AirHelp – the world’s largest air passenger rights organisation and the leading travel tech company supporting passengers with flight disruptions – has marked the 20th anniversary of EC 261, Europe’s Air Passengers Rights Regulation.
As one of the EU’s most successful pieces of consumer legislation, the EC 261 has protected more than 15 billion passengers over the last 20 years.
Excluding the years impacted by the pandemic and travel restrictions, air passenger numbers have risen steadily over the last 20 years, indicating that the introduction of air passenger rights has not impeded growth. In fact, research shows that EC 261 has reduced flight delays by 5%, with improved compensation processes and assistance for passengers in the event of denied boarding, flight cancellations, or delays over three hours.
The EC 261 has also set the standard for air passenger rights worldwide, and has inspired similar regulations in Brazil, Turkey, Canada and the UK, to name a few. Encouragingly, many more countries, including Australia and the US are also considering introducing their own air passenger rights.
Tomasz Pawliszyn, CEO of AirHelp commented: “The EC 261 regulation has made strides in setting the standard for air passenger rights and moving the industry forward to a safe and fair environment for passengers travelling across Europe. As we look ahead, more work needs to be done when it comes to informing passengers of their rights, and the EC 261 has an important role to play in this. Our recent survey of passengers who had experienced a significant disruption discovered that 82% were not informed of their rights during the disruption. At AirHelp, we are committed to raising awareness of regulations that ensure passengers are eligible for compensation when facing flight delays or cancellations.”
