New EU rules stipulate that passengers must get refunds in 14 days for cancelled flights
During the covid-19 pandemic, the EC says, passengers were subjected to "mass cancellations" of flights and package holidays, and were exposed to the resulting liquidity problems of travel operators. The commission says the new rules are built upon “lessons learned” during the pandemic, and events such as the bankruptcy of travel firm Thomas Cook. File photo: Sasko Lazarov/Photocall Ireland
Passengers whose flights get cancelled will have to be given a refund within two weeks, under new rules officially adopted by the European Commission (EC) on Wednesday.
The refund rules form part of a series of new EC proposals aimed at strengthening the rights of passengers.
During the covid-19 pandemic, the EC says, passengers were subjected to "mass cancellations" of flights and package holidays, and were exposed to the resulting liquidity problems of travel operators. The commission says the new rules are built upon “lessons learned” during the pandemic, and events such as the bankruptcy of travel firm Thomas Cook.
In a memorandum setting out passengers’ updated rights, the EC said the new rules would better protect passengers against cancellations, while also providing for “smoother journeys, especially those involving different travel services or transport modes, ensuring that passengers have access to direct support, and enhanced real-time information, for example on delays and cancellations.”
Many of the rules included in the new proposals, the EC says, address shortcomings in the “implementation and enforcement” of existing legislation which it says have prevented passengers from “fully benefitting” from their rights.
As regards refunds, the new proposals differentiate between service providers (airlines), package holiday organisers (travel agencies etc), and passengers.
- Package organisers will have the right to a refund from service providers within 7 days, enabling them, in turn, to refund passengers within 7 days;
- Downpayments made for package holidays will not be allowed to be higher than 25% of the package price, except in instances where the provider can justify requiring a higher payment;
- Travellers offered a voucher for a delayed/cancelled flight will have be informed of the characteristics of the voucher before they accept it, and these vouchers will also have to be refunded automatically if they aren’t used by the end of their validity period. Passengers will also have the option to insist on a refund.
- And holidaymakers will be able to receive clearer information on who might be liable for the issues they might experience while travelling.
The new proposals also include specific sections on the rights of passengers with disabilities and reduced mobility, and on ‘multimodality’ i.e. the use of a combination of modes of transport.
The new rules state that persons with reduced mobility, who switch from one transport mode to another during their journey, must be “assisted at connecting points by carriers and terminal operators when they travel under a single contract of carriage or when they travel through multimodal passenger hubs.”
If an airline obliges that these persons be accompanied by someone due to aviation requirements, the airline will have to transport this accompanying person free of charge, and sit them next to the individual they are assisting, if practical.
“The outbreak of the covid-19 pandemic shook up the travel industry and reminded everyone of the importance of guaranteeing strong consumer rights at all times,” European Commissioner for Justice Deirdre Reynders said on Wednesday.
“We drew the conclusions of these shortcomings in this revision of the Package Travel Directive, and we decided to step up protection for travellers.”
Ms Reynders said the new rules also meant the right for refund for travellers will now be “bullet-proof”.
European Commissioner for Transport, Adina Vălean said the EU had the strongest passenger rights framework in the world “but that does not mean that we should not do even better, learning from more than a decade of experience in this area.”
“In addition to improving the way existing rules are applied and enforced, we are looking to fix three main gaps with these proposals: First, to ensure passengers are equally well protected and cared for when booking their tickets with intermediaries; second, to extend protections to passengers who combine different modes in one journey; and third, to step up special assistance for passengers with disabilities and ensure that their right to travel in dignity is respected,” she added.
- More information on the EC’s new legislative proposals can be found here.
