Barrot: air passengers get raw deal

National authorities have let down air travellers by failing to apply EU rules on passengers’ rights, according to a report to be published next week (4 April) by the European Commission.

Jacques Barrot, the transport commissioner, will release a report on member states’ implementation of the two-year-old law on air passenger rights which sets rules for compensation for travellers suffering disruption.

National bodies charged with improving airlines’ behaviour through enforcement of the rules have failed to do their job, the study will show. Despite the introduction of rules which covered overbooking, cancellations and delays passengers have often been left in the lurch.

"The study will show that application of rules is not measuring up to what we want," said Transport Commissioner Jacques Barrot. "Manifestly, national administrations did not put sufficient pressure on companies."

Under the rules, national bodies should have forced airlines to provide refunds or alternative flights for cancellations, overbooking or delays, as well as assistance including meals, drinks and accommodation where necessary.

Airlines complain that they have been scapegoated by legislation. "[Our] argument is that instead of reviewing the existing regulation, the Commission should look at other modes of transport as well," said Sylviane Lust, director-general of the International Air Carrier Association (IACA). "By way of comparison, Eurostar passengers were left stranded earlier this month as there is no similar EU regulation in place for the rail industry."

Lust said passengers were treated "like victims" in the regulation. "We don’t see why they should be treated like victims. IACA’s airlines treat their passengers well, otherwise they will go to the competition," she said.

Posters issued by the European Commission to inform passengers of their rights enraged airlines further. The European Ombudsman in January ordered the Commission to correct misleading information given to passengers after a complaint by IACA and the European Regions Airline Association.

"The posters were giving false expectations to a lot of passengers and IACA reacted to this," said Lust. "We don’t know of any cases that have been brought in member states’ courts on the basis of the posters." But IACA members reported several disputes at airports due to the misleading posters.

The scope of one of the regulation’s clauses, which absolves airlines of responsibility where ‘extraordinary circumstances’ (for example, weather conditions and security alerts) cause problems, remains a subject of debate. The European Court of Justice, acting at the behest of a Danish court dealing with a case brought by SAS, will soon provide a precise definition of ‘extraordinary circumstances’.

The court has already ruled last year that the rules as a whole are fair and proportionate, following a complaint brought by the International Air Transport Association.

The rules have not been a total failure, according to Barrot. Overbooking, for instance, is no longer as common a practice as it was before rules were introduced. Rather than clamping down hard, he will opt for "mobilising national administrations".

"By the end of the year, I want things to have improved significantly," he said.

National authorities have let down air travellers by failing to apply EU rules on passengers’ rights, according to a report to be published next week (4 April) by the European Commission.