The negotiations are being conducted under the auspices of the European Parliament, with the active participation of European airlines, consumer advocacy groups and EU member states. And the positions of the parties are still almost diametrically opposed, Euronews notes.
Industry associations in Europe warn that the current draft could increase annual airline costs by at least 40. This, they say, will lead to an increase in fares and the closure of unprofitable routes.
The key stumbling block is the threshold of compensation for flight delays. Now passengers are entitled to payments from 250 to 600 euros for delays of more than three hours. The new draft proposes to increase the minimum compensation to 300 euros, while retaining the three-hour threshold.
Airlines are pushing to raise the threshold to five hours, while the EU Council is considering keeping the three-hour threshold but lowering the payouts. Consumer organizations are sharply opposed: according to them, raising the threshold would deprive most passengers of the right to compensation.
“The average delay is between two and four hours. Increasing the threshold to four hours would deprive 60% of passengers of compensation,” Euronews quoted Steven Berger of the European Consumer Organization (BEUC) as saying.
In addition to compensation, they are discussing the inclusion of hand luggage in the basic ticket price, banning no-show clauses and introducing standardized refund forms. According to BEUC, only one-third of passengers today actually receive their entitlements, and the new rules could significantly improve the situation.
But so far the parties are not ready to make concessions, which has stalled negotiations in the European Parliament. For the measures to take effect, they must be approved by the EU Council, the European Parliament and the European Commission. MEPs generally support consumer demands, but there is still no qualified majority in the Council.
On the first day of winter, December 1, inter-ministerial negotiations between the Council, Parliament and Commission will resume again. Denmark, which currently holds the rotating presidency of the Council, has asked member states to be “pragmatic”. The problem is that the revision of EU rules is now in the process of its second reading. If no common position can be found among the member states, the negotiations will have to go back to the original positions and start afresh with the European Commission and the European Parliament.
