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Friday 19 December 2014

Make sure we monitor air passengers' rights

The representative of Air Passenger Watchdog in EU (Friendly Flying), an associate member of European Passenger Federation (EPF), has had an article published in the journal Regional International. The effectiveness of EU Regulation 261/2004 has been studied. The conclusion reads the regulation is not doing its job properly; and that passengers are still inconvenienced by cancellations, long delays and denial of boarding through overbooking. National Enforcement Bodies, which are responsible for implementing the regulation, often do not receive relevant data from the airlines.

From Friendly Flying's own traveler feedback, most claims arise from one of four problems:
1) The right to use the first option to re-route under comparable conditions.
2) The airlines' duty of care while passengers wait for re-routing and rights to compensation, especially if airlines use their own interpretation of the "extraordinary circumstances" clause.
3) Differing rights in the case of a delay or cancellation.
4) The lack of time limits for lodging complaints.

Some but not all of these issues are being dealt with in the current revision of EC 261/2004. Friendly Flying is constantly monitoring the situation of air passengers in EU. Every passenger can report her/his case here and get support from experts of Air Passenger Watchdog in EU.

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