On Monday, the Transport and Tourism Committee adopted its negotiating guidelines on changes to EU air passenger rights by 34 votes in favour and two abstentions. The MEPs are seeking to ensure that passengers are taken care of when they are denied boarding, or their flights are cancelled or delayed.

No stepping back on current rights

Transport Committee MEPs stand firmly behind the current rules and want to maintain air travellers’ rights to be reimbursed or re-routed, and to claim compensation if a flight is delayed by more than three hours or cancelled, or if they are denied boarding.

On conditions for triggering compensation, MEPs disagree with Council’s push to increase the flight delay deadline to four or six hours. They want to keep a three-hour flight delay deadline regardless of distance travelled. The distance would only matter for the total compensation passengers could claim (from 300 to 600 euros), they add. Passengers of cancelled flights or who were denied…