Brussels: Europe and the Arabs
The European Commission in Brussels published on Monday updated interpretive guidelines on the rights of air passengers. "These guidelines aim to improve compliance with the regulations and promote consistent application by national authorities. Since 2016, the Commission has provided guidelines to address common concerns raised by national enforcement bodies, passengers and their associations, as well as industry representatives. The update published today takes them into account," a European statement said. Special rulings issued by the Court of Justice since 2016, clarifying some provisions. In addition, revised guidelines on the rights of passengers with disabilities and limited mobility during air travel have also been published.
While passenger rights are defined at EU level, their application falls to transport service providers and their implementation falls to national bodies. Differences between national practices can be a source of confusion for passengers, especially when traveling across borders. It can be difficult to find the right support.
However, a new Eurobarometer poll reveals that many Europeans still feel poorly informed about passenger rights, despite increased awareness compared to five years ago.
The guidelines adopted today will help improve the implementation of passenger rights and complement the Commission's efforts to raise public awareness of this issue, in particular through the Your Europe online campaigns as well as the dedicated mobile application for passenger rights.