Position Papers

Passenger rights are a major achievement of the European Union, as they create common and harmonised rules guaranteeing strong rights for travellers. EU Passenger Rights covering all modes apply to more than 13 billion consumers every year . However, travel markets have evolved with the arrival of new actors such as online booking intermediaries. Recent times have highlighted shortcomings of current Passenger Rights regulations, most notably lax enforcement. The COVID-19 pandemic has also revealed legal gaps between traveller rights instruments, more specifically in the Passenger Rights Regulations and the Package Travel Directive , and the urgent need for reform. Lessons from the pandemic must be learnt to ensure that the EU better protects passengers and their rights and introduces greater fairness in the tourism value chain.