"A majority of the EU's 27 states agreed last year to extend the threshold to four hours for flights of up to 3,500 kilometres (2,175 miles) or for any flights within the EU, and to six hours for longer journeys. Payout amounts were also revised to between 300 and 500. The scheme came with extra carrots including a "right to be rerouted" at the earliest opportunity and a system for passengers to be automatically compensated for flights cancelled within 14 days of departure."
"Andrey Novakov, a lawmaker with the centre-right EPP who sponsored the parliament's text, told AFP parliamentarians were ready to negotiate. But a no-deal, which would simply leave the current rules in place was better than what member states had proposed, he added. "No agreement is better than the council position," he said ahead of the vote, arguing that the text approved by member states was "not protecting the passengers at all"."
Lawmakers in Strasbourg voted 632 to 15 to retain the current compensation system that grants passengers between 250 and 600 euros for delays of three hours or more, depending on flight distance. The vote also called for airlines to include carry-on luggage in ticket prices and to ban charges for parents to sit next to their children. Member states had earlier proposed raising delay thresholds to four hours for many flights and six hours for longer journeys, with revised payouts and added rerouting and automatic cancellation compensation provisions. A conciliation committee will seek a compromise.
Read at www.thelocal.com
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