The European Parliament has given its final green light to updated European Union rules designed to strengthen passenger protection and improve access to information when journeys are disrupted. The measures introduce clearer refund procedures for tickets purchased through travel agents and online booking platforms, standardised claim forms, stronger enforcement powers for national authorities and additional safeguards for passengers with disabilities or reduced mobility.
The regulation was adopted on Tuesday with 652 votes in favour, two against and eight abstentions, marking a significant step towards more consistent passenger protection across air, rail, road and water transport.
The updated rules aim to ensure that passengers can exercise their rights more easily when flights or other transport services are cancelled or disrupted, regardless of whether they book directly with an operator or through an intermediary.
However, the legislation still requires formal approval by the Council of the European Union and publication in the EU's Official Journal before it can be implemented. The rules are scheduled to apply from October 23, 2027, alongside the updated EU air passenger-rights regulation.
One of the most significant changes concerns passengers who purchase airline tickets through travel agencies, online booking platforms and other intermediaries.
Under the new rules, eligible passengers will be entitled to a full refund following a cancellation, including applicable intermediary fees, within a maximum of 14 days.
The regulation establishes a two-stage reimbursement process:
Within seven days: The airline must transfer the reimbursement to the intermediary.
Within a further seven days: The intermediary must transfer the money to the passenger.
This arrangement is intended to eliminate uncertainty over refund responsibilities when airlines and booking platforms are involved in the same transaction.
Passengers have frequently encountered difficulties identifying which party is responsible for returning their money, particularly when an intermediary handles the booking but the airline operates the flight.
Under the updated framework, intermediaries will also be required to explain the applicable refund arrangements at the time of booking. The aim is to improve transparency and give customers a clearer understanding of how their money will be returned if their journey is cancelled.
The provisions are particularly relevant to international travellers who rely on online travel agencies to compare fares, combine different services or arrange complex itineraries.
The regulation will also introduce standardised European forms for passengers seeking reimbursement or compensation.
These forms will be made available on the European Commission's website in all official EU languages and will cover different modes of transport.
Passengers will be able to use the common forms or equivalent forms provided by carriers to submit their claims.
The initiative is designed to reduce administrative barriers and make it easier for travellers to understand how to exercise their rights, particularly when dealing with companies operating across national borders.
Standardised procedures could also reduce confusion over documentation requirements and help passengers navigate the claims process without having to rely on separate procedures for every transport operator.
The measures form part of a broader EU effort to make passenger-rights enforcement more consistent and accessible.
The updated rules also strengthen protections for people with disabilities and passengers with reduced mobility.
Under the new provisions, an accompanying person will be permitted to travel free of charge on a flight when their presence is necessary to provide assistance to the passenger.
Similar arrangements already exist for certain journeys by bus, train or ship. Extending this protection to air travel is intended to make flying more accessible for passengers who require assistance from another person.
The change addresses an important concern for travellers who cannot travel independently and may otherwise face additional costs when arranging necessary assistance.
It also reinforces the EU's wider objective of ensuring that transport services are accessible and that passengers with disabilities can exercise their travel rights on a more equal footing.
The regulation will give national enforcement and complaint-handling authorities greater powers to investigate potential violations of passenger rights.
Under the updated framework, authorities will be able to initiate audits, inspections and interviews with transport operators proactively, rather than waiting for an individual passenger to submit a complaint.
This approach is intended to strengthen oversight and help identify recurring problems before they affect larger numbers of travellers.
It could also reduce passengers' reliance on lengthy legal proceedings to resolve disputes with airlines and other transport providers.
By giving enforcement bodies a more active role, the EU aims to ensure that passenger-rights legislation is implemented more consistently across member states and that operators are held accountable for their obligations.
Matteo Ricci, a member of the European Parliament from the Socialists and Democrats (S&D) group in Italy and rapporteur for the legislation, welcomed the agreement and highlighted the importance of protecting travellers across all transport modes.
“Travelling is part of our lives. Whether we catch a train to work, a bus for a trip, a plane to return home, or a ferry for holiday, we all share these journeys as passengers. This legislation will improve the protection these travellers receive. National authorities will help make sure companies fulfil their responsibilities without court action. Passengers who buy tickets through intermediaries will keep their rights, and support for individuals with reduced mobility will be improved. We are prioritising the rights of our citizens over the profits of airlines,” Ricci said.
His remarks underline the legislation's central objective: ensuring that passengers can exercise their rights effectively, including when they purchase tickets through third parties or require additional assistance during their journeys.
The passenger-rights update forms part of a broader European initiative to modernise transport regulations and improve protections for travellers.
In 2023, the European Commission presented proposals to update the rules governing passenger rights across air, rail, sea, inland waterway, bus and coach transport as part of its Passenger Mobility Package.
The initiative seeks to improve the handling of disruptions, simplify reimbursement procedures and strengthen enforcement across the European transport network.
The cross-transport regulation is separate from the specific reform of EU air passenger rights under Regulation EC 261/2004, which governs compensation and assistance in circumstances including flight cancellations, long delays and denied boarding.
The European Parliament adopted the separate air passenger-rights upgrade earlier in 2026. The two reforms are intended to complement one another, with the wider regulation strengthening enforcement and claims procedures while the aviation-specific framework addresses passenger protections applicable to air travel.
Passengers should continue to distinguish between a right to a refund and a right to additional compensation. A refund generally concerns the return of the ticket price when the relevant conditions are met, whereas compensation depends on the circumstances of the disruption and the applicable legal requirements.
Although Parliament has approved the cross-transport regulation, the legislative process is not yet complete.
The text must still receive formal approval from the Council of the European Union before publication in the EU's Official Journal.
The scheduled application date is October 23, 2027, coinciding with the implementation timetable for the updated air passenger-rights regulation.
Until the new provisions become applicable, passengers should continue to rely on existing EU and national rules when pursuing eligible refund, rerouting, assistance or compensation claims.
The scale of the reform reflects the importance of passenger transport across Europe.
According to the European Parliament's background information, approximately 13 billion passenger journeys by air, rail, coach, bus and ferry are covered by EU passenger-rights rules every year.
That figure is expected to rise to approximately 15 billion by 2030 and almost 20 billion by 2050.
As passenger numbers increase, the EU aims to ensure that protection keeps pace with demand and that travellers have accessible mechanisms for resolving problems when their journeys are disrupted.
For airline passengers, the most immediate benefit of the updated framework will be greater clarity when seeking refunds for cancelled flights booked through intermediaries.
The 14-day reimbursement process, standardised claim forms and stronger enforcement powers are intended to reduce uncertainty and make it easier for passengers to obtain money they are owed.
The provisions for passengers with reduced mobility also represent an important step towards more accessible air travel.
For airlines, travel agents and booking platforms, the changes will require clearer communication, coordinated reimbursement procedures and closer attention to passenger-rights obligations.
The bottom line: Europe's latest passenger-rights reform aims to make refunds more predictable, claims easier to submit and enforcement more effective. Once the legislation completes its remaining approval steps and becomes applicable, passengers booking through travel agents and online platforms should have a clearer route to recovering eligible refunds when their journeys are cancelled.
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