Air passenger rights in the spotlight

PASSENGERS at Larnaca airport were yesterday welcomed by consumer experts bearing gifts and useful air travel advice.

The four experts from the European Consumer Centre in Cyprus (ECCC) and a Civil Aviation Authority representative were on hand from 8.30am until 3pm as part of a pan European project to inform the public about their rights when travelling on EU registered airlines to or from the EU.

ECCC Director – and coordinator for the project in Cyprus – Elena Papachristoforou said yesterday: “This is an informative campaign taking place in 28 airports around the European Union, informing customers of their rights, for example when facing delays to their flights or the handling of their luggage.”

Papachristoforou said this was the first project of its kind, supported by the European Commission and being led by the European Consumers centre of Italy. Twenty five other European customer centres took part.

Asked about the information being handed out, Papachristoforou said that all passengers on flights to or from the EU with airlines registered within the EU have certain rights: “For example, if passengers experience a delay of more than two hours, they are entitled to refreshments and to make a phone call or email.”

If flights are delayed by five hours, cancelled or boarding is denied then passengers are entitled to a refund.

However, this does not cover “Exceptional circumstances” or a decision by the captain to refuse boarding on grounds of, for example, excessive drunkenness.

The widespread disruption to European aviation caused by the eruption of an Icelandic volcano last year was one such exceptional circumstance. However passengers were refunded.

In addition to the travel advice, the teams gave away around 500 goody bags to passengers, containing pens, notebooks, promotional gadgets.

For more information about your consumer rights as a European citizen, visit: http://www.ecccyprus.org or call 22867100

The Cyprus Mail is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Cyprus. It was established in 1945 and today, with its popular and widely-read website, the Cyprus Mail is among the most trusted news sites in Cyprus. The newspaper is not affiliated with any political parties and has always striven to maintain its independence. Over the past 70-plus years, the Cyprus Mail, with a small dedicated team, has covered momentous events in Cyprus’ modern history, chronicling the last gasps of British colonial rule, Cyprus’ truncated independence, the coup and Turkish invasion, and the decades of negotiations to stitch the divided island back together, plus a myriad of scandals, murders, and human interests stories that capture the island and its -people. Observers describe it as politically conservative.