EU states look to trim compensation for flight delays

BRUSSELS, Belgium: EU countries have backed a plan to allow airlines to incur longer flight delays before having to compensate passengers -- a contested move intended to be offset by several new passenger rights.

At present, passengers in Europe have a right to between 250 and 600 euros ($285-685) in compensation, depending on flight distance, for delays of three hours or more. But airlines complain that leaves them a hefty bill, and often leads them to cancel flights rather than run them with a long delay, due to knock-on effects on flight schedules.

A majority of EU states agreed late on Thursday to change the rules, overcoming opposition from Germany in particular, following hours of painstaking negotiations in Luxembourg. Under the new system, the compensation threshold would increase to four hours for flights of up to 3,500-kms, or connecting cities inside the European Union, with its amount set at 300 euros.

For longer flights, the right to compensation of 500 euros would kick in after a six-hour delay. The European Consumer Organisation BEUC slammed the plan, saying the “new eligibility thresholds will deprive the majority of passengers from their compensation rights”, as most delays are between two and four hours.

It urged European lawmakers -- who have yet to approve the text -- to uphold passengers´ rights. The compromise did not satisfy airlines either, with the umbrella group Airlines for Europe (A4E) -- which includes Air France-KLM, Lufthansa, Ryanair and easyJet -- complaining that it “introduced even more complexity” than the initial European Commission plan.