WRITTEN QUESTION No. 2941/98 by Angela SIERRA GONZÁLEZ , Alonso PUERTA to the Commission. Inconvenience to passengers as a result of delayed flights
C 182/32 Official Journal of the European Communities EN 28. 6. 1999 (1999/C 182/040) WRITTEN QUESTION E-2940/98 by Iñigo Méndez de Vigo (PPE) to the Commission Subject: Freezing of a certain number of budget headings (8 October 1998) The Commission has apparently decided to freeze a certain number of budget headings providing support for projects in the voluntary sector in the fields of development cooperation, social welfare and human rights. What reasons lie behind this decision? Will the Commission reconsider its position? Answer given by Mr Liikanen on behalf of the Commission (23 November 1998) The Commission would remind the Honourable Member of its reply to his Written Question E-2128/98 (1), which gave a detailed account of the measures taken in response to the freezing of certain budget headings following the judgment of the Court of Justice of 12 May 1998 in Case C 106/96. (1) OJ C 142, 21. 5. 1999. (1999/C 182/041) WRITTEN QUESTION E-2941/98 by Angela Sierra González (GUE/NGL) and Alonso Puerta (GUE/NGL) to the Commission (8 October 1998) Subject: Inconvenience to passengers as a result of delayed flights As a result of the chaos affecting air services at many airports, the incidence of large numbers of passengers missing flights is becoming increasingly common. On occasion, the inconvenience caused is the result of unreasonable delays for which no compensation is awarded. We may well find ourselves faced with instances of airlines abusing their position and denying responsibility for the repeated delays they cause. Does the Commission view as adequate the procedures which protect the rights of consumers in their dealings with airlines in instances where delays are unreasonable and flights missed? Has it given thought to the possibility of establishing an ‘automatic compensation system for avoidable flight delays?’ Answer given by Mr Kinnock on behalf of the Commission (27 November 1998) Delays at airports are highly regrettable and costly but they are often due to infrastructure, air traffic control difficulties, or other problems relating to the airports themselves, rather than to airline performance. These realities would make automatic compensation by airlines inappropriate. Air carriers are, however, responsible for fulfilling their contractual obligations and cannot be exempted from this responsibility by contractual terms. If delays are caused by inadequate performance of their contractual obligations or by negligence, air carriers may be held responsible under the applicable national law. In this respect, it may be recalled that national laws have been approximated by Council Directive 93/13/EEC of 5 April 1993 on unfair terms in consumer contracts (1)