Proposed amendments to EC261 indicate a further shift in favour of passengers

On 12 March 2026, the European Commission (Commission) published its responses to the European Parliament's (Parliament) proposals to amend EC261. The proposed amendments, which must go through the EU legislative process, include some significant changes weighted heavily in favour of passengers. Airlines must consider how best to manage a changing landscape intent on tipping the legislative scales even further towards consumers.

 

Background

In March 2013, the Commission adopted various proposals for EC261 intended to further promote the interest of air passengers, aimed at clarifying passengers' rights while limiting the impact of potential costs for airlines. The proposals were debated and amended by the Parliament in 2013 and, in October 2013, were submitted to the European Council (Council) for review.

In June 2025, the Council reached a political agreement on the first reading proposal. Its amendments could be viewed as an attempt to rebalance the EC261 amendment proposal and limit its impact on community airlines, for example by increasing the delay upon arrival compensation threshold to 4 hours, rather than 3, and reducing the fixed sums awardable.

The Council adopted its position in September 2025, giving the Parliament three months to either approve, amend or reject the Council's position. The amendments adopted by the Parliament on 21 January 2026 are weighted heavily in favour of consumers, such as providing care and assistance after 2 hours of waiting time for all flights and requiring airlines to provide passengers with a pre-filled compensation form.

The Opinion of the Commission rendered last week sets out its view on the current draft of amendments and indicates where pressure is likely to be felt in discussions going forward. We have summarised the proposed amendments as they currently stand.

 

Key changes to EC261

Pre-filled compensation form – The proposals include a change to the compensation process whereby airlines must proactively provide passengers with a pre-filled compensation form in the event of a potentially compensable denied boarding, cancellation or delay. The Commission agreed with this proposal, along with a proposal that airports make compensation forms for damaged baggage easily accessible to passengers.

Additional airline deadlines – The Commission and Parliament have agreed that the following additional deadlines should apply to airlines:

• Compensation or reimbursement for cancellation/delay/downgrading/re-routing/refunds must be made within 7 working days of passenger request, with extensions available where intermediaries, such as travel agents, are involved;
• Passengers denied boarding should be compensated and provided with Article 8 (refund/re-route) and 9 (care and assistance) support immediately;
• Passengers should be informed of the reason for a delay as soon as it is available and no later than 30 minutes after the scheduled departure time, although the Commission rejected this 30-minute proposal in relation to cancellations;
• In addition, the Council and Parliament proposed that passengers affected by cancellation or delay are entitled, upon request, to receive in writing reasons for the disruption within 7 calendar days of submission of the request. It is not clear whether the Commission agrees with this proposal;
• The Commission agreed with the Parliament's proposal that airlines should be liable automatically if they do not provide proof of the existence of an extraordinary circumstance within a certain period. The proposed period has not yet been determined;
• In the event of a tarmac delay, the Council proposed that passengers must be disembarked after 3 hours. The Parliament proposed reducing that timeframe to 2 hours. The Commission's position is unclear, as Parliament's proposal was marked as accepted "in part, subject to rewording or agreement in principle", without any further detail; and
• The deadlines for provision of refreshments in the event of a disruption have been clarified, with a refreshment being required for every two hours of waiting time, and a meal after three hours and then every five hours, up to a maximum of three meals per day. This was proposed by the Council and accepted by the Parliament and Commission.

Refunding – Whilst the specific form of wording has not been finalised, agreement in principle has been reached between the Parliament, Council and Commission that airlines will be liable to reimburse passengers for (a) refreshments that they purchase during delays, and (b) self-arranged re-routing up to 400% of the cost of the ticket if re-routing is not offered within three hours of original departure.

List of extraordinary circumstances – The Council and Commission proposed a non-exhaustive list of extraordinary circumstances be included in the amendment regulation, whereas the Parliament proposed an exhaustive list. While the Council proposed a draft, it remains to be seen what will make it onto the final list and whether or not it will be exhaustive.

