European Passengers Secure Some Fuel Shortage Protections

“Managing price volatility is a normal part of an airline’s business.”

With that statement, European regulators made clear that airlines are expected to honor EU261 and other passenger rights rules, even if fuel prices spike as a result of the US and Israeli war with Iran. The guidance comes as peak summer travel season approaches, and concerns about fuel supplies continue to fester in the region.

To avoid disputes as experienced during the COVID-19 pandemic, airlines and travel intermediaries are strongly encouraged to follow those recommendations.

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Flight Changes and Cancellations Require Compensation in Most Cases

Air travel passengers remain protected from cancellations or last-minute adjustments to their itineraries. Airlines need not pay compensation if the cancellation is caused by “extraordinary circumstances.” In this context, a fuel shortage preventing operation of the flight is accepted as extraordinary, but “cancellations caused by exceptionally high fuel prices, as opposed to local fuel shortages, cannot be considered as constituting ‘extraordinary circumstances’.”

Fuel Surcharges Cannot Change Retroactively

Fuel surcharges may not be revised and charged retroactively on fares already paid. The group notes some airlines include a clause to that effect on ticket sales and it is non-compliant with regulations. Note that rules around package tours deviate from this.

Airline Protections, Too

While passengers arguably benefit most from the guidance, airlines also scored a couple wins, particularly around slots and refueling policies.

Closure of an airport or airspace exempts airlines from the 80% usage requirement of slots. Under the new guidance, regulators also now recognize that fuel shortages at an airport are effectively the same as a closure, creating an exemption from slot usage rules.

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The guidance notes this applies at both ends of impacted routes:

The JNUS in that case should apply both to the departure and destination airports. This includes the case that an air transport operator is able to access sufficient fuel at airport A to operate a flight from airport A to a destination airport B, but is unable to tanker sufficient fuel at airport B due to constrained jet fuel supply at this airport and thus is unable to operate the following flight leg, be it back to airport A or to another destination airport.

Airlines are also now exempt from the requirement to acquire 90% of fuel at the departure airport if a fuel shortage is declared by the airport. Airports are asked to issue NOTAMs in such cases, which will be considered sufficient evidence for the deviation.

Finally, it is interesting to note that the guidance also calls out road and maritime transport as threatened by rising costs but with a very different vibe:

For maritime transport, the sudden increase in fuel prices has generated exceptional, sudden, and unexpected burden on certain maritime routes, thereby endangering the continuity and economic viability of these essential maritime connectivity services.

For aero transport, the profitability of routes is not mentioned, nor is concern about the continuity and economic viability of operations.