Airlines warned over compensation

Passengers are sometimes not told about their right to compensation

Brussels has given airlines and national governments six months to make sure passengers get proper compensation for delayed or cancelled flights.For the last two years, airlines should have been paying passengers up to 600 euros (£400) for a cancelled flight.

However, the European Commission says passengers are often not informed of their rights, and thousands each year say they have not received payouts.

The EC is threatening legal action unless the law is made to work.

“We must make sure that airlines and member states fully comply with their obligations,” said Transport Commissioner Jacques Barrot.

Different rules

An independent study prepared for the European Commission found that passengers whose flight left up to 30 hours late were sometimes being compensated according to the rules for a delay rather than a cancellation.

COMMISSION PRIORITIES Improving enforcement by national authorities Clarifying the way airlines and member states interpret the regulations Defining the difference between delays and cancellations Strengthening the role of the national enforcement bodies

It also found that there were many different interpretations of “exceptional circumstances” that allow airlines to delay or cancel flights without offering compensation.

Passengers who are forced to take another flight because of over-booking are also entitled to compensation.

Meanwhile, maximum fines for airlines that violate the regulation can be as low as 215 euros in one country, or as high as 4m euros in another.

The commission says the number of complaints from people who say they were not properly compensated has been increasing.

The commission itself received 4,000 complaints last year, but many thousands more went to national authorities.

One commission source said this was likely to be the “tip of the iceberg”.

Rail and boat travel

Passengers are also reportedly being kept waiting too long for replies to their claims for compensation.

The commission is planning to bring forward legislation soon to ensure rail and boat passengers are better compensated for delays and cancellations, so it is keen to ensure that the law on compensation for air travellers is working properly first.

It says it will consider amending the legislation.

There is so far no data on the total number of travellers affected by delays and cancellations, but the commission will now make efforts to gather this information.