After thirteen years of stalemate, the turning point on hand luggage has finally arrived. On 15 June, the Council of the EU and the European Parliament reached an agreement on the revision of the rules protecting travellers, a dossier that has been on hold since 2013 and which the low-cost airlines would have liked to shape to their own specifications. The result is a compromise that forces them to review their rates and give up some of their most profitable practices. The agreement, reached within the Conciliation Committee (the body that comes into play when the two institutions are unable to agree in previous readings) updates regulation 261/2004, which has remained substantially unchanged for over twenty years. Now the formal adoption by Parliament and Council will be needed after the legal-linguistic review; the European Chamber is expected to vote in plenary in July.
Hand luggage is included in the ticket price
It is the innovation that most closely affects the Ryanair and easyJet model. To ensure price transparency, fares must already include hand baggage and display it by default before starting the booking, so as to make offers comparable between carriers. If you travel with just a backpack you can still choose a cheaper option, even if the right to carry a small suitcase on board can no longer hide behind a supplement.
No more no-shows: skip a flight, don’t miss the change
Among the new rights stands out the ban on the so-called no-show, the practice whereby anyone who does not show up for an outward flight has their return flight automatically cancelled. The company will no longer be able to deny boarding because a passenger missed a previous route. The ban becomes absolute for people with reduced mobility, pregnant women and unaccompanied minors, who also obtain strengthened protections, such as seats close to companions at no additional cost, priority in assistance and rescheduling, free transport of mobility equipment and guide dogs, free replacement of lost or damaged aids.
Compensation, the three-hour threshold confirmed
The point on which the Council had pushed the most, i.e. raising the threshold for reimbursement to four hours or more, was not passed, therefore the right to compensation remains when a flight arrives more than three hours late or is canceled less than fourteen days before departure. The amounts remain close to the current ones: 250 euros for routes up to 1,500 kilometres, 400 euros for intra-EU flights and for those between 1,500 and 3,500 kilometres, 600 euros for all others.
However, times change. In the event of a delay that gives rise to compensation, the company must inform the passenger electronically within 96 hours of arrival, with clear instructions on how to submit the request. Once received, you must confirm it immediately and respond within thirty days: either pay, or explain in writing why you refuse.
Assistance and reprogramming
During disruptions, the passenger is entitled to meals and drinks at specific times (one meal after three hours, then every five, up to three per day) as well as internet connection and two phone calls. If an overnight stay is necessary, the hotel is paid for by the company, including transport. When assistance is lacking, the traveler can provide it himself and be reimbursed.
On the rescheduling front, if you choose to depart at the first opportunity after a cancellation or denied boarding, you will be able to receive an alternative within three hours, even on another carrier or with a different means of transport. If the company does not respect that deadline, the passenger organizes the trip on his own and requests a refund of up to 400% of the original ticket price.
Exceptional circumstances, narrower limits
The agreement also redraws the boundary of exceptional circumstances, those that relieve the company from the obligation to indemnify. The text introduces a non-exhaustive list of events outside the control of the carrier and requires that they can only be invoked for the flight concerned or, at most, for one of the three previous flights in the rotation of the aircraft, with a direct causal link. The burden of proof remains with the company, which must demonstrate that it has taken all reasonable measures. The new rules will apply to internal EU flights operated by European and non-EU carriers, to arrivals in the Union from third countries on European companies and to departures from the EU to third countries, regardless of the nationality of the carrier. Within three years the Commission will evaluate whether to extend the scope of application to operators from third countries.
