Air Transport Portal of the European Commission

European Civil Aviation Handbook

Legislation

Air Passenger Rights:

• COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL pursuant to Article 17 of Regulation [EC]261/2004 on the operation and the results of this Regulation establishing common rules on compensation and assistance to passengers in the event of denied boarding and of cancellation or long delay of flights
  COM(2007)0168
   
• COMMISSION STAFF WORKING DOCUMENT
    SEC(2007)0426
   
• Regulation (EC) No 261/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 February 2004 establishing common rules on compensation and assistance to passengers in the event of denied boarding and of cancellation or long delay of flights, and repealing Regulation (EEC) No 295/91
          
  Rectifications:

• Convention for the Unification of Certain Rules for International Carriage by Air  (the Montreal Convention)
  
   
• REGULATION (EC) No 889/2002 OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL of 13 May 2002 on air carrier liability in the event of accidents (the Montreal Convention) (OJ L 140, 30.5.2002, p. 2–5)
   
• Council Directive 90/314/EEC on package travel, package holidays and package tours
   
• Airports and Airlines Voluntary commitments: the Commission has encouraged airlines and airports to prepare voluntary commitments to improve their quality of service. These were presented to the public in May 2001 and since then most airports and airlines have signed up, as recommended by their representative associations. In February 2002 they began progressively to implement them:

Airport Voluntary Commitment on Air Passenger Service
    (size: 30  Kb)

Airline Passenger Service Commitment on Air Passenger Service
    (size: 25  Kb)

Other legislation

• Regulation (EC) no 1107/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 5 July 2006 concerning the rights of disabled persons and persons with reduced mobility when travelling by air
  

• REGULATION (EC) No 2111/2005 OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL of 14 December 2005 on the establishment of a Community list of air carriers subject to an operating ban within the Community and on informing air transport passengers of the identity of the operating air carrier, and repealing Article 9 of Directive 2004/36/EC
   

• COMMISSION REGULATION (EC) No 1546/2006 of 4 October 2006 laying down measures for the implementation of the common basic standards on aviation security
    

Related documents

• The European Court of Justice confirms legality of EU rules
  JUDGMENT OF THE COURT of 10/01/2006  (read also the Press release)

Press releases

• 16/02/2005, Air transport: Europe reinforces passengers’ rights (IP/05/181)
• 16/02/2005,  Transport with a human face: new rights for passengers (IP/05/182)

Factsheet

• "The EU strengthens air travellers' rights"
  

Reference documents

• Proposal for a REGULATION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL concerning the rights of persons with reduced mobility when travelling by air (16/02/2005)
  COM(2005)047

• COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL - Strengthening passenger rights within the European Union (16/02/2005)
  COM(2005)046
   

• In 1991 already the Community adopted legislation on denied boarding caused by overbooking, a practice greatly resented by passengers. This gave them the right to financial compensation and to assistance. In 2001 the Commission made a proposal greatly to strengthen and extend the regulation. One aim was radically to cut the frequency of denied boarding by obliging carriers to seek volunteers to give up their seats in exchange for benefits, instead of refusing them access to a flight. Another was to extend the regulation to cover cancellations and, in part, long delays and non-scheduled as well as scheduled flights. 

COM/2001/0784 final
Proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council establishing common rules on compensation and assistance to air passengers in the event of denied boarding and of cancellation or long delay of flights

Council Regulation (EEC) No 295/91 of 4 February 1991 establishing common rules for a denied-boarding compensation system in scheduled air transport

Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament and the Council Protection of air passengers in the European Union

Commission staff working paper: Air passenger rights in the European Union (SEC(2000)535)

• A further initiative was to guarantee the rights of passengers killed or injured in an accident, as international law dating back to 1929 was quite inadequate. In 1997 the Community adopted legislation on the liability of air carriers in the event of accidents, which introduced modern rules to protect passengers flying on Community airlines. Since then, a new international agreement has been negotiated, the Montreal Convention. This is largely modelled on the Community regulation but also covers delays and mishandling of baggage. The Community has just amended its legislation to align it on Montreal rules. 

Council Regulation (EC) No 2027/97 of 9 October 1997 on air carrier liability in the event of accidents

Regulation (EC) No 889/2002 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 13 May 2002 amending Council Regulation (EC) No 2027/97 on air carrier liability in the event of accidents (Text with EEA relevance)

• Finally, contracts play a central role in defining relations between airlines and their passengers, laying down the rights and obligations of both sides. However passengers are not in a position to negotiate their terms, and indeed often do not know them, while airlines are strongly placed because they set their own conditions. The Commission believes that European legislation is needed to correct the balance. However, as the subject is complex and opinions differ widely on what should be done, the proposal should be developed in close consultation with stakeholders. In June 2002 the Commission published a consultation paper to which it requested responses by 30^th. September.