Passenger compensation for flight delays set to decrease in Europe

Airline passengers in the EU enjoy the world's most generous system of compensation if their flight is delayed or cancelled.

However these rights seem set to decrease after the European Council agreed to an overhaul of compensation rules, following intense lobbying from the airline industry.

The agreement to extend delay times and cut compensation levels was made at a European Council summit, despite opposition from Germany and Spain.

Controversially, the Council bypassed discussions with the European Parliament and made its decision legally binding using a process that has not been deployed in more than a decade.

However the European Parliament can still make changes to the new rules - it has four months to respond with a proposal that must be backed by a majority of 361 MEPs.

So what changes?

The ruling doesn't scrap all the customer protections, but it changes the rules on compensation payments - changing both the payment amounts and the delay time after which compensation rules kick in.

Under current EU Air Passenger Rights Regulation rules, passengers can claim between €250 and €600 in compensation if a flight is delayed by at least three hours, if the delay is the fault of the airline.

Under the agreed changes, compensation will only be due after a four-hour delay for flights of less than 3,500 kilometres.

For longer flights, airlines would be obliged to pay compensation if flights land at least six hours late, compared to the current three-hour standard.

Under the new rules, €300 compensation will apply for delays of more than four hours – while €500 will be payable for delays of more than six hours involving flights of more than 3,500km.

In exchange for the higher delay thresholds, airlines will have to streamline the complex and obfuscatory compensation process - in which many airlines make it very complicated to claim financial compensation but very easy to claim airline vouchers.

There is also a strengthening of the rights for passengers with a disability.

And what doesn't change?

Other compensation rules remain unchanged, especially around the 'extraordinary circumstances' definition which covers whether airlines have to provide any compensation at all.

Compensation for delays or cancellations is not paid if the problem is due to “extraordinary circumstances” – the exact definition of this in the legislation is vague but it generally applies to situations like extreme weather, political instability, security risks or problems with air traffic control.

Strikes are usually not considered to be extraordinary circumstances, neither are routine mechanical problems or staff shortages.

The rules cover airlines that are registered in the EU – such as the Ireland-based Ryanair – or flights taking off from an EU or Schengen zone country. Since Brexit the rules no longer apply to the UK, but the British government has mostly "copied and pasted" it into UK legislation.

READ ALSO Fears EU plans to 'water down' air passengers' rights in review

Also unchanged are rules on flight cancellations and airlines responsibility to provide food, accommodation and alternative travel for passengers whose flights are delayed or cancelled.

In truth this is not well policed - passengers are often simply told to make their own arrangements for accommodation and alternative travel and submit compensation claims to the airline later. Airlines do, however, routinely provide refreshments, usually in the form of food vouchers to passengers whose flights are delayed.

Why the change?

In a word - lobbying.

Airlines had argued that the compensation payments were too high, especially for budget airlines where the compensation may be higher than the cost of the ticket.

Airlines also said that they were unable to provide a replacement aircraft and crew within three hours in many European locations, and that this can lead to additional flights being cancelled because high compensation payments have already been incurred.

READ ALSO What are your rights in Europe if your flight is delayed or cancelled?

When does this happen?

The change is not immediate, first the European Parliament has four months to stage any objections and if no objection is received, then an introduction date will be set.

So we can say for sure that this summer holiday period will still be covered by the old rules.