If you've ever fought an airline or ferry operator for a refund, help is on the way. The European Parliament has approved a sweeping overhaul of passenger rights that will apply across planes, trains, buses, coaches and ferries throughout the EU, covering roughly 13 billion journeys a year. Approved by a vote of 652 to 2 on 20 October 2026, the framework now heads to the European Council for final sign-off and takes effect on 27 October 2027.
The headline change is a single, standardised claim form. The European Commission will publish it on its website in every relevant language, usable for any mode of transport, though carriers can offer their own equivalent. Crucially, the burden shifts to the companies: within 96 hours of an arrival, carriers must proactively tell anyone who might be owed compensation how to claim. Passengers then get nine months to file, and carriers have 30 days to pay up or explain why they won't.
The amounts aren't changing. Flight delays of three hours or more still trigger €250, €400 or €600 in compensation depending on distance, and airlines must now explicitly provide up to three hotel nights when extraordinary circumstances strand passengers. There's also a lesser-known power worth remembering: if you ask to be rerouted and the carrier fails within three hours, you can book your own replacement journey and claim back up to 400% of the original fare.
Booking through an online travel agent or other intermediary? That's where the new rules bite hardest. Third parties will have to be upfront about how refunds work at the point of sale, and cancelled journeys must be reimbursed within 14 days — seven for the airline to pay the intermediary, seven more for the intermediary to pass it on to you.
Accessibility gets a boost too. Passengers with disabilities or reduced mobility will be entitled to bring a necessary accompanying person on flights free of charge, closing a gap with the rules already in place for bus, rail and sea travel.
Enforcement is also being strengthened. National authorities will gain the power to launch audits, inspections and interviews with carriers on their own initiative, rather than waiting for complaints to pile up. Italian MEP Matteo Ricci, who steered the legislation through the Transport and Tourism Committee, framed it plainly: travellers' rights come before airline profits.
One practical detail for anyone flying into Europe: the rules cover every flight departing an EU airport, regardless of which airline operates it. But non-EU carriers on flights leaving from outside the bloc aren't bound by them. So on a long-haul trip to Europe, choosing an EU carrier for the inbound leg gives you full protection — a genuine factor when comparing fares.
The changes land in just over a year, so there's time for current disputes under the old regime. But from late October 2027, claiming what you're owed across Europe should be faster, clearer and far less of a battle.
