IATA questions the European reform on compensation for flight delays and cancellations

“The European Parliament's vote today is a disappointment for passengers and the air transport industry,” said Willie Walsh, IATA’s Director General. “EU 261 is a failed regulation that has not improved passenger service or airline operational performance. At the same time, it has created an expensive, confusing and unproductive bureaucracy. The changes supported today do not address these fundamental failures.”

Key concerns

The changes approved by the Parliament would increase the delay thresholds for compensation eligibility to 5, 9 or 12 hours, depending on the flight distance. According to IATA, this would lead to more complexity without addressing the underlying issues of the regulation.

IATA also highlighted that the reform does not tackle the lack of clarity in defining extraordinary circumstances, which often results in legal disputes and inconsistent decisions across EU member states.

Call for a more balanced approach

“The Commission’s original proposal offered a more balanced approach that could have delivered genuine improvements for passengers while providing legal certainty for airlines,” added Walsh. “Unfortunately, parliamentarians have chosen a path that preserves the flaws of the existing system.”

Next steps

The file now moves to the next stage of the legislative process, where the European Parliament, the Council and the European Commission will engage in trilogue negotiations. IATA urges EU policymakers to reconsider the proposal and focus on reforms that deliver clarity, efficiency and fairness for both passengers and airlines.

Source: IATA