ORkings spent under the billboards, missed connections, hotels to be found at the last moment and complaint emails that remain unanswered. The inconvenience of flight delays it has become a constant of the European tripso much so that it has become one of the most controversial issues in the relationship between companies and passengers. In Brussels, however, something is moving. The European Parliament has decided to put a stop to governments’ attempts to reduce protection for those who fly, rejecting the proposals of national governments which aimed to lengthen the time needed to obtain compensation and reduce the amounts. A clear choice, arrived with an almost unanimous vote by the Transport Commission, which puts back at the center the principle according to which time wasted at the airport is not a negligible detail.
Flight delays, the EU Parliament chooses the passengers
From here a political battle takes shape that directly affects the daily lives of millions of European travellers. A battle that revolves around questions that are anything but abstract: when a delay becomes a real damage, from what point does the right to compensation start and what value is placed on time lost between gates, delayed boardings and late-night arrivals. But also what can you legitimately expectwithout hidden costs or sudden supplements, the moment you board a plane, from hand luggage to assistance in case of problems. Concrete issues, often experienced with frustration, which today return to the center of the European debate.
The three hours that make the difference
The the central point is the delay. Today, if a flight arrives at its destination more than three hours late, the passenger is entitled to compensation. Governments would have liked to raise the bar, bringing it to four, five or even six hours, depending on the distance of the flight. Parliament said no. Three hours remain three hours. Because, explain the MEPs, for those who travel, even a single lost afternoon can mean a lot: a missed meeting, a ruined holiday, a missed event.
From refunds for delayed flights to the right to carry a hand baggage without extra costs, Brussels is relaunching a clearer and more uniform vision of travellers’ rights (Getty Images)
Compensations are not affected
Another delicate topic: money. Here too, the line is clear. The amounts must remain the current ones, between 300 and 600 eurosbased on the length of the flight. A figure that does not really compensate for the inconvenience, but which at least recognizes that passengers’ time has value. The governments’ proposal to lower the maximum ceiling was rejected. A precise political signal: the burden of inefficiencies cannot always fall on those who buy a ticket.
Less bureaucracy, more concrete rights
Same line for refunds for passengers. Anyone who has tried to ask them knows well how it works: complicated forms, slow answers, infinite silences. Also on this front Parliament tries to make life easier for travellers. The idea is to introduce pre-filled, easy-to-use forms, both for cancellations and long delays. And to allow one year to submit the request, with no races against the calendar. Meanwhile, while waiting at the airport, passengers should be entitled to regular refreshments, a meal after three hours and, in severe cases, even an overnight stay of up to three nights. A limit that protects companies from unlimited costs, but which still guarantees a minimum of assistance to those who remain stranded.
When the company is not responsible
Not everything, however, is attributable to the airlines. Parliament recognizes that in the event of extraordinary events, extreme bad weather, natural disasters, wars, sudden strikes, compensation should not be triggered. The principle is simple: you pay when the problem arises from avoidable inefficiencies, not when it is truly impossible to do more.
The big topic of luggage: what can you really bring
Here the debate hits a raw nerve. Hand luggage, supplements, unclear rules: one of the main reasons for conflict between passengers and low cost airlines. Parliament calls for clearer rules: every traveler should be able to bring on board one personal item (bag, backpack or computer) plus a small hand baggage, without extra costs. The dimensions and weight are defined precisely to avoid arbitrary interpretations. And not only that. MEPs want to eliminate a series of micro-taxes which over the years have increased the final price of the ticket: paying to correct a wrong letter in the name, to check in or to print the boarding pass. Here too the message is clear: the ticket must return to an understandable price, not a foundation on which to build dozens of surcharges.
More attention to those traveling with difficulty
An important chapter concerns people with disabilities, reduced mobility, children and pregnant women. If a passenger misses their flight because airport assistance did not help them reach the gate on time, they must be compensated. Furthermore, qThese categories should have priority at boarding and companions should be able to sit next to them without paying a supplement. A common sense measure that tries to put the dignity of travel back at the centre.
Flight delays, what happens now
The text will now go to the final vote of the European Parliament. Then the discussion will begin with the governments, which remain on more restrictive positions. But the signal is strong: Europe, at least in its Parliament, considers air travel a right to be protected, not a favor to be granted. And for millions of passengers tired of endless waiting and automatic responses, it is already a small, important victory.