EU considers extending flight delay thresholds

The European Union is weighing up a controversial proposal to allow airlines to operate with longer delays without having to compensate passengers – a move that has outraged consumer groups and divided member states, AFP reports.

On Wednesday (today), representatives from the EU’s 27 countries are set to meet in Brussels to discuss the reform, which supporters argue would lead to fewer flight cancellations across Europe.

Currently, airlines are obliged to pay travellers up to €600 for delays exceeding three hours, or if a flight is cancelled within 14 days of departure. These protections, dating back to 2004, have long been seen as a hallmark of the EU’s commitment to consumer rights.

However, airlines contend that the compensation rules impose a heavy financial burden, which “perversely” encourages them to cancel delayed flights outright in order to avoid disrupting broader flight schedules.

“Extending the so-called delay thresholds will give airlines more time to move planes and crews across Europe to save flight schedules,” industry group Airlines for Europe (A4E) told AFP. A4E represents major carriers including Air France-KLM and Lufthansa, which together account for over 80 per cent of European air traffic.

The current reform push comes under Poland’s leadership of the EU’s rotating presidency, reviving proposals that have stalled since the European Commission first suggested changes in 2013. Warsaw initially floated increasing the delay threshold to five hours, sources familiar with the talks told AFP.

But the idea has met strong resistance from several member states, including Germany. “Long flight delays are a real nuisance. They ruin the start of well-deserved holidays. They disrupt important plans. They cost valuable lifetime,” said Germany’s consumer rights minister Stefanie Hubig. Berlin, she added, could not support any changes “unilaterally aligned” with airline interests, particularly “just before the holiday season.”

According to A4E, raising the maximum non-compensated delay to five hours could prevent nearly half of all current cancellations. Yet consumer groups warn that the move would effectively strip away the compensation rights of roughly 75 per cent of affected passengers.

“This is an unacceptable step back from the current level of protection,” said European consumer umbrella group BEUC, alongside other associations, in a joint statement.

The European Commission estimates that delays and cancellations could cost airlines up to €8.1 billion this year. Despite this, companies that help passengers file compensation claims note that only a small fraction of eligible travellers actually pursue their claims each year.

“For European customers this is a disastrous change,” Tomasz Pawliszyn, CEO of passenger rights firm Airhelp, told AFP. He warned that with similar three-hour thresholds now in place in countries like Canada, Turkey and Britain, extending Europe’s limit would create “confusion” and could see European carriers allowed longer delays than non-European rivals on certain routes.

The proposed changes come as part of a wider reform package, which also includes more clearly passenger-friendly measures – such as banning airlines from charging for hand luggage of standard size and weight.

Still, the broader package has sparked anger among some European lawmakers, especially as Poland is trying to push it through using a fast-track legislative procedure that curtails the European Parliament’s input.

“The first word that comes to my mind about the council behaviour is blackmail,” Andrey Novakov, a centre-right EPP lawmaker and the Parliament’s rapporteur on the issue, told AFP.

“Everyone who is not a pilot here in the Parliament will need some time to digest” the reform and develop suggestions that “could serve both passengers and airlines,” he added. “This is not happening when you have a time pressure.”