A new socio-economic impact report, conducted by leading European economics consultancy Oxera, warns that the EU’s passenger rights rules revision (EU261) could paradoxically isolate Europe’s peripheral, island, and remote populations. The report warns that the proposed revisions could put thousands of thin routes and millions of jobs, generated by regional aviation, at risk. They could also double the aviation industry’s annual regulatory burden from €8.1 billion to over €15 billion. By forcing a rigid, ‘one-size-fits-all’ compensation scheme onto thin regional routes, the policy risks triggering route withdrawals, cutting off vulnerable populations from critical healthcare, education, and economic lifelines.