- The regulatory burden reaches €8 billion annually.
- Meaningful reform on delay thresholds was removed.
- Airports must develop contingency plans for disruptions.
- Air traffic management causes over 90 percent of delays.
- The changes create additional operational costs.
The International Air Transport Association has expressed frustration over the EU261 revisions.
IATA’s Glasnevin born Director General Willie Walsh commented on the outcome of the negotiations on 16 June 2026. The organisation stated that the changes fall short of meaningful reform and represent a missed opportunity to improve passenger experience and European competitiveness. The revisions add a list of extraordinary circumstances and require airports to have contingency plans for mass disruptions.
IATA noted that the regulatory burden of EU261 totals €8 billion annually while failing to address root causes such as air traffic management deficiencies. The association supported longer delay thresholds for compensation that were removed during negotiations. Willie Walsh called for careful monitoring of the enforcement package and progress on the forthcoming Aviation Strategy.
The organisation emphasised the need for shared accountability across the aviation ecosystem.
Willie Walsh shared: “After 13 years of discussion, the opportunity to improve Europe’s competitiveness and the passenger experience by addressing the flaws of EU261 was lost. The result will not reduce delays, but considering the whole package of changes, it will create operational challenges and add costs which will ultimately be borne by passengers. So, it’s a reform in name only that does nothing to help disrupted passengers. Those responsible for this political trade-off must be held accountable with transparent data to monitor its costs and impacts,”
EU261 has a regulatory burden now totalling EUR8 billion annually but fails to deliver on its intention to improve performance on delays and cancellations as evidenced by Eurocontrol data. This is to be expected considering that a major share of delays is related to deficiencies in Europe’s air traffic management system.
In the interest of better serving passengers, airlines supported the European Commission’s proposals for longer time thresholds for delays before compensation obligations kick-in. This would have increased an airline’s ability to provide alternative arrangements, which passengers consistently note as their top priority when travel plans are disrupted. This meaningful reform was removed in negotiations with the European Parliament, while other requirements (several unrelated to disruptions) were added with little input or consideration of their operational consequences.
