Press Release: Ombudsman praises Commission for its role in air passenger rights case

The European Ombudsman, P. Nikiforos Diamandouros, commended the European Commission for its exemplary handling of a complaint concerning air passenger rights. A German traveller, whose Air France flight was cancelled, claimed not to have received any assistance or compensation from the airline involved or the responsible French supervisory body, with whom he could not communicate because of language problems. He alleged that the Commission had not fulfilled its responsibility to ensure that EU rules on air passenger rights are properly applied in the Member States.

The Ombudsman's investigation showed that the Commission had actively pursued the complaint. In the meantime, the airline compensated the complainant. The Ombudsman agreed with the Commission that the primary responsibility to ensure that air passenger rights are respected lies with the Member States. The Commission must ensure, however, that the Member States give effect to these rights. He, therefore, encouraged it to help national supervisory authorities to find better ways of dealing with language barriers that European travellers might encounter when they have problems.