European Commission sets out measures to strengthen enforcement of air passenger rights

European Commission sets out measures to strengthen enforcement of air passenger rights

2011-04-12 02:15:55 GMT+7 (ICT)

BRUSSELS (BNO NEWS) -- The European Commission on Monday set out a series of measures to clarify and strengthen the enforcement of passenger rights legislation across the European Union.

The announcement was made by European Commission Vice-President Siim Kallas who added that he intends to open a dialogue with stakeholders to review the EU's air passenger rights Regulation 261, with a proposal from the Commission in 2012.

"Overall EU passenger rights legislation has been a huge step forwards, providing a 'safety net' for passengers, vastly reducing certain commercial practices and raising standards throughout the industry," said the Commission Vice-President.

Kallas' proposed review would clarify key issues such as limits for liability in case of extraordinary circumstances, compensation thresholds, effective re-routing of passengers, shared risk between operators in the supply chain and protection in the case of mishandled luggage or re-scheduled flights.

"The next big push will be to step up enforcement – it is not enough to have rights on paper, they must be applied on the ground. Looking ahead there are issues we also need to revisit and for that we need a detailed analysis and a revision of the law," added Kallas.

The Vice-President remarked that the lessons learned during the 2010 ash crisis and snow must be taken into account to effectively plug loopholes, strengthen provisions, and clarify issues for passengers and industry.

In the short term, the Commission will take three measures to improve pan-European application of passenger rights: stepping up information and awareness campaigns; creating a forum for feedback from consumers and strengthening the mandate of the network of national enforcement bodies (NEBs).

In 2011, the Commission will launch an impact assessment and public consultation on issues to be potentially in the future revision of Regulation 261, including a range of issues from clarification on liability in the case of extraordinary circumstances, proportionality of compensation, and effective re-routing.

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