The revision to Regulation (EU) No. 261/2004 is generating alarm among consumer protection associations. Airadvisor, a platform that specializes in the defense of air passenger rights, warned on Tuesday that the new rules may represent the end of free hand luggage on the community space.
The proposal was approved, in its first phase, by the Council of Ministers of the European Union (EU) on June 5 and now goes to vote in the European Parliament. If you get the approval of the MEPs, free hand luggage transport with conventional dimensions may become a memory of the past.
Personal item replaces cabin bag
According to Anton Radchenko, CEO of Airadvisor, “the proposed change represents the end of the free hand bags free”, limiting this right only to a small personal item (40x30x15 cm), which must be under the front seat.
It is, according to the same responsible, a redefinition that “transforms a basic right into a paid privilege.” The change, to realize, will have an impact on millions of passengers, forcing the acquisition of higher rates or the payment of additional fees.
Division between Member States
The proposal has already generated divisions within the Council. Poland expressed support for the new text, while countries such as Germany, Portugal, Slovenia and Spain presented reservations, alerting to the negative effects of the measure.
Increased costs and reduced rights
Airadvisor considers that these changes represent a “deep reduction in travelers’ rights” and a reversal of consolidated guarantees over the past two decades in the European civil aviation sector. The impact may be significant for consumers, with increasing costs associated with intraeuropeias displacements.
Reduction in compensation values
Another controversial point of the proposal concerns the regime of financial compensation in case of delays and cancellations. If passengers can currently be entitled to 600 euros on medium -range flights, this value would be reduced to 300 euros. On long -haul flights, maximum compensation would become 500 euros.
Airadvisor criticizes this decrease, noting that “passengers will be penalized and will not even have the right to complain”, as the new deadlines for a situation to be considered indemnifiable are longer: four hours on flights up to 3,500 km and six hours for intercontinental flights.
So far, the three -hour delay has been the widely accepted criterion in Europe, being considered by experts as a minimum protection standard. For Anton Radchenko, weaken this principle sends the message that “the time and discomfort of passengers no longer matters.”
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“No-Show” can cancel return flights again
Among the remaining changes provided for, the eventual return of the so-called “Compassion Rule”, also known as “No-Show”, stands out. With this clause, airlines may automatically cancel the return flight of a passenger who has not boarded the first leg.
The measure, already widely contested in the past, could cause “huge inconvenience to citizens,” says Radchenko, who considers the proposal “an unprecedented setback.”
According to, the planned changes will also make it difficult to perform national consumer protection entities. In Spain, for example, the Ministry of Consumption fined low -cost companies for a total of 179 million euros due to the illegal handbag and marking of places, practices that, with the new regulation, would be allowed.
In addition, it is estimated that about 60% of European passengers will see their diminished rights, even when they face delays, cancellations or charges that have so far been the target of sanctions.
Charges for marking places are no longer illegal
The proposal also provides for the express legalization of the charging for marking places. This is a particularly sensitive point in markets such as Portuguese and Spanish, where authorities have already acted against business practices considered abusive by airlines.
Radchenko considers that “the approval of the new text will leave millions of unprotected consumers in the face of increasingly frequent problems in European aviation” and will contribute to “a shake on confidence in the block’s air transport system.”
Voting in Parliament will be the decisive moment
The proposal is now awaiting a vote in the European Parliament, in a session that is expected to take place in the coming weeks. The outcome will be decisive for the future of air passenger rights in the EU and, in particular, to find out whether or not the free hand luggage has the days counted.
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