European Parliament Still Hesitant About Voucher in Exchange for Flight Ticket

More and more members of the European Parliament seem to be siding with the airlines in offering vouchers for canceled flights instead of cash refunds.

A majority of the Transport Committee agrees with many EU governments that, due to the poor financial situation, it is not wise to force airlines to comply with refund obligations during this coronavirus crisis. However, European consumer organizations and the EP Committee on Consumer Protection maintain the legal obligations.

According to EU legislation, airlines can offer customers the choice between another flight, a voucher, or a refund. It is up to the passenger to decide which option to accept. Offering another flight is currently not feasible due to the global impact of the virus outbreak.

About twenty EU countries supported a plan last week to abandon current legal rules and apply strict criteria to travel vouchers. Airlines are now pressuring the European Commission to temporarily amend the law so that vouchers can be legally offered to passengers instead of cash refunds. The support of some twenty EU governments could force the European Commission to change the rules.

Such a legislative change would be subject to normal procedures, with the Commission submitting a proposal only if the views of MEPs and EU ministers largely align with its own positions before convening to finalize the text.

It is clear that Transport Commissioner Adina Vălean first wants to await the position of the EP Transport Committee (on May 11) and whether this will then be supported by a majority in the European Parliament.

Czech MEP Dita Charanzová, coordinator of the liberal Renew group in the Committee on Consumer Protection (IMCO), said, “It has taken us years to build up consumer rights in Europe, especially concerning travel, and we must not shatter them now.”

But Charanzová also pointed to the need to help the travel sector and proposed EU-wide criteria for vouchers, including a six-month expiration date, bankruptcy protection, and a requirement that vouchers be worth more than the original ticket value. She also emphasized that any state aid granted to airlines must include obligations to meet refund criteria.

Barbara Thaler of the EPP, who helps coordinate the work of the Transport Committee (TRAN), said, “We believe decisive action is necessary and that a state-backed voucher solution seems to be the best compromise.”

Socialist and Democratic MEPs are more cautious about the idea of weakening rights rules and want to ensure that exemptions and the vouchers themselves are subject to strict time limits. Opposition remains in the EU assembly, notably from TRAN’s lead MEP Karima Delli (Greens), who has repeatedly stressed that “passengers must not be double victims of the coronavirus.”