EU 261 / 2004 - Planned Revisions/Clarifications to Air Passenger Rights Regulation

[serfty]

There is still a long way to go; probably 18 months before any changes are enacted. These still needs to go through some hoops yet, and political agreement doesn't mean that the European Parliament will agree.

Commission welcomes landmark agreement on revised air passenger rights

The European Commission welcomes the political agreement reached by the European Parliament and the Council of the EU on the revision of EU air passenger rights.

ec.europa.eu

https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX%3A52013PC0130

Key points:

• Passengers who do not take the outbound journey of a return booking cannot be denied boarding on the return flight. Airlines may not charge a fee to allow a passenger to take the return in such circumstances.
• Hand Baggage must be included in base fare.
• The term 'price of the ticket' is replaced by 'flight price' in relation to Downgrades.
• Compensation amounts to remain the same.
• Affected PAX must be proactively informed of their rights under the regulation within 96 hours of any disruption.
• Extraordinary circumstances are set out in a list, and the rules on how they are applied have been refined,

 

[serfty]

Annex 1

'Annex: non-exhaustive list of circumstances considered as extraordinary circumstances for the purposes of this Regulation

1. The following circumstances shall be considered as extraordinary:

• i. natural disasters rendering impossible the safe operation of the flight;
• ii. technical problems which are not inherent in the normal operation of the aircraft, such as the identification of a defect during the flight operation concerned and which prevents the normal continuation of the operation; or a hidden manufacturing defect revealed by the manufacturer or a competent authority and which impinges on flight safety;
• iii. security risks, acts of sabotage or terrorism rendering impossible the safe operation of the flight;
• iv. life-threatening health risks or medical emergencies necessitating the interruption or deviation of the flight concerned;
• v. air traffic management restrictions or closure of airspace or an airport;
• vi. meteorological conditions incompatible with flight safety; and
• vii. labour disputes at the operating air carrier or at essential service providers such as airports and Air Navigation Service Providers.

2. The following circumstances shall not be considered as extraordinary:

• i. technical problems inherent in the normal operation of the aircraft, such as a problem identified during the routine maintenance or during the pre-flight check of the aircraft or which arises due to failure to correctly carry out such maintenance or pre-flight check; and
• ii. unavailability of flight crew or cabin crew (unless caused by labour disputes).