The Association for Air Passengers Rights Przyjazne
Latanie (Friendly Flying) - the first non-governmental, consumer
organisation protecting air travellers in Poland - has been monitoring the
enforcement of air passenger rights. During a yearly project there are a
couple of actions planned e.g. in depth evaluation (via data analysis and qualitative survey researches) of governmental authorities and
institutions responsible for enforcement of air passenger rights in Poland,
facilitation of communication between passengers and airlines to develop
alternative dispute resolution (ADR). The project is mainly aimed to help and
protect the passengers who travel less frequently, mostly for private
purposes and with their families. Those groups of passengers represent
relatively low awareness of their rights. The activities are implemented as a part
of project for non-governmental organizations called "Citizens for
Democracy", financed from the Funds European Economic Area.
As a long-term
goal of the project is to provide better enforcement of air passenger rights in Poland. For example, the evaluation of complains handling
by various public institutions should result in bigger transparency, while access of air passengers to low cost and easy form of assistance via mediation and /
or arbitration should
increase practical execution of their rights. All groups
of passengers (not only
frequent travellers, who normally possess extra privileges from the airlines), which
means over 24 million people travelling by air in Poland yearly will get easier access and support with enforcing their rights. The project will reduce the disparities and improve
understanding among key stakeholders (air passengers, airlines, airports and
public authorities). The key findings of the monitoring will be
presented in the report, which is to be available in the second half of
January 2015 and planned for a special conference in Warsaw. More information will
follow.