Catherine Stihler, Scottish Labour MEP

The plume of ash following the eruption of the Eyjafjallajokull volcano in Iceland has brought chaos to thousands upon thousands of travellers throughout Europe.

The first responsibility of the Government was the safety of all passengers, the airline crews and the general public. Scientists and the meteorological office had a lot of work to do: they had to constantly keep abreast of what was happening to the volcano, orchestrate test flights and to assess how much ash was, and is, in the environment. Safety and security remained the number one priority. As our Prime Minister said, the Government would have never been forgiven if planes had been allowed to fly when there was a serious risk to the lives of thousands upon thousands of people.

Even in the midst of chaos and crisis, it is vital that all EU citizens are aware that they are entitled to some of the toughest passenger rights in the world. In light of the unprecedented shut down of large sections of European airspace, millions of travellers have been asking the question: what are my passenger rights?

The answers are straight forward:

1. You have the right to either reimbursement or re-routing;
2. You have the right to information - there is an obligation for airlines to inform you about rights and flight schedules;
3. You have the right to care- that means food, drinks, accommodation as appropriate.

However, air passengers are entitled to all usual rights, except the additional financial compensation that would apply in more normal circumstances (extra money to compensate for your inconvenience). Furthermore, if a passenger opts for reimbursement rather than re-routing, all other rights cease from that point – that means the airline will not supply you with food, water, accommodation if you decide against re-routing.
If an airline refuses you any of your three fundamental rights, you must complain. You can do this by writing to the Chief Executive and/or complaints department of the airline that you flew. If the dispute is not resolved, you should contact national enforcement bodies.
The address for the enforcement body in the UK is:

Civil Aviation Authority
CAA House
45-59 Kingsway
UK - LONDON WC2B 6TE
Tel. : +44 20 7379 7311
Fax : +44 20 7944 2190

Remember: the European Commission is in daily contact with airlines and Member States who enforce these rights. I hope that all passengers currently stranded are able to be returned safely to the UK or their homes as soon as possible.

For more information on the air passenger rights, please refer to

http://ec.europa.eu/consumers/citizen/my_holidays/index_en.htm