Вестагер одбија да плати авио-компензацију путницима "ово је твоје право, потпуно заустављање"

The European Commission has come under sustained pressure from airlines and some EU states to ease the provisions of the EU’s air passenger rights legislation. Today the Executive Vice-President for A Europe Fit for the Digital Age, Margrethe Vestager, made it clear that the rights to compensation will remain, пише Кетрин Феоре. 

Today (13 May) the Commission presents a package of guidelines and recommendations aimed at helping EU states gradually lift travel restrictions and allow tourism businesses to reopen. The package aims to help the EU tourism sector recover from the pandemic, by supporting businesses and ensuring that Europe continues to be the number one destination for visitors.

Under EU rules, travellers have the right to choose between vouchers or cash reimbursement for cancelled transport tickets (plane, train, bus/coach, and ferries) or package travel. While reaffirming this right, the Commission's recommendation aims to make vouchers more attractive alternative to reimbursement for cancelled trips, which has also put heavy financial strains on travel operators. 

To make them attractive the Commission has said that voluntary vouchers should be protected against insolvency of the issuer, with a minimum validity period of 12 months, and be refundable after at most one year, if not redeemed. They’ve suggested that the vouchers could also be transferable to another traveller. 

In response to a question Vestager, said she understood that some people will want to retain the right to monetary compensation: “If you have lost your job, if this is your entire holiday budget for travelling that sits in these tickets you cannot use anymore, then you need a refund. And that is why we say this is your right, full stop.” 

Vestager said that the Commission has sent letters to member states who are in breach of this principle. Initially, she said that this would be the first step towards an infringement procedure, this was later qualified by the Commissioner for Transport, Adina Valean in response to a question she said: "I'm not aware what my colleague said. This is not an infringement letter. Let's call it ... a letter of encouragement. My intention is to send it to all member states." In a later tweet, Vestager tweeted: "It was my misunderstanding about the status of the letter going out today. I am sorry that I caused confusion."

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Indeed. It was my misunderstanding about the status of the letter going out today. I am sorry that I caused confusion.

- Маргретхе Вестагер (@вестагер) Може 13, 2020

Anger from airlines

Airlines reacted condemning what they described as a lack of leadership. 

“While passengers have a clear right to reimbursement of their tickets, we believe refundable vouchers, or a delayed reimbursement, represents a fair and reasonable compromise given the unprecedented liquidity situation airlines are currently facing,” said Thomas Reynaert, Managing Director of Airlines4Europe.

European airlines have urged the European Commission to propose an emergency amendment to Regulation 261/2004  on passenger rights in support of refundable travel vouchers, or delayed reimbursement of tickets, instead of the current seven-day reimbursement period.

The sector estimates that cash reimbursements could amount to €9.2 billion up to the end of May. They claim that the regulation needs to be amended and that it was never designed to deal with mass cancellations caused by a global pandemic.

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