Europese Commissie over de rechten van vliegtuigpassagiers (en)

On the Commission’s initiative, a meeting on the rights of passengers travelling by air was held on 2 and 3 December. The event, which brought together the trade and national administrations, reviewed the application of European regulations. The Commission announced its intention to adopt the corrective measures required early next year.

“Passengers’ rights must be recognised and respected. The two Regulations on air passengers' rights, including air passengers with reduced mobility, are strong proof that Europe protects its citizens. I will now take firm action to ensure that they are fully complied with”, said Antonio Tajani i, the European Commission Vice-President responsible for transport.

As regards the “air passengers’ rights” Regulation (Regulation (EC) No 261/2004), the Vice-President announced his intention to initiate infringement proceedings soon against those Member States still not ensuring proper application of the Regulation, and to propose that the Commission adopt a communication on air passengers’ rights in 2009. The communication will review the state of play of application of Regulation (EC) No 261/2004 by all the parties concerned, including the national authorities responsible for enforcing passengers’ rights. The communication will also deal with other aspects related to passengers’ rights going beyond the Regulation.

Regulation (EC) No 1107/2006, which has been fully applicable since 26 July 2008, gives disabled persons and those with reduced mobility for other reasons access to air travel comparable to that enjoyed by other passengers travelling by air from, to and in transit through an airport in the European Union, without discrimination or extra cost. The Commission hopes effective and immediate application of these measures will provide an adequate response to the needs of a large section of the population which will continue to grow given the demographic ageing of Europe. 2009 will also be crucial to the success of these measures.