Federal Transport Minister Patrick Schnieder (CDU) before the meeting.

Accordingly, Germany did not agree to the change at the meeting in Luxembourg. « We focused on consumer protection, » said Schnieder after the vote. He hoped that there would be the opportunity to strengthen consumer protection in upcoming discussions with the European Parliament.

Luxembourg speaks of an intermediate stage

With the revision of the regulation, an extensive package of a total of 30 new rights is introduced, which are intended to improve the situation of air travelers. In particular, the duties of the airlines are clarified in terms of information, support and access to rights, while the legal remedies are simplified and strengthened for passengers, the Luxembourg Ministry of Transport Yuriko Backes specifies.

One of the remarkable progress is the final ban on the so-called « no-show » clause. This practice, which was used by some airlines, was to cancel the return flight of a passenger on the grounds that he had not used his outward flight. The abolition of this regulation is a measure to improve fairness to consumers.

In the past, the European case law defined the threshold of three hours late as a possible trigger for compensation of up to 250 euros. The named new threshold values ​​would now be anchored in a binding legal act, which increases legal certainty for both passengers and operators, the Ministry of Transport comments.

Luxembourg has supported this political agreement because it represents a reasonable balance between strengthening consumer rights and the need to maintain the offer and connectivity of flight connections, « which are indispensable for citizens and the Luxembourg economy and whose range of flights mainly depend on regional airlines, » according to the ministry.

A frame that is too rigid could result in a reduction in flight frequencies to the disadvantage of users.

Minister Backes wants to further improve text

The Ministry also emphasizes that the system currently applicable in Luxembourg, which enables passengers to submit their individual complaints directly to the management for consumer protection, is a practice that « differs benefits from the situation in many other Member States ».

However, all of this represents only an intermediate stage. A second phase of negotiation is initiated with the European Parliament. Luxembourg wants to play an active role in improving the text, especially when it comes to compensation and the special consideration of missed connection flights.

Airlines argue with faster replacement flights

The airlines and their associations argue that they are technically unable to provide a replacement aircraft with a crew within three hours at many destinations in Europe. If in doubt, an additional flight would then be avoided because the high compensation payments have already been incurred. The better period is five hours. It is unclear how many more replacement flights would take place on the same day by a five-hour rule.

Consumer advocates see the majority of the compensation in danger

The European consumer protection organization Beuc speaks of a significant restriction of important rights. The new threshold values ​​would rob the majority of passengers of their rights because most delays were between two and four hours.

The legal service provider Flightright sees it similarly: « If the proposed revision version is actually implemented by law, up to 60 percent of today’s compensation cases will be eliminated without replacement. » In addition, there would be further restrictions, for example due to the expansion of exceptional circumstances.

If the parliament does not stop this version of passenger rights, hardly anything remains.

The CDU European MP Jens Gieseke emphasized: « As a parliament, we will not accept a deterioration in the status quo. »

EU Council Presidency sees the strengthening of consumer rights

Poland Minister of Transport Dariusz Klimczak said after the meeting that the compromise was clearer and easier. Poland currently has the six-year-old chair among the EU countries and is preparing, among other things, the meetings of the ministers. The revised regulations would grant passengers more than 30 new rights, which would apply from buying the ticket to arrival at the destination and in some cases beyond.

In a message from the EU countries it says that airlines would have to offer passengers at the earliest possible transport, including the possibility of switching to flights from other airlines or alternative means of transport.

If an airline does not offer adequate other transport within three hours, passengers could organize an alternative on their own and request reimbursement of up to 400 percent of the original flight price.

More complexity?

Ourania Georgoutsakou, managing director of the lobby organization of European airlines A4E, said with a view to the compromise agreement of the Member States to reform passengers that « Europe has been waiting for transparent and practical passenger rights for twelve years » and the member states have failed at the last hurdle.

Instead of pretending to be delayed of five and nine hours, which would save up to 70 percent of the rescue flight cancellations, « the Member States have watered down the original proposal of the European Commission and introduced even more complexity. »