Resumen de Compliance with the Air Passenger Rights Regulation: past, present and future

Renzo van Der Bruggen

• The Air Passenger Rights Regulation is struggling with its transformation from law in theory into law in action. The low rates of compliance by airlines and the varying actions taken by National Enforcement Bodies resulted in the European Court of Justice making some far-reaching judgments. Unfortunately, compliance with these judgments seems to be even lower. As ultimum remedium, the European legislator proposed a new Regulation and Interpretative Guidelines for the period between the old and the new Air Passenger Rights Regulation. This paper presents the facts and figures on compliance, details the interaction between the crucial actors, and studies the legislative actions. A problematic future is predicted. Severe new legal problems and counterproductive (non-compliance) incentives are re-introduced, stimulating the European Court of Justice to continue its quest to protect the nearly one billion passengers who are transported each year throughout the EU.