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A new citizens’ initiative is now collecting signatures to reverse what campaigners call a “passenger-hostile” EU proposal — one they say would cost air travellers across Europe money, time, and rights.
“After over a decade of legislative impasse, EU governments are worsening the rights of EU passengers, and we intend to enable Europeans to speak out and against this,” professor Alberto Alemanno, founder of The Good Lobby and one of the petition’s organisers, told Euronews.
While such an initiative doesn’t force the Commission to draft new laws, it does require a formal response within six months — including an explanation if it chooses not to act.
Under current EU rules, passengers can claim between €250 and €600 in compensation for delays of at least three hours. That may soon change.
After 12 years of political deadlock, a slim majority of EU countries recently backed raising the delay threshold to between four and six hours, while cutting compensation for long-haul flights (over 3,500 km) by €100.
The plan still needs approval from both the European Commission and the European Parliament — and MEPs across the political spectrum have already voiced strong opposition.
“People must always come first before profit, and this is no exception,” said Dutch S&D MEP Mohammed Chahim. “People are not asking air companies for a favour – they pay good money for the services and when these services are not delivered people deserve proper treatment and reasonable compensation.”
The European Consumer Association (BEUC) warned that the higher thresholds would block most EU passengers from claiming compensation, since most delays fall between two and four hours.
But Airlines for Europe (A4E) — representing carriers such as Ryanair, easyJet, and Lufthansa — argues the reform would make passenger rights “clearer” and “easier” to enforce.
“Today, airlines are often forced to cancel flights they could otherwise operate with a delay, because short delays trigger compensation,” its managing director, Ourania Georgoutsakou, told Euronews in an emailed statement. “Most people want to reach their destination, not wait around for a payout.”
The European Commission’s original plan involved increasing the time threshold from three to five hours for short-haul flights, and from three to nine hours for long-haul flights.
“Our analysis shows that this change alone could prevent up to 70% of avoidable cancellations across Europe,” Georgoutsakou said, adding that it would help airlines recover schedules faster, reduce knock-on delays, and avoid unnecessary cancellations.
Parliament has until early October to present its counter-position — in response to the Council, which in June skipped its usual informal talks with MEPs and adopted a legally binding stance.
“We cannot allow the member states to undermine the hard-won rights of air passengers,” MEP Andrey Novakov (Bulgaria/EPP), leading negotiator on the file, said after the Council adopted its position in June.
“Weakening these rights would betray the trust that citizens have placed in the EU to defend their interests,” Novakov concluded.
