ERA WELCOMES COOPERATION OVER PASSENGER RIGHTS

04/04/2007

The European Regions Airline Association (ERA) welcomes today’s move by the European Commission (EC) to increase its cooperation with airlines over the application of the existing regulation on Air Passenger Rights.

However, it is no surprise to ERA that the National Enforcement Bodies (NEBs) have difficulty in enforcing the law, as the law is fundamentally flawed. Although ERA agrees with establishing rights for passengers on ALL modes of transport in certain circumstances, the Association has repeatedly pointed out that Regulation 261/2004 suffers from ambiguity and lack of clarity, and imposes remedies that are sometimes impossible to deliver.

“Inconsistencies in application of the existing Regulation were inevitable,” says Andy Clarke, director Air Transport Policy, ERA. “ERA sympathises with the NEBs over their difficult task to enforce the law.”

Clarke also welcomes the new information on air passenger rights published today on the European Commission’s website, replacing information found by the European Ombudsman to contain inaccurate and misleading statements. “This new information should reduce conflicts at airports due to passengers’ misunderstandings of their rights,” he says.

Clarke adds, “ERA urges the European Commission, the Council of Ministers and Members of the European Parliament to give the same attention to passengers using other forms of transport. It is inexcusable that, five years after first proposing rights for air passengers, no other passengers yet benefit from rights imposed under European law.” 

ENDS