Rights of air passengers to be improved
Formal discussions to improve existing rules on compensation and refunds to airline passengers when their travel plans are disrupted began yesterday at a meeting of EU transport ministers in Luxembourg.
Transport Minister Leo Varadkar, who chaired yesterday’s meeting, said the proposed measures, if accepted, would provide greater clarity for both passengers and airlines. “The number one priority is to ensure that stranded passengers can return to their point of departure,” he said.
The measures, which are expected to be in place by 2014, include proposals to allow passengers to have the option of seeking reimbursement of the price of their flight in cases where there is a delay of more than five hours and the passenger decides to cancel their trip.
Airlines will also be obliged to inform and offer explanations to passengers about delays within 30 minutes of the scheduled take-off time. They will also have to acknowledge all passenger complaints within seven days.
In a move to counter a recent trend, the EU is proposing to ban airlines from imposing charges for correcting a name that has been misspelt. The proposals will allow for passengers to have a correction made once up to 48 hours before the departure of a flight.
Other measures will allow musicians to bring smaller-sized instruments on board an aircraft provided they can be stowed safely.
Meanwhile, the Commission for Aviation Regulation (CAR) has reported a 20% reduction in queries from the public about air passenger rights in 2012.
The CAR said it received 3,272 queries last year. However, the vast majority were outside the its responsibility.
Out of a total of 807 formal complaints received in 2012, which mostly related to cancellations and delays, around 37% were passed on to similar authorities in other countries as they concerned flights departing from airports in other EU member states.
The CAR noted there was a significant ruling by the European Court of Justice last year which confirmed that passengers whose flights were delayed by more than three hours were entitled to compensation. Previously, compensation could only be claimed by passengers whose flights had been cancelled.
It said growing public awareness of air passenger rights may explain why such a high proportion of last year’s complaints related to delayed flights. They accounted for 41% of all complaints in 2012.
The CAR investigated 509 complaints last year. The CAR’s annual report on air passenger rights shows 57% of cases were found to be either unsustainable under EU regulations or were withdrawn, while 14% of investigations are ongoing.
Airlines were able successfully to invoke exceptional circumstances in 12% of the total, while customers were paid compensation in 11% of cases and received a refund of ticket cost and/or expenses in 4% of cases.
