18 January 2024: The European Commission (DG MOVE) recently launched 2 targeted stakeholders’ consultations on the revision of the interpretative guidelines concerning Regulation EU261/2004 on air passenger rights and Regulation EU1107/2006 on the rights of persons with disabilities and persons with reduced mobility (PRMs) when using air transport. This initiative complements the ongoing revision of the EU framework governing passenger rights, as part of the recently adopted Passenger Mobility Package. Feedback is open until 29 February 2024.

ERA has already shared the draft revised texts with its Industry Affairs representatives.

The drafted new interpretative guidelines update the 2016 guidelines on air passenger rights to include the relevant CJEU rulings handed down between 2016 and the publication of these guidelines. Around 70 additional judgements have been incorporated into the existing text and the Commission has made it clear in its letter to the stakeholders that this is a “purely technical exercise,” which does not extend the subjects covered in the guidelines beyond the Court's rulings. A new section on massive travel disruptions has also been added (section 6), which essentially covers the COVID-19 period.

Regarding the air PRM guidelines, the revised text is much more detailed and complete compared to the 2012 one and contains many references to ECAC Doc 30 and the European Accessibility Act. In particular, the sections relating to pre-notification (5.4), refusal of reservation or embarkation (5.5), accompanying persons (5.6), assistance dogs (5.7), reservation of seats (5.8), transmission of information to the airport and operating air carrier (5.9) and more broadly the section related to the assistance provided by the air carrier (8) mainly affects airlines.

Next steps

• ERA will be discussing the draft revised interpretative guidelines during its next Industry Affairs Group meeting on 24 January, along with the recently adopted Passenger Mobility Package, and will circulate a draft response to the targeted consultation at the beginning of February.