Airlines slam EU response on passenger rights

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) and Airlines for Europe (A4E) have slammed as inadequate a European Union response to calls to limit passenger rights during the COVID-19 crisis. Airlines want a review of the EU's Regulation 261 passenger rights regime and have been pushing for recognition that passengers should not receive additional compensation in the event of cancellations due to COVID-19. They also want a limit on care and assistance obligations and flexibility to allow rebooking and vouchers instead of refunds. READ: Airports could benefit from faster COVID-19 test kits. Airlines are keen to hang on to the money passengers have paid for tickets as they move to preserve cash to ensure their survival through the coronavirus crisis. In a joint statement, IATA and A4E said the EU had provided limited help by recognizing cancellations caused by externally imposed measures such as the flight bans or very low demand should be considered as an extraordinary circumstance. It said this would mean that in most current cases compensation for cancellations would not apply. But they were unhappy about the European Commission’s response on providing care and assistance and particularly about a specific rejection of the proposal on flexibility on refunds. They said this meant airlines were potentially responsible for unlimited care to passengers who had been stranded as a result of government decisions to close borders. “The Commission appears to considerably underestimate the crisis afflicting airlines in Europe. Faced with a cashflow catastrophe, many airlines can only offer vouchers in lieu of immediate cash refunds for canceled flights,’’ said IATA regional vice president Europe Rafael Schvartzman. “The Commission must accept that this solution – which many people would regard as reasonable in the current extraordinary circumstances – should be facilitated. “The Commission needs to understand that fiddling at the edges will not keep airlines in any shape to get the economy moving again when the health crisis abates. “This is not a short-term issue—air connectivity will not be back to normal for many months. And for some airlines, things will never be the same again.” A4E managing director Thomas Reynaert said the EU guidelines did provide the clarity airlines needed and said Regulation 261 needed to be reviewed before summer. "Given the extraordinary circumstances and financial pressures our airlines are facing, if this is the Commission’s view—then an emergency amendment to Regulation 261 may be needed, and would be welcomed by the sector,'' he said.