British travellers are set to lose out of millions in flight disruption compensation due to rule changes caused by Brexit.

While travellers onboard disrupted flights are entitled to hotels and meals if they end their trips in the EU, UK-bound passengers no longer have an automatic right to recover expenses from airlines in the European Union and are no longer able to claim €600 (£513) in cash compensation when the airline is responsible for the delay, the Independent reports.

The European air passengers’ rights regulation, known as EC261, has been enshrined in EU law for 17 years, but the UK’s ‘third-country’ status after voting to leave the bloc has significantly weakened the rights of British travellers.

A ruling by the European Court of Justice states that passengers flying from non-EU locations to British airports via hubs such as Amsterdam and Paris are no longer entitled to compensation and care rights under EU law.

However, the ruling only applies to flights from EU countries, which means flights departing from the UK would be covered under the British air passengers’ rights rules, which are identical to their European counterparts.

Around four million passengers fly from non-EU countries to the UK via EU airports each year. Even if just one percent of these are delayed or face cancellations, the amount of lost compensation payments will total over £20 million.

Paul Charles, chief executive of travel consultancy firm PC Agency, told The Independent: ‘It’s pretty clear that travellers from a “third country” like the UK are now being treated as third-class citizens. This is another example where we’re worse off after Brexit, having zero rights and in a poorer position than before the separation from the EU.

‘Consumers will be scratching their heads trying to work out when they’re due compensation or refunds, and when they’re not.

‘The government should bring more clarity to travel and seek a change in this particular transit travel ruling, so that rights can be safeguarded and care provided in the event of delay or cancellation.’

The UK government vowed ‘to improve the consumer rights of air passengers’ in its publication the Benefits of Brexit: How the UK is taking advantage of leaving the EU.

The document says: ‘We will reposition the UK’s approach to air passenger consumer rights, improving consumer confidence and developing trust in booking travel by consulting on additional, flexible and modern tools to enforce consumer rights.’

Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at [email protected].

For more stories like this, check our news page.

Source: Read Full Article