The European Parliament validates that airlines compensate for delays but allows them to charge for hand luggage

He European Parliament This Tuesday, it validated the reform of passenger rights that maintains the current thresholds for compensation for delays (between 250 and 600 euros depending on the route), but it does not guarantee the right of travelers to board with a suitcase without extra costsalthough it will force airlines to offer the price of the ticket with a carry-on bag as the first option in searches on-line.

With 646 votes in favor, 12 against and 3 abstentions, the MEPs meeting in Strasbourg (France) thus give the green light to the changes agreed last June between the negotiators of the European Parliament itself and the Council (governments), based on an agreement reached after more than a decade of differences that prevented the revision of the regulations from being carried out sooner.

The Twenty-seven still have to formalize their approval at the beginning of August. so that the updated regulation can come into force after its publication in the Official Journal of the EU (OJEU), from which point countries will have one year to translate the new framework into their legislation.

Among the new features of the new rule is the prohibition for airlines to charge families or dependents a surcharge for guaranteeing seats together for their companions.

With the changes, airlines will also have to inform passengers by email within 96 days if their trip is delayed for which they are entitled to compensation. In such case, the traveler must be clearly informed of their rights and the procedures to follow to obtain compensation, the thresholds of which remain as they were in the current framework.

Airlines will be required to acknowledge receipt of a claim immediately and respond, within 14 days, either by paying compensation or providing clear justification for rejecting the claim.

In this way, compensation for delays of more than three hours of 250 euros is guaranteed for all delayed flights on routes of up to 1,500 kilometers, 400 euros for intra-EU flights and between 1,500 and 3,500 kilometers and 600 euros for other routes. Passengers whose flight is canceled less than 14 days in advance will also be entitled to these compensations.

It is also clear that passengers will be able to board without any additional cost with a carry-on bag that fits under the seat on the plane (such as a backpack or computer case), but the co-legislators have renounced legally protecting the right to also board without paying for it with a carry-on bag in the cabin, as supported by a ruling from the Court of Justice of the EU (CJEU).

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The new rule will require transparency from airlines so that they are obliged to publish as the first price option that of a ticket that includes boarding with a carry-on suitcase in the cabin, but this will not be the lowest price on the route since they could offer a lower fare if the passenger does not travel with that suitcase.

On the other hand, the reform seeks to reinforce the rights of passengers, for example when they accept a voucher as compensation instead of a refund, since the rule makes it clear that these vouchers cannot have an expiration date or inconvenient conditions.

Likewise, fees for administrative name changes or spelling errors are prohibited and airlines will be obliged to send by email to passengers who suffer delays or cancellations all the relevant information to know their rights and the steps to follow to claim the compensation that corresponds to them.

The new framework foresees changes such as that airlines will no longer be able to charge to ensure that minors sit next to their parents and they must also guarantee that if they travel with a baby stroller they can deposit it at the entrance door to the plane and retrieve it in the same place at the end of the flight.

Regarding the right to assistance, the new rule includes the right to receive refreshments every two hours of waiting, in addition to a meal after three hours and every five hours thereafter (up to three meals a day).

Travelers affected by delays must also be guaranteed Internet access and two telephone calls and, if it is necessary to stay one or more nights, the passenger must be accommodated in a hotel free of charge and have free transportation from the accommodation to the airport and vice versa.