Connecting flights – The Council proposed that, where a flight has a stopover (meaning anything other than a connection to the next connecting flight), this should be considered the final destination. However, the Parliament deleted this amendment, and the Commission agreed with its deletion.

Denied boarding – The Council proposal stated that passengers who are denied boarding on a return journey because they did not take the outbound flight should be compensated in the same way as other denials. The Parliament and Commission have agreed on this point, meaning that it is very likely that this will be reflected in the amended Regulation. The sequential ticketing requirements set out in most conditions of carriage will therefore become redundant.

Removal of certain charges – The Commission's position removed the ability for airlines to charge for the correction of spelling mistakes, checking in at the airport, for the provision of a paper boarding pass, and for seating together when accompanying a child or person with reduced mobility (PRM).

Liability for airport failures – The Parliament proposed that EC261 compensation should be available where a PRM misses a flight due to insufficient assistance at the airport. The Commission agreed with this proposal, on the proviso that there must be a direct claim against the airport for the carrier, to recover compensation paid to the PRM.

Limitation period – The Council proposed to introduce a limitation period for claims under EC261 of 6 months after the disruption. The Parliament and Commission agreed that this should be extended to 1 year.

 

Other changes

Free hand baggage – The Parliament proposed that passengers should have a right to bring a personal item (a small bag or handbag, etc) and a piece of hand baggage with maximum dimensions of 100cm onboard at no extra cost. The Commission rejected this suggestion on the basis that it should be subject to an impact assessment. This assessment is underway, however, and so such provisions may be considered appropriate in the future.

Checked hand baggage – The Commission accepted the Parliament's proposal that, where hand baggage is moved from the cabin to the hold just before boarding, it must be returned to the passenger as hand baggage upon disembarkation. Airlines must ensure that ground-handlers are sufficiently capable to do so to avoid risk of penalties being imposed by Member States.

Compensation thresholds/amounts – The Parliament proposed that the compensation thresholds and amounts should remain the same and that they should be reviewed by the Commission on a three-year basis. The Commission states that it will try "to facilitate an overall compromise" in relation to the thresholds and amounts and accepted a periodic review on a five-year basis. As such, the position is not yet finalised

Extension to non-EU Carriers – Currently, EC261 applies to all flights departing the EU, as well as all flights arriving in the EU when operated by an EU airline. The Parliament proposed to extend this scope to include all carriers arriving into the EU, meaning an extension to non-EU carriers. The Commission expressed approval of this extension, but that it must be assessed first in relation to "the risks of conflict of jurisdictions and the difficulties in enforcement". Such an assessment has not yet been commissioned.

Insolvency insurance - The Parliament proposed to require airlines to have insurance cover or a guarantee fund to cover EC261 claims in the event of insolvency. The Commission was unwilling to agree to this without an impact assessment. The position may, therefore, change.

Montreal Convention – The current Council proposal, which was largely accepted by the Parliament and Commission, included a requirement for airlines to give a PRM the option to make a special declaration of interest in delivery of any mobility equipment under MC99 without any additional fee. In the event of destruction, loss, damage or delay, the carrier will be liable to pay a sum not exceeding the special declaration, and will have to "rapidly make all reasonable efforts to provide immediately needed temporary replacements" for mobility aids, without admission of liability.

 

Next steps

The proposed amendments will now be reviewed by the Council. Once the Council submits its position, a 'trilogue' will begin where the three entities will negotiate a final position. On the first reading, the Council took 12 years to finally adopt its stance, and so it may be that this will take some time. It seems unlikely that it will take as long as was taken for the first reading.

If you have any questions or concerns about the potential amendments to EC261, or wish to discuss your approach to EC261 claims, the DLA Piper London Aviation team has a specialised EC261 claims team, headed by Kathryn Ward, who are available to discuss how we can assist. Get in touch if you would like to sign up for our '60 Second Update' daily alerts, to keep updated on the progress of the EC261 amendments and other important aviation developments.

The full wording of the Council and Parliament's proposals and the Commission's response can be found here, here and here.