In a stark turn of events, British airline passengers are poised to lose out on substantial compensation amounts running into the millions of pounds each year, all due to a rule change post-Brexit, according to recent reports.
The modification in regulations has eliminated the entitlement to cash compensation exceeding £500 for travelers facing disruptions in certain circumstances. Particularly, individuals embarking on journeys to the UK from non-EU countries via airlines like Air France, KLM, and Lufthansa will no longer benefit from automatic compensation privileges.
Previously, travelers en route to the UK could recoup both expenses from a European Union airline and a compensation sum of £513 in cases where the airline was liable for the delay. This advantageous framework, established under the European air passengers’ rights regulation known as EC261, had been in effect for 17 years, proving beneficial to a substantial number of British passengers. However, the adoption of a hard-Brexit stance by the UK government post-Referendum has resulted in a notable weakening of the travel rights of British citizens.
Under the revised regulations, journeys originating from non-EU locations to British airports via European hubs such as Amsterdam and Frankfurt will no longer be eligible for compensation and care entitlements. Nonetheless, if the return journey to the UK does not include a stopover in an EU nation, the existing rights remain intact.
Similarly, the rights remain unchanged for flights originating in the UK, even if an EU airport is part of the route to the ultimate destination.
The financial ramifications of this rule alteration could potentially be substantial. An estimated four million passengers annually fly from non-EU countries to the UK by way of EU airports. Even if a small fraction of these encounters delays or cancellations, the collective loss in compensation payments stands to be staggering.
