Malpensa - Controversial changes to compensation for flight delays in the EU - Archive - Varese News

On 5 June 2025, the transport ministers of the 27 member states of the European Union reached a political agreement to reform Regulation 261/2004, which governs the rights of air passengers in the event of delays, cancellations and denied boarding. The revision has been in the pipeline for over a decade and will change the time limits and amounts of compensation. An issue that is raising mixed reactions among governments, airlines and consumer associations.

The main changes introduced are on three points. First, the delay thresholds for compensation , the most relevant one: the right to financial compensation will be recognized only in case of delays exceeding 4 hours for flights up to 3,500 km (with compensation of 300 euros) and over 6 hours for flights exceeding 3,500 km (with compensation of 500 euros).

The amounts of compensation are then modified: for intercontinental flights with delays of more than 6 hours, the maximum compensation will drop from 600 to 500 euros, while on the contrary the reimbursement for shorter flights will increase, which will rise from 250 euros to 300 euros.

Finally, there is a significant tightening of the deadlines for submitting complaints : The period within which passengers can submit complaints to obtain compensation will be reduced from two years to six months.

Reactions and criticisms to the reform of the regulation on passenger rights

The agreement has drawn criticism from consumer associations and political representatives. The association Codici, for example, defined the reform as an “affront to European citizens”, underlining how the new rules represent a significant step backwards in passenger rights . Some MEPs also expressed concern, pointing out that most of the current delays are around three hours, a threshold that will no longer give the right to compensation. In general, it was quite clear that the new regulation tends to favor companies more than travelers, even in a framework of greater protection compared to other countries in the world.

Next steps

The agreement reached by the Transport Ministers represents a preliminary political understanding: the proposal will now have to be examined and approved by the European Parliament, where further changes could be made, also in light of the critical positions of many political forces. The legislative process also includes an impact assessment by the European Commission before the final adoption of the new rules.