Air transport: protection of passenger rights, denied boarding compensation system

The Commission's amended proposal incorporates, in part or in full, the 18 amendments adopted by the European Parliament at first reading. These amendments seek mainly to: - ensure that passengers receive equal protection where flights are cancelled for commercial reasons or due to overbooking; - include persons accompanying or assisting disabled persons; - ensure that Member States refer to denied boarding compensation rules in permits issued to third country air carriers using Community airports, given that these rules also concern them; - stipulate that tickets issued under a loyalty programme are covered by the compensation scheme in the event of boarding being denied; - replace the deadline proposed by the Commission (which has already expired) by a neutral procedure relating to the final date of adoption of the proposal; - confirm that airlines are listed in the reports and ensure