Flight cancelled? EU Parliament backs 14-day refunds, also via booking platforms
With 652 votes, the European Parliament approved new passenger rights: standard EU forms for refunds and clear deadlines for bookings made through intermediaries. They are to apply from October 2027.
Archive image · Photo: Diliff / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0 (cropped and resized)
The European Parliament on Tuesday adopted new rules on passenger rights. MEPs voted 652 in favour, with two against and eight abstentions. Passengers who booked through a travel agent or online platform and whose flight is cancelled are to get the full price back, including the intermediation fee, within 14 days. The airline must pass the money to the intermediary within seven days, and the intermediary to the customer within a further seven days. Intermediaries must explain at the time of booking how refunds work.
Standard EU forms for refund and compensation claims will be available on the European Commission's website in all official languages and for all modes of transport; equivalent forms from carriers are also allowed. People with disabilities or reduced mobility will be able to take an accompanying person free of charge when needed – as already applies to bus, rail and ship travel. National authorities will also be able to audit carriers without waiting for passenger complaints. Before the regulation can be published in the EU's Official Journal, the Council of member states must formally approve it. The new rules are to apply from 23 October 2027.