Air transport: what could change for you in the coming months

The European regulation on air passenger rights, in place for more than 20 years, will be revised. Objective: to better protect travelers against delays, cancellations and other unforeseen events. Discover the key measures that could soon change your travels.

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Soon new ones rights in favor of passengers European airlines? It’s on track. In the coming months, the European regulation (No. 261/2004), which offers protection for air passengersshould be revised. As a reminder, Poland, currently in the presidency of the Council of the European Union for six months, made this revision “a priority of its program” to better protect travelers, specifies the European Consumer Center, on its website.

For Anaïs Escudié, founder of RetardVol.fr, defending legal service passenger rightsit was time to modernize this regulation: “It is over 20 years old. Since its adoption, many new cases have arisen and which have been settled by the case law of the Court of Justice of the European Union.” The expert, via a think tank made up in particular of Nicolas Balat, director of Ifurta (Institute for University Training and Research in Air Transport), had submitted a French proposal to revise the regulation to the European Commission on May 31, 2024. .

A few weeks later, on July 22, the Commission published guidelines “taking up many of our proposals», assures Anaïs Escudié. However, these guidelines are not legally binding. So, if these measures were adopted as they are by the Council of the European Union, what benefits would they offer passengers?

What changes for air passengers in the coming months?

The 2004 European regulation which protects users in the event of denied boarding, cancellation or delay significant amount of a flight could therefore align with more generous and protective foreign legislation such as Canada, the United States or Saudi Arabia. For the air law specialist, the Commission took into consideration the decisions of the Court of Justice allowing a “consistent application of rules“.

Canceled or delayed flights: what will your rights be?

According to the Commission’s guidelines, chaired by Ursula Von Der Leyenflights brought forward by more than an hour, flights turning back to the original airport, but also diverted flights (when flights are voluntarily redirected to another airport for various reasons – weather, breakdowns, etc. .), should be considered as canceled flights. However, if your plane is diverted to another airport located in the same city or region as that of takeoff (departure), it will be considered delayed and not canceled. In addition, the Commission explicitly specifies that a delay of more than 3 hours should give rise to the same compensation as a cancellation.

How airlines should better inform passengers

The Commission plans to strengthen the obligation of airlines to better informed their passengers. In case of delay of more than 3 hours or cancellationthe air carrier must clearly communicate the name and address of the responsible company, with which passengers can file a claim for compensation. They will also have to remind passengers of their rights in a “written explanatory note”, explains RetardVol.fr.

Focus on the right to rerouting or reimbursement

Another measure recommended by the Commission to protect your rights before the revision of the European regulation: if the airline offers you the choice between a refund of your ticket or reroutingit will be obliged to provide you with all the necessary information on these two options. In its guidelines, the Commission also reaffirms an essential principle: “Affected passengers are not required to actively contribute to finding relevant information themselves.» Furthermore, if the company cancels a flight and refunds your original ticket, but you have to buy a new ticket at a higher price, it is required to cover the difference.