The International Air Transport Association (IATA) and Airlines for Europe (A4E), issued a joint statement in which they described their “dismay” with the European Commission’s new guidelines on the application of the EU261 passenger rights regime, which cover airlines requirements to passengers in the event of flights being cancelled.
IATA and A4E said the European Commission’s new guidelines for EU261 were disappointing and unhelpful, and fell far short of the simple and temporary alleviation airlines had requested for, which included; Recognition that no compensation is due in the event of cancellations due to COVID-19, a limitation on the extensive obligations to provide care and assistance in the event of cancellations due to COVID-19, and the flexibility to allow airlines to offer rebooking or vouchers in place of refunds in the event of cancellations due to the pandemic.
While the new guidelines unveiled by the EC do recognize that cancellations caused by externally imposed measures - such as the flight bans - or because of the very low demand are to be considered as an extraordinary circumstance, and therefore cancellation compensation would not apply, IATA and A4E said they did not go far enough.
The joint statement was critical on the EC’s stance with regarding to providing care and assistance due to COVID-19, and on the flexibility on refunds or vouchers.
“The Commission’s response is inadequate,” said the joint statement. “No flexibility on the limitation of obligations was offered during a period of crisis for the aviation industry. This means that airlines are potentially responsible for unlimited care to passengers who have been stranded as a result of government decisions to close borders. On the request for flexibility to offer rebooking or vouchers in place of refunds, the Commission specifically rejected that possibility.
IATA and A4E said that EC was considerably underestimating the crisis afflicting airlines in Europe, and said that given current cashflow conditions for carriers, many airlines could only offer vouchers in lieu of immediate cash refunds for cancelled flights.
“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,” said Rafael Schvartzman, IATA’s regional vice president for Europe.
“These guidelines unfortunately don’t provide the clarity that cash-strapped EU airlines need. 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,” said Thomas Reynaert, managing director, A4E. “In the meantime, we also expect member states in the European Council to come to an agreement on the review of the Regulation before the summer,” Reynaert added.