EU Ambassadors Back Draft to Strengthen Flight-Delay Rights While Keeping Payouts

Overview

• EU member-state ambassadors agreed a reform draft on Sunday that preserves the existing €250–€600 EC261 compensation scale and sends the text to a conciliation committee for final adoption by June 15, 2026.
• The draft requires airlines to notify eligible passengers with a claim-form link within 48 hours of scheduled arrival and to state the specific reason for any disruption when denying compensation.
• Once a passenger files a claim under the draft, the airline would have 30 days to pay the compensation or provide a written justification for refusal, including details if it invokes 'extraordinary circumstances.'
• Airlines and trade groups have publicly objected, with the European Regions Airline Association estimating the changes could nearly double annual EC261 costs to over €15 billion and warning of higher fares or reduced regional services.
• EC261 has not been materially changed since 2014, the draft aims to close common enforcement gaps that leave many passengers unpaid, and final approval by mid-June will determine whether those practical collection problems ease or persist.