The European Commission has adopted the Passenger Mobility Package which includes a set of proposals aimed at assisting passengers in their travel. This package includes revisions on passenger rights, but trade association European Regions Airlines (ERA) has argued that ‘much more is needed’ to provide clarity for both airlines and consumers alike.

The association has said that while it welcomes outdated regulations being revised, such as measures to ensure a fairness across all modes of transport, proposed rules that but the burden on the airline to provide compensation and onward travel are not acceptable, and the definition of certain terms, such as what constitutes and ‘extraordinary circumstance’ need to be resolved.

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Montserrat Barriga, Director General, ERA, said: “We can’t say this enough. The existing outmoded passenger rights legislation in Europe urgently needs to be revised. The current legislation, in particular in relation to the definition of ‘extraordinary circumstances’, is open to misinterpretation and desperately needs legislative clarity rather than haphazard judicial clarification. Our industry works hard to ensure the rights of its passengers are protected and upheld, however greater input from airlines should be taken into consideration to ensure this regulation is relevant and appropriate for today’s modern air transport industry.”