- The EU agreed the reform of EU261 rules at the start of the week.
- IATA assessed the outcome in the context of the Draghi Report.
- The changes fail to control rising costs under EU261.
- Air traffic management performance issues stay unaddressed.
- The reform took place following discussions with industry stakeholders.
EU261 air passenger rights rules changes leave key issues with air traffic management performance unresolved.
The international body says the reform took place without full alignment to recommendations on regulatory simplification. Thomas Reynaert, IATA’s designated European analyst identified elements that fail to address costs or improve competitiveness for the aviation industry.
Airlines continue to face ballooning costs under the existing framework. He set out “the good, the bad and the ugly” of the changes agreed to EU261, particularly in the context of the failure to address the Draghi Report recommendations to simplify the regulatory burden in EU.
Thomas Reynaert shared “he EU261 result is the latest proof that Europe is not prepared to move from political platitudes to action. Ultimately, the “reform” does nothing to control the ballooning costs of EU261, and solves none of the problems holding back European air transport, most particularly the performance of air traffic management.
