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EU countries have agreed to increase the amount of time passengers will have to wait after 12 years of negotiations before passengers can claim compensation for delayed flights.
Passengers can only apply for compensation for short-distance flights if they are delayed more than four hours, but they will have to wait six hours for long-distance flights, the EU Minister of Transport said Thursday.
Currently, passengers can apply for compensation if they are late for more than three hours.
The minister also agreed to increase compensation for people who delayed on short-distance flights from 250 to 300 euros, as part of revisions to 31 different air passenger rights, but reduced it from 600 to 500 euros on long-distance flights.
Other rights agreed to include automating forms for compensation, limiting the basis for refusing refunds, and more liability for the airline providing rerouting and accommodation in the event of long delays, as well as strengthening the rights of passengers with disabilities.
The revision of the EU’s air passenger rights was first proposed by the European Commission in 2013, but it took 12 years for the EU to reach an agreement on the time frame for compensation.
The airline claimed that by mandating a longer delay threshold, it would provide “a combat opportunity to minimize delays and avoid cancellation of flights,” the European industry airline (A4E) said in a letter this week to the German Minister of Transport.
The A4E represents major European airlines, including Lufthansa, Air France KLM and Ryanair.
70% of cancelled flights say they can save on a five-hour threshold “who benefits up to 10mn passengers per year.”
“Europe has been waiting for 12 years for transparent and viable passenger rights, and Member States have fallen into the final hurdle, and Member States have diluted the European Commission’s original proposal and introduced further complexity,” the A4E said in a statement.
The European Commission initially proposed extending the number to five hours for short flights and nine hours for long flights.
However, politicians are moving away from conveying a politically unvariable message that passengers must lose. Germany, along with Spain, was one of the most powerful opponents to raise limits.
In a statement on Thursday, a German lawmaker from the European People’s Party, Europe’s biggest political group, said, “Reducing the right to compensation for air passengers would be a step in the wrong direction. Refunds after a three-hour delay have been the norm for many years and should be.”
“No politician would like to say more than four hours,” said a senior EU diplomat.
Member States must negotiate with the European Parliament before the amendment becomes the final act.
