If approved, airline passengers will be able to claim financial compensation only for flights delayed for four hours or more, instead of the current three hours. The legislation awaiting possible amendments by the European Parliament, also clarifies “extraordinary circumstances”.
Following recent approval by Transport Ministers of EU member states, the new legislation is on track to enable passengers on short-haul flights to claim compensations only if the delay exceeds four hours. The current rule triggers compensations at the three-hour mark. For long-haul flights over 3,500 kilometres, the delay will have to reach at least six hours.
The Council also agreed to increase the amount of compensations for delayed short-haul flights. Passengers might be entitled to a maximum of €300 instead of the current amount of €250. Long-haul flight compensations went in the opposite direction, their limit lowered to €500 from €600.
No more “never-ending” disputes
The new rules will govern all flights originating (or ending) in any EU member state. It will apply to all airlines registered in the EU. New provisions introduce rather strict deadlines for airlines to respond to claims. Companies will have two weeks from the date of passenger’s submission either to pay compensation or to provide a clear and substantiated reply.
The plan, however, is subject to scrutiny (and possible amenments) by the European Parliament. As it touches a highly sensitive topic affecting millions of people—and a lot of money—every year, a heated debate is likely to follow. In any case, the new rules are to come into force in autumn 2025.
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Unified hand luggage dimensions
Apart from financial compensation for delayed flights, EU member states also agreed on new hand luggage regulations. Once in effect, all EU-registered airlines will have to accept one piece of hand luggage for free, to fit under the passenger seat. The maximum dimensions of such a free luggage item are set at 40x30x15 centimetres, including wheels and handles.
At the moment, rules governing the dimensions of free hand luggage are different for every airline, potentially confusing passengers.
Mixed signals from enforcement bodies
In all EU countries, arbitration and enforcement bodies are in place. In case of disputes with airline companies, they can provide passengers with out-of-court help to obtain their rights. The views of these bodies on the new legislation vary.
“From our perspective, the current proposal contains long awaited clarifications—in particular, a list of ‘extraordinary circumstances‘ has now been included, which we hope would facilitate the arbitration procedure,” Georg Loderbauer from the Vienna-based Austrian Agency for Passenger Rights (APF) told EU Perspectives. The APF also believes that “the new rules will lead to quicker handling and concluding of cases as the deadline for airlines to process claims will be reduced.”
The current proposal contains long awaited clarifications like a list of ‘extraordinary circumstances‘. Georg Loderbauer, Austrian Agency for Passenger Rights
According to Czech Civil Aviation Authority (CAA, Prague), the new regulation in general will strengthen the rights of airline passengers despite the extended minimum flight delays eligible for compensation. “On the other hand, the new definition of ‘extraordinary circumstances‘ is a broad one and we anticipate that this topic will attract disputes in future just as it does now. In this sense, the new legislation does not meet expectations, ” Jitka Ungerová, spokesperson for CAA, told EU Perspectives.
