Airline passengers get right to make claim for compensation

Minister for Transport Martin Cullen has bowed to pressure from the European Commission by providing for airline passengers to claim compensation when "bumped off" flights or otherwise inconvenienced by carriers.

Under a statutory instrument signed by Mr Cullen, passengers can now apply to the Commission for Aviation Regulation to seek redress for such eventualities as denied boarding, cancellation, long delay and lost or damaged bags.

Where complaints are upheld, they will be entitled to compensation. In cases of overbooking, passengers denied boarding will be awarded between €250 and €600, plus either a refund or an alternative flight, as well as hotel, meals and other expenses.

If flights are cancelled at short notice, passengers will be entitled to refunds and alternative flights and may also get compensation, depending on how much warning was given of the delay.

However, airlines will not have to pay compensation for delays or cancellations where weather, safety concerns, air traffic control, security risks or industrial action was to blame.

Under EU legislation, the Government had until February 17th this year to introduce regulations providing for passenger compensation.

Its failure to do so saw the European Commission begin "infringement proceedings" in March, giving the Government formal notice of its failure and allowing two months for a response.

No response had been received by last week, the commission said, although a spokesman for Mr Cullen promised regulations were imminent.

Announcing the move yesterday, Mr Cullen said he was acting to protect passengers who arrived on time only to be told the flight was overbooked or cancelled. "In the past, such passengers had very little comeback and were more often than not left out of pocket as well as inconvenienced. Now, they can put their case to the regulator to seek compensation."

The right to compensation applies equally to charter flights. It will continue to be the responsibility of airlines to make passengers aware of their rights to compensation and to provide that compensation when appropriate.