TRAN Committee’s debate on passenger rights

16 April 2024: The European Parliament's Committee on Transport and Tourism (TRAN) debated the new passenger rights proposals on 9 April. Commission officials outlined three proposals to enhance passenger rights, with a focus on access to refunds in various scenarios. All three Rapporteurs welcomed the package’s proposals but recognised they were unlikely to be concluded in the current mandate.

Deputy Director-General of DG MOVE Jerald Ruijters stressed the importance of passenger rights for delivering on the EU Sustainable and Smart Mobility Strategy, emphasising the need to foster multimodal tickets within the EU and for transport to be more resilient in the face of crises. In particular, the new proposals should address the issues related to the reimbursement of airline tickets bought through intermediary ticket vendors so that liabilities are clarified and passengers can receive their refund within 14 days.

On multimodal journeys, it was stressed that compensation for delays and cancellations should become clearer, with differentiated levels of rights for single contracts and combined tickets. Ruijters also emphasised the need to pay attention to the rights of persons with reduced mobility (PRMs) including free travel for accompanying carers, more accessible formats for consumer information and assistance at transport hubs.

Several MEPs saw a need to provide more information to citizens to ensure they understood their rights. They stated that better consumer awareness and more public information would help improve enforcement.