Economy

Europe agrees to allow charging for hand luggage and cut compensation for delayed flights

The agreement, which also contemplates allowing the charging of hand luggage and which must be negotiated in the European Parliament, has been rejected by Spain, Germany, Portugal and Slovenia

EFE-EKN

esperas en el aeropuerto de lanzarote en una imagen de archivo

The Transport Ministers of the European Union (EU) have agreed this Thursday to modify the community regulations to increase from three to four hours the time a flight must be delayed for passengers to have the right to claim compensation.

The text, which was rejected by Spain, Germany, Portugal and Slovenia for considering that the position represents a setback in passenger rights, still has to be negotiated with the European Parliament.

According to the position agreed by the EU members, passengers on airplanes that are delayed for four hours will be able to request a financial compensation of 300 euros if the journey of a flight is 3,500 kilometers and 500 euros on flights that exceed that distance and are delayed six hours.

The current legislation provides 250 euros to passengers if the flight incurs a delay of three hours or more when traveling a distance of 1,500 kilometers, 400 euros if the journey is between 1,500 and 3,500 kilometers and 600 euros for longer flights.

The revision of the Air Passenger Rights Regulation supported by the Member States also adds new rights for people with disabilities or mobility problems and proposes that airlines have to provide passengers with an automatic form to process their claims.

The Polish rotating presidency of the EU Council described the agreement between the capitals as "historic", which was based on an initial proposal made by the European Commission in 2013.

The agreement represents a reduction compared to the initial proposal from Warsaw, which suggested raising the delays that entitle to compensation from 3 to 5 hours and which, throughout successive modifications, obtained the support of countries initially reluctant such as Slovakia, Belgium, the Netherlands or Italy.

The Spanish Secretary of State for Transport and Sustainable Mobility, José Antonio Santano, spoke out against the latest version of the text, which was retouched by the Polish presidency to avoid the blockade.

"We cannot support the proposal," said the Secretary of State in the last round of interventions, who reiterated that raising the threshold of hours of delay to obtain compensation is a "red line" for Spain.


 

Spain does not want "loss of rights" of passengers in debate on compensation and delays

The agreement "clearly worsens the position of travelers in our territory," added Santano, who stressed that the issue is "very sensitive" in Spain.

However, the Spanish holder acknowledged "that there have been advances and an effort of negotiation and some aspects that interested us that have been included".

In the previous debate during the morning, Santano had conveyed that another of Spain's concerns was the lack of clarity in the definition of the "technical problems" that could free airlines from paying compensation.

"There is a risk that any technical failure can be considered as an exempting cause. Spain demands a legally precise wording, that technical causes are not used in a generalized way to avoid compensating," he said.

Germany also considered that the agreement "implies a reduction in the level of consumer protection", a circumstance that they hope to improve in the negotiation with the Eurochamber, while Portugal considered it unacceptable to raise the hours of compensation because it is a peripheral country.

The airlines, and those who supported making the compensation regime more flexible, argue that the strict compensation policy means that companies sometimes prefer to cancel a flight than pay for delays.

The countries that preferred to maintain the 3 hours consider, on the other hand, that this argument in favor of the competitiveness of the airlines is not based on tangible data.

The European Commissioner for Transport, the Greek Apostolos Tzitzikostas, asked the Member States during the debate to seek a "balance between the effective protection of passenger rights and the reasonable effects on carriers is preserved", but urging the capitals to reach an agreement.

"If we do not reach an agreement today, this can have enormous effects on passengers," said Tzitzikostas.

The European Consumer Association, BEUC, pointed out that the EU countries are trying to "reverse key rights of air passengers", because "most delays are between 2 and 4 hours", and asked MEPs for firmness to "protect fundamental rights".