Kort Nieuws

Strasbourg, 25th November 2009

ALDE demands legal safeguards for passenger rights in case of airline bankruptcy

The European Parliament today in Strasbourg called on the European Commission to review the raft of EU laws on air passenger rights including the1990 package holiday directive and consider legislative measures to extend the compensation provisions in cases of airline bankruptcy to independent travelers. The resolution comes in the aftermath of a number of recent bankruptcies in the low-cost airline sector such as SkyEurope which leaves passengers stranded abroad without protection or the means to return home.

ALDE Transport Coordinator Dirk Sterckx (Open VLD, Belgium) said: "At present passenger rights to information, accommodation, alternative transport or refund in case of airline bankruptcy are at best patchy. They fall under the scope of different laws which - as we saw this summer - leaves much to be desired. I urge the European Commission to address this legal vacuum".

The 77 airline bankruptcies in the European Union since 2000 are a tell-tale sign of the sector's vulnerability to oil price volatility and the current stringent economic conditions. Reacting to this alarming trend, during the previous mandate European Liberals and Democrats steered through Parliament legislation strengthening the supervision on the financial situation of airline companies. (Degutis report)*.

The current directive EC 1008/2008, in force since 1 November 2008, puts in place stricter controls on the financial affairs of airlines. When an air carrier is on the verge of bankruptcy, such controls should allow for timely action - including the possibility to suspend or revoke its operating licence - to prevent passengers being stranded at foreign airports without guaranteed alternative transport or right to compensation. This legislation was an important step towards protecting the interests of passengers. However, the recent SkyEurope bankruptcy shows that further action is needed particularly once insolvency is already a fact.

"European Liberals and Democrats are committed to righting injustices of Europe's travelling public. We suggest various measures that could be taken to afford better protection to air passengers such as requiring mutual assistance from other airlines operating the same routes, obligatory repatriation or re-routing in the event of bankruptcy and the creation of a reserve compensation fund derived from airline contributions to assist passengers stranded when an air carrier goes bankrupt".

* http://www.europarl.europa.eu/oeil/file.jsp?id=5372632

also consult: http://www.alde.eu