BRUSSELS — European airlines on Tuesday denounced the European Parliament’s transport committee adopting a text that refuses to make it harder for air passengers to get compensation for delayed flights.
The committee text, adopted on Monday in a vote of 34 to 0 with two abstentions, also supports a push to allow people to bring hand luggage on board weighing up to 7 kilograms free of charge.
The text represents the Parliament’s position on the draft reform of air passenger rights.
The position is in stark contrast with proposals from the European Commission and the Council of the EU — which means that the three-way negotiations starting Wednesday are likely to be fraught.
The committee’s position is angering the aviation industry, and on Tuesday, A4E— an airline lobby that includes Lufthansa, Air France-KLM, Ryanair, and British Airways owner IAG — called Parliament’s text “unrealistic.”
The current regulation grants air passengers compensation ranging from €250 to €600, depending on the length of the route, for all flights delayed by at least three hours.
In 2013, the Commission proposed raising the delay threshold to five hours for all intra-EU flights or for flights of up 3,500 kilometers; nine hours for extra-EU flights of between 3,500 km and 6,000 km; and 12 hours for extra-EU flights over 6,000 km.
The file was blocked for years, only moving when the Council in June suggested a threshold of four hours for flights of up to 3,500 km or within the EU, and six hours for flights over 3,500 km.
But the Parliament balked at watering down compensation rights, and negotiators aim to press that position during the upcoming trilogues. The TRAN text also increases the minimum redress for a long delay or cancellation to €300.
“We have several red lines to fight for … the first one is we are not going to accept [increasing the delay to] more than three hours … after which the passenger is entitled to receive a compensation,” said rapporteur Andrey Novakov of the European People’s Party
“Parliament is very united on the question of the three hours,” Jan-Christoph Oetjen, the shadow rapporteur with Renew Europe, told reporters after the vote. “If you go up to four, you rip off the rights of two-thirds of the passengers that are entitled today. So for us, this is a no-go.”
But A4E said: “Extending that window to five hours could prevent up to 40 percent of delays.”
David Curmi, executive chairman of KM Malta Airlines, said: “The current three-hour delay rule … penalizes airlines that do everything possible to avoid cancellations, when in fact, passengers are better served by a delayed flight than no flight at all.”
Talks with EU countries won’t be easy.
In June, the Council opened an unusual EU lawmaking procedure that will force negotiations to conclude within six to eight months, angering MEPs.
“We are quite apart from the Council, mainly because there is distrust between our two institutions,” Novakov said, noting that the Parliament had voted on its first position on the proposal way back in 2014.
“And after these 11 years, they choose a procedure that is limiting our time for negotiations, which I don’t consider to be a really spirit of cooperation and friendship,” Novakov added.
The Parliament’s position also includes the right to carry on one piece of hand baggage weighing up to 7 kilograms for free, even on low-cost airlines, provided it remains “within the maximum dimensions of 100 cm (sum of length, width, and height).” Passengers would also be allowed to bring a small under-seat bag.
The Council wants to allow only one free one bag with maximum dimensions of 40 cm x 30 cm x 15 cm that can fit under the front seat. The Commission supports that idea, and on Oct. 8 launched an infringement proceeding against Spain for fining airlines that charge for larger carry-on bags.
Airlines are also opposed to the Parliament’s position.
“Political calls to impose ‘free’ cabin bags are entirely out of sync with passenger preferences,” said A4E, alleging that passengers prefer cheaper fares and the option to purchase extra bags rather than paying higher fares for a ticket that includes carry-on baggage.
The Parliament position also grants passengers the right to choose between a paper or digital boarding pass — a proposal in stark contrast with Ryanair’s recent announcement that all its passengers will have to show a digital ticket in the airline’s official app as of Nov. 12.
This article has been updated with Tuesday’s reaction.
The post Big bags and generous compensation: EU Parliament backs air passenger rights appeared first on Politico.
