EU member states have agreed on a plan that will make it less likely for travelers to be entitled to compensation when their flight is delayed. The plan still needs to be approved by the European Parliament.
Passengers are currently eligible for compensation if their flight is delayed by more than three hours. However, the new plan increases this delay limit. Passengers on short-haul flights must have at least four hours of delay to be eligible for compensation. For long-haul flights, there must be at least six hours of delay.
In addition, the compensation amounts that travelers are entitled to will change. For delays on short-haul flights, the compensation will be 300 euros, instead of 250 euros. For long-haul flights, this amount will decrease: from 600 to 500 euros.
The European Commission’s plan to adjust passenger rights in the event of delays dates back to 2013, writes The Guardian. It took twelve years for EU member states to reach a breakthrough in negotiations this week. Now the European Parliament must consider the plan.
Consumer associations are critical of the plan. The European consumer organization BEUC states that the plan “deprives the majority of passengers of their compensation rights.” According to BEUC, most delays are between two and four hours.
Airlines are also critical. They believe that the delay should be even greater before passengers can claim compensation. Airline association Airlines for Europe tells The Guardian that “Europe has been waiting twelve years for transparent and workable passenger rights,” but that EU member states “forgot to deliver at the last moment.”