The European Parliament on Tuesday gave its final green light to a regulation that tightens the enforcement of passenger rights in the EU. The text passed with 652 votes in favour, two against and eight abstentions. The vote does not put the rules into force today: the Council still has to approve them formally, and they still have to be published in the Official Journal.

According to Parliament's notice, the rules will apply from 23 October 2027, at the same time as the air passenger rights regulation. The package covers air, rail, sea, bus and coach travel. This is about enforcing rights, not about a law that has already changed today's compensation.

For flights booked through intermediaries, the adopted text spells out refunds after a cancellation. The passenger is entitled to a full refund, including any intermediation fee, within 14 days: the carrier has seven days to transfer the money to the intermediary, which then has another seven days to pay the passenger. Intermediaries must tell travellers at booking how the refund will work.

Claims may be filed on common reimbursement and compensation forms, or on an equivalent form from the carrier. The Commission will put the common forms on its website in all official languages, for all types of travel. The air-rights upgrade voted earlier in 2026 remains a separate act; the two sets of rules are scheduled to apply together.

People with disabilities or reduced mobility will be able to take an accompanying person on a flight free of charge if that person's presence is necessary, as is already the case on buses, trains and ships. National authorities get clearer inspection powers: they may open audits, inspections or interviews with carriers on their own initiative, not only after a complaint.

Rapporteur Matteo Ricci said national authorities should help companies meet their duties without passengers having to go to court. Parliament estimates that EU passenger rights now cover about 13 billion journeys a year. That figure is an estimate, not a census of complaints.

Image: European Parliament, Strasbourg, CC BY 3.0 Ralf Roletschek, Wikimedia Commons; the building, not the vote.

Sources consulted: UE: Noi norme privind drepturile pasagerilor pentru a îmbunătăți rambursările și protecția călătorilor; MEPs endorse better enforcement of passenger rights in the EU.