The new provisional agreement between the European Parliament and the Council brings significant improvements to air passengers’ rights, which maintains the right to compensation for delays of more than three hours and introduces additional safeguards for families and travelers. The agreement, which was unanimously approved by the European Parliament’s delegation to the Conciliation Committee, provides, among other things, for free seat selection for children under 14 next to their accompanying adult, greater transparency in ticket pricing, and clearer procedures for claiming compensation in the event of flight disruptions.

Speaking on the ALPHA Kalimera program, Virginia Christou, legal officer of the Cyprus Consumers’ Association, stated that the final text will be finalized after review by the European Commission.

“The measures that were announced in advance will take effect in 12 months. For now, passengers’ rights remain as they are today.”

The first measure that passengers consider most important is the timeframe for delays, which, despite efforts, has not changed at this time.

“A list is now being created defining what constitutes ‘extraordinary circumstances.’ A very strict list is now being established. One of the points we had raised was that strikes by flight attendants (…) should be excluded and not considered an extraordinary circumstance. Meanwhile, strikes by air traffic controllers will be considered an emergency.”

At the same time, airlines will be required to inform passengers of their rights within 94 hours, and a framework for responses and compensation has been established.

“We still have cases from the COVID-19 period where passengers were not compensated— who were unaware that they needed to file complaints, and even those who did file complaints have not received their refunds.”

Ms. Christou highlighted cases involving minors under the age of 18 as well as individuals with mobility impairments, where airlines had been charging for an accompanying person—a practice that has now been abolished.

Here’s what Ms. Virginia Christou said on the Alpha Kalimera show:

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