Millions of passengers flying across Europe, including those travelling to and from the Canary Islands, will soon benefit from updated air passenger rights after the EU reached an agreement on reforms to its long-standing EU261 regulation.
After 13 years of negotiations, the revised legislation largely preserves the protections travellers currently enjoy when flights are delayed or cancelled, despite concerns that compensation payments could have been significantly reduced.
Consumer groups have welcomed the outcome, saying it prevents a major rollback of passenger rights while introducing several practical improvements for travellers.
One of the most important outcomes is that compensation rules remain unchanged. Passengers affected by significant delays will still be entitled to compensation of between €250 and €600, depending on the flight distance.
The reforms also introduce a number of new protections designed to make travelling less stressful and improve transparency when disruptions occur.
Key Changes for Passengers:
Relief for Travellers
The final agreement comes after several controversial proposals were discussed during negotiations, including plans to cut compensation payments by as much as 66% and replace existing payouts with a flat-rate €200 compensation system.
Those proposals were ultimately rejected, meaning the rights enjoyed by millions of European air passengers remain largely intact.
For the millions of people who fly to the islands every year, the reforms provide reassurance that existing compensation protections will remain in place while adding a number of practical improvements designed to make air travel fairer and more transparent.
