Landmark political agreement at EU level preserves compensation rights whilst strengthening passenger information and claims during travel disruption.

The Global Business Travel Association (GBTA) welcomes the agreement reached this week on the long-awaited reform of EU air passenger rights rules, marking an important step toward greater clarity for travellers, businesses, and the wider travel ecosystem.  

Over the past years, GBTA has supported a clearer and more standardised EU passenger rights framework. In business travel, disruptions can affect meetings, events, and client commitments, making timely information, rerouting, reimbursement and compensation essential to traveller confidence. The new rules go a long way towards addressing business travellers’ concerns, introducing transparent obligations around passenger information and compensation. 

GBTA particularly welcomes that, in cases of cancellation or delays, airlines will need to inform passengers about their rights to compensation. This will ensure that business travellers are aware of their rights in case of disruptions. In addition, under the agreement reached between EU decision-makers this week, travellers will continue to be entitled to compensation ranging from €250 to €600, depending on flight distance, from three hours of delay onwards. This outcome provides certainty for millions of business travellers and their organisations. 

GBTA urges EU Member States to implement the revised rules in a clear and consistent manner, strengthening business travellers’ confidence that their rights will be respected in the event of disruptions.  

While this agreement marks an important step forward, it is only one part of a wider move to modernise passenger rights across Europe. GBTA encourages EU policymakers to maintain momentum around negotiations on the remaining passenger rights proposals, on enforcement and multimodal travel, while ensuring coherence with the objectives of the Passenger Package presented last month. Together, these initiatives can help create a more transparent, integrated and traveller-focused transport system, providing greater legal certainty for passengers and clearer responsibilities across the travel ecosystem. 

Fulvio Origo, GBTA Senior Director for Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) said: 

“When faced with travel disruption, business travellers need clear information, fast, effective support, and simple, straightforward processes to fully understand and exercise their passenger rights. 

GBTA welcomes the progress achieved on these long awaited reforms. The new rules on air passenger rights will help reduce uncertainty for travellers and companies, provided the final rules are implemented in a clear, consistent and practical way across Europe. 

We have consistently called for stronger information obligations, standardised reimbursement processes, and clearer responsibilities between airlines, intermediaries and passengers. The announced deal is a first step in the right direction. However, we encourage EU policymakers to keep up the momentum and make sure that the broader passenger rights and ticketing frameworks being negotiated keep consistency with this regulation, reinforcing business travellers’ trust that they will be informed and protected in case of disruptions.”