Flight delays and being bumped off a full plane should become less frequent, if new regulations introduced by the European Commission have their desired effect.
The new regulations, which came into force on 17 February, will entitle passengers to compensation from their airline if they face long delays, flight cancellation or are denied boarding. They apply to flights operated by European airlines from or to a European airport and to any flight departing from the European Union.
The EC says that in 2002, a quarter of a million passengers were bumped off a flight. The new rules will mean bumped passengers will receive compensation of €250 for flights of less than 1500 km, €400 for flights of between 1500 and 3500 km and €600 for flights of more than 3500 km.
In the event of unavoidable cancellation, passengers will receive these same amounts, assistance (meals, accommodation if the alternative flight proposed is the following day) and the possibility of a refund or of rebooking to the final destination.
For long delays, the airline has to offer meals, refreshments, hotel accommodation if necessary, and means of communication. If the delay exceeds five hours, it has to propose refunding the ticket (with, if necessary, a free flight to your point of departure).
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Jacques Barrot, thge EC’s vice-president responsible for transport, says: “The boom in air travel needs to be accompanied by proper protection of passengers’ rights…Competitiveness and competition in the air sector go hand in hand with guaranteed passengers’ rights.”
Some airlines are unhappy with the new regulations. Ray Webster, chief exec of easyJet, which believes that compensation should be proportional to the fare paid, says: “easyJet will look after its passengers and will implement the legislation. What started as a good piece of legislation to prevent traditional airlines bumping off passengers through overbooking has become a bad piece of legislation and will cause unnecessary confusion and conflict between airlines and their customers”.