Question 13825 — air transport

Summary

Ms. Mereana Reid Arbelot draws the attention of the Minister of Transport to the procedure for revising European Regulation No. 261/2004 relating to air passenger rights within the European Union. Adopted in 2004, this regulation regulates the rights of passengers by providing in particular compensation in the event of a delay of more than three hours, unjustified refusal of boarding or cancellation of a flight occurring less than fourteen days before departure without an alternative solution. It thus constitutes a clear framework for passengers and airlines alike and guarantees compensation proportionate to the damage suffered, namely: 250 euros for flights of 1,500 kilometers or less; 400 euros for intra-community flights of more than 1,500 kilometers and for other flights between 1,500 and 3,500 kilometers; 600 euros for flights over 3,500 kilometers. However, after several unsuccessful revision attempts, this regulation, although protective for users and an incentive for companies to improve the quality of their services and the punctuality of their flights, now risks being emptied of its substance. In June 2025, the Council of the European Union adopted a position considered less favorable to passenger rights, proposing in particular to raise the threshold of delay giving right to compensation and to reduce the amount of compensation provided. However, several studies carried out by air passenger defense associations, such as Flightright, indicate that raising this threshold could exclude almost 60% of affected passengers, even though only 0.5% of European flights have experienced a delay of more than three hours over the last two years. Parliament European Union itself joined this analysis by deciding, in January 2026, in favor of maintaining the current system. Almost all political groups welcomed this vote and reaffirmed that the three-hour threshold constituted a red line. A similar position was expressed in the National Assembly, where the “Aeronautics and Space” study group has already made it publicly known that it supports the position of the European Parliament. If a reform were to be initiated, it cannot justify a weakening of existing rights but should rather make it possible to correct certain gaps or inconsistencies in the current system. It could, for example, establish equal treatment between all airlines operating on European territory and not just European companies, or even facilitate the rerouting of passengers by partner companies in order to guarantee faster support and limit harm for users and companies. In this context, while the European institutions should soon seek to reach a compromise, probably within the framework of a conciliation procedure, she would like to know France's official position with a view to these negotiations.

Machine translation from French. The official text remains authoritative.

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