New EU Passenger Rights Agreement: Easier Compensation and Refunds for Travelers

The European Union has taken another step toward making it easier for passengers to access the information, refunds, or compensation they are entitled to after delays, cancellations, misleading online bookings, and cumbersome complaint handling. On June 25, the Council and the European Parliament reached a provisional agreement on the more effective enforcement of passenger rights, which the European Commission welcomed on June 26. This change could be particularly important for Hungarian travelers who buy plane tickets through online intermediaries, combine multiple modes of transport, or do not know who to complain to and how after a summer disruption.

The agreement does not mean that every new rule is applicable from tomorrow. The text must still be approved by the Council and the European Parliament, followed by legal-linguistic finalization and formal adoption. Therefore, the current news primarily indicates a direction: the EU has not made another separate promise, but has moved toward an implementation package that aims for more transparent complaint handling and stronger authority action in air, rail, bus, sea, and inland waterway travel.

For Hungarian travelers, this is relevant because during the summer peak season, delays, rebookings, storms, airspace restrictions, labor shortages, and overloaded customer services often cause problems exactly when family vacations or business trips are most time-sensitive. Starting from Budapest or Vienna, many book through online travel agencies, price comparison sites, or platforms connecting multiple providers. When a flight is cancelled, a train is delayed, or a ferry and bus connection fails, the biggest question is often not whether they are theoretically entitled to something, but who they should turn to, on what form, with what deadline, and with what evidence.

What exactly happened in the EU?

The recent agreement aims to strengthen the enforcement of passenger rights in the European Union. According to the Council's official summary, the rules aim to ensure that passengers receive clearer information before and during their journey, complaint handling is more uniform, and authorities can act more effectively if providers do not fulfill their obligations. According to the European Commission's announcement, the package would introduce common refund and compensation claim forms in cases where the carrier does not offer a similarly usable procedure.

In practice, this is important because the passenger rights system has been considered strong in Europe, but enforcing those rights has often been difficult. After a late-evening flight cancellation, a passenger often has to simultaneously find accommodation, request a rebooking, keep receipts, understand the concept of extraordinary circumstances, and decide whether to submit a claim to the airline, the online intermediary, or the package tour operator. The current agreement tries to resolve exactly this confusing point: the law should not only be strong on paper but also provide a followable path for the passenger.

Online Intermediaries and Flight Ticket Refunds: This Could Be the Most Tangible Change

In the Hungarian market, it is common for travelers not to buy tickets directly from the airline's website, but through an online travel agency, price comparator, or international booking platform. In such cases, a responsibility gap can easily develop during a cancellation: the airline points to the intermediary, the intermediary points to the airline, and the passenger does not see their money for weeks. According to the new EU agreement, it would become clearer how refunds occur if the flight ticket was booked through an intermediary.

According to the Commission's announcement, if the refund occurs through an intermediary, the intermediary would have a maximum of seven days to forward the money to the passenger after receiving the amount from the airline. The Council's more detailed summary also highlights that the refund must extend to the intermediary fee if the flight is cancelled. If the intermediary has already paid the airline from its own account, a fourteen-day deadline would apply to the refund. The smallest intermediaries, such as some local travel agencies operating as micro-enterprises, may receive certain exemptions, but only if the passenger is clearly informed about this at the beginning of the booking.

This is not a minor technical modification. For many passengers, a delay in refund is a liquidity problem: while the original ticket price has not yet returned, new tickets, accommodation, or transfers must be purchased. In a family vacation involving four or five plane tickets, a delayed refund can cause a decision-making pressure of several hundred thousand forints. The proposed rules are therefore particularly useful for those who do not want to get lost among customer service messages for weeks.

Not Just About Flying

Although the attention of Hungarian travelers is often focused on airlines, the current agreement is broader than that. The EU system extends to air, rail, sea, inland waterway, bus, and long-distance coach travel. According to the European Commission's passenger rights page, Europe is the only region where a full passenger rights framework operates for all major modes of transport. The recent agreement tries to strengthen the operation of this system, not its existence.

In practice, this will be important for combined journeys. A Hungarian passenger can now easily organize a route that includes Budapest or Vienna Airport, a regional train, a long-distance bus, and then a local transfer. If one element is delayed, the next connection may be missed. Automatic compensation is not granted in all such cases, especially not if the passenger purchased separate tickets from independent providers. But the new regulatory direction strengthens the principle that the passenger must understand their rights, where they can complain, and which authority or provider is responsible at the time of booking.

More Uniform Forms, Clearer Complaint Path

One practical element of the agreement is the introduction of standardized refund and compensation claim forms. These would not necessarily replace every provider's process, but they would be usable even if the carrier's own system is difficult to access, complex, or not clear enough. The passenger could submit their claim electronically or through other channels, such as by mail, which is particularly important for those who cannot or do not want to rely solely on in-app administration.

Another side of complaint handling is the role of national enforcement authorities. According to the Council's summary, authorities must be given sufficient tools for monitoring, investigation, and the deterrent handling of violations. This is essential because the passenger alone is rarely in a strong bargaining position against a large airline, railway company, or online platform. If, however, the authorities can act based on complaints, audits, and inspections, it can encourage providers to provide more disciplined information and faster administration.

What Does This Mean for Air Transport?

The current agreement is also linked to a separate EU political agreement announced on June 15, which concerns the long-awaited review of air passenger rights after more than two decades. According to the Commission, the compensation threshold after a delay or cancellation basically remains: in case of a three-hour delay or cancellation, the passenger may still be entitled to 250 euros for flights under 1500 kilometers, 400 euros between 1500 and 3500 kilometers, and 600 euros above 3500 kilometers, if the legal conditions are met.

An important novelty would be that in case of disruption, airlines would have to inform passengers more proactively about their rights and the claim process. According to the Commission's announcement, passengers should be informed of their rights and the compensation procedure within 96 hours. The package would also strengthen the transparency of cabin baggage fees and airport taxes, without taking away the airlines' pricing freedom. The ban on the return no-show practice would also be important: this would mean that a passenger would not automatically lose their right to board the return flight just because they did not use the outbound leg.

Passengers, however, must interpret the news cautiously. The agreement is not a general guarantee that money is due after every delay, and it does not eliminate the concept of extraordinary circumstances. Storms, airspace closures, security risks, or other external events can still influence whether compensation is due. The real progress is rather that providers cannot leave the passenger in uncertainty about under what legal title, where, and how they can enforce their claim.

Why Is This Important for Hungarian Travelers?

A significant portion of Hungarian passengers not only depart from Budapest Liszt Ferenc International Airport, but also consider Vienna, Bratislava, Prague, or other nearby airports if a better price, more favorable schedule, or stronger long-distance transfer network is available. The more providers and intermediaries an itinerary involves, the more important it is that rights and points of responsibility are clear. A cheaper ticket is not worth much if the path to a refund after cancellation is opaque, or if the passenger does not know whether they need to buy a new ticket at their own expense.

In the peak season, it is therefore worth looking at more than just the price when booking. It is important to check who the contractual partner is, whether the purchase is made through an intermediary or directly from the airline, to which email address the confirmation arrives, and whether clear information about refunds is visible on the booking page. Before departure, it is useful to check the Budapest airport live flight information or the Vienna airport online board, especially if the passenger plans a separate ticket connection, night arrival, or pre-paid transfer.

Flexibility is equally important for the ground segments. If an evening flight is delayed, getting into the city may also change: public transport may become less frequent, and taxi waiting times may increase, and modifying a pre-booked transfer may be subject to separate conditions. In Budapest, a preliminary review of airport transfers and taxis, and in Vienna, the Vienna airport transfer, can help the passenger not to start searching for alternatives tiredly after the delay.

What Should Be Kept and Documented Now?

Until the new rules come into effect, the best defense remains conscious documentation. The passenger should keep the ticket, the boarding pass, the booking confirmation, messages about cancellation or delay, accommodation and meal receipts, and all communication in which the airline, railway company, bus provider, or intermediary provided information. If the provider communicates through an app, screenshots can also be useful.

For journeys with separate tickets, it is worth planning more conservatively. If the Budapest-Vienna train, the Vienna flight, and a further transfer are in separate bookings, the providers' responsibilities are not necessarily linked. The current EU direction strengthens transparency and enforcement, but it does not automatically turn every independently assembled itinerary into a single protected package. Therefore, during the summer peak period, longer transfer times, flexible accommodation bookings, and a preliminary check of travel insurance conditions remain practical decisions.

Strengthening Passenger Rights Is Also in the Interest of Tourism

In tourism, trust is an economic factor. If the passenger knows that a clear procedure awaits them in case of delay or cancellation, they will book in advance more confidently, combine modes of transport more easily, and feel less that they are left alone after a disruption. This is in the interest of airlines, railway companies, airports, hotels, and travel agencies, because predictable rules reduce disputes and improve the customer experience.

The recent EU agreement is therefore not a flashy new route or an immediate price reduction, but a very important consumer protection step in the background. Hungarian travelers should note now that in the coming period, the EU will handle not only the content of the rights but also their enforceability more strictly. The essence is simple: if a trip does not go as planned, the passenger should not have to become a legal expert to find out if they are entitled to a refund, compensation, assistance, or rebooking.

The application date of the final rules must still be monitored, but the direction of the process is clear. The next phase of passenger rights in Europe will not only be about what amounts may be due after a flight delay, but also about whether the passenger actually has access to these rights: with understandable information, usable forms, and clear intermediary responsibility and more effective national enforcement.

Sources: European Commission, Council of the European Union, European Commission passenger rights information page.