FEATURED

EU negotiators have preserved passengers’ right to compensation after three-hour flight delays, ending a long-running dispute between airlines, consumer groups and EU institutions over one of the bloc’s most visible consumer protections.

European air passengers are set to keep the right to financial compensation when a flight arrives more than three hours late, after EU negotiators reached a provisional deal on revised air passenger rights rules.

The agreement preserves the core compensation threshold under the EU’s long-standing passenger rights regime, despite previous attempts to raise the delay period before passengers could claim. Under the existing system, passengers may claim €250, €400 or €600, depending on the length of the flight, when they arrive more than three hours late and the disruption is not caused by extraordinary circumstances.

The political agreement, confirmed by the Council of the European Union, still requires formal adoption by both the European Parliament and the Council after legal-linguistic revision. However, it marks a substantial breakthrough in a file that has been blocked for more than a decade.

The issue has been politically sensitive because EU air passenger rights are among the most widely recognised examples of consumer protection in the single market. The rules give passengers enforceable rights in cases of denied boarding, cancellation and long delay. Airlines have argued for years that the system imposes costs on a sector already affected by fuel prices, air traffic control disruption, labour shortages and aircraft delivery delays.

Consumer organisations, by contrast, warned that raising the delay threshold would remove protection from many passengers affected by serious disruption. Earlier proposals had included increasing the compensation threshold to four hours and placing a lower ceiling on some payments. The compromise now reached largely preserves the current level of protection.

The revised framework also aims to make claims easier. Airlines will have to inform passengers electronically within 96 hours after arrival when a delay may give rise to compensation. They will also have to provide clear information on passenger rights and explain how claims can be submitted.

Carriers will be required to acknowledge receipt of a claim immediately and respond within 30 days, either by paying compensation or giving a clear reason for refusal. This addresses one of the practical weaknesses of the current system: passengers may have a legal right to compensation, but obtaining payment can be slow, unclear or contested.

The agreement also clarifies passenger assistance during disruption. Travellers will be entitled to refreshments every two hours of waiting time, a meal after three hours and further meals every five hours afterwards, up to three meals per day. Internet access and two phone calls are also included in the assistance package.

A second area of dispute concerned cabin baggage. Under the agreement, airlines may continue charging for larger cabin bags, provided passengers are allowed to carry a small bag free of charge and baggage fees are included clearly in the basic ticket price. The aim is to make fares easier to compare and prevent passengers from being confronted with unclear costs during the booking process.

Cabin-bag fees have become a growing source of disagreement between regulators and low-cost carriers. In 2024, Spain’s Consumer Rights Ministry fined several budget airlines over hand-luggage charges, a decision the airlines are contesting. The EU compromise does not ban all cabin-bag charges, but it seeks to improve transparency around what passengers are actually paying for.

The agreement also preserves rules allowing an accompanying adult to sit near a child without paying an extra fee. Airlines will also have to provide more assistance in cases of missed connections. Passengers cannot be forced to download a mobile application in order to obtain a boarding pass.

For passengers, the main practical result is that the three-hour rule remains in place. For airlines, the outcome avoids some additional obligations sought by consumer groups, but leaves intact a compensation regime that carriers have criticised for years.

The compromise reflects the EU’s wider difficulty in balancing consumer protection with airline competitiveness. The aviation sector has argued that strict compensation rules can add costs and reduce operational flexibility. Yet the political case for weakening passenger rights proved difficult, particularly because the rules are widely known and apply across the single market.

The agreement may not end disputes over implementation. Airlines and passengers are still likely to clash over whether disruption was caused by extraordinary circumstances, how claims are handled and whether fees are displayed transparently during booking. But the central policy decision is now clear: the EU has decided not to dilute the three-hour compensation threshold.

For Brussels, the outcome also has institutional importance. The file had been blocked since the European Commission first proposed reform in 2013. By reaching a deal while preserving the best-known element of the existing regime, Parliament and Council have chosen clarification over deregulation.

The final text will now move through formal adoption. Once approved, the revised rules will determine how airlines must handle compensation, assistance and information duties across the EU market. For passengers, the most immediate message is straightforward: a delayed flight of more than three hours will continue to carry a financial cost for airlines.