Airlines using European Union airports will have to compensate passengers for overbooking, long delays or cancelled flights under controversial new EU rules.
The measures have been criticized by an industry already struggling to make profits.
The rules are part of a wider set of measures the EU's executive Commission is proposing in the hope of easing the strain on travelers in the 25-member bloc.
Airlines will have to pay passengers up to 600 euros ($780) if they are denied a seat because of overbooking.
Passengers whose flights are seriously delayed or cancelled must be given food and, if necessary, accommodation.
In some cases, carriers must give passengers the option of a refund and a trip back to their point of departure.
"The boom in air travel needs to be accompanied by proper protection of passengers' rights," said Transport Commissioner Jacques Barrot.
His spokesman, Stefaan de Rynk, said the rules applied to all flights within the EU, regardless of the nationality of the carrier, and to all EU carriers flying into Europe from another country.
Non-EU citizens are eligible for the benefits, he said.
Barrot also announced new draft laws that will bar discrimination against disabled or elderly passengers on flights.
Another proposal would give passengers the right to know which airline is carrying them.
This draft law follows a crash in Egypt last year that killed 148 people, mostly French tourists, some of whom were not aware they would be flying on Flash Airlines, which had been temporarily banned from Swiss airports, the Commission said.
Switzerland is not an EU member.
Airlines, many of which are struggling to make profits in an often cut-throat sector, were critical of the new rules.
"We are talking about potential compensation bills which could amount to a quarter of a million euros per flight," said David Henderson, a spokesman for the Association of European Airlines (AEA), adding that was a worst-case scenario.
The AEA called the legislation "deeply flawed and potentially very damaging to (airlines') business, but also to the relationship with their customers."
The rules stipulate airlines need not compensate passengers for a canceled flight if they can prove the circumstances were extraordinary, but that is not the case for delays.
The AEA said this could make it more viable to cancel flights in some cases.
The AEA also criticized the proposed rules on handicapped passengers, saying carriers already provide services such as wheelchair access, and the new rules would force them to turn over service provision and responsibility to airports.
Separately, Barrot said on Wednesday that the Commission was proposing to increase the rights of passengers on ships and international coaches.
The European Parliament and EU member states are considering measures aimed at boosting the rights of railway travelers.
By: N. Peter Kramer
