"In the past, there have been some difficulties due to remaining grey zones in the rules governing the rights of air passengers. Passengers therefore had to appeal to court in some cases when they wanted to clarify and enforce their rights to assistance or compensation when their flight was cancelled or delayed. In the new proposal, the Commission has taken into account the rulings of the European Court of Justice. The EPP Group welcomes the European Commission's proposal for clearer and additional measures to further strengthen air passenger rights in Europe, in particular in order to get stranded passengers as quickly as possible to their destination," said Mathieu Grosch MEP, EPP Group Spokesman in the Transport and Tourism Committee of the European Parliament.

The EU's Air Passenger Rights Regulation came into force in February 2005. While the rules have led to a better level of assistance and compensation for passengers affected by delayed flights or cancellations, too many grey zones remain and passenger sometimes have difficulties enforcing their rights. For airlines, providing assistance in the case of a major disruption beyond their control, such as the ash cloud crisis, can be a heavy financial burden as currently there are no limits to the duration of the assistance. The Commission's proposal for a Revision of passenger rights therefore focuses on clarifying grey areas in the 2005 Regulation establishing clearer complaint-handling procedures, stricter sanctioning policies for air carriers that do not comply and establishing a limit to the financial burden on airlines of providing assistance.

For further information:
Mathieu GROSCH MEP, Tel: +33-3-88175229
Greet Gysen , EPP Group Press and Communications Service, Tel: +32-497-028054

Notes to Editors:
The EPP Group is by far the largest political group in the European Parliament with 270 Members and 3 Croatian Observer Members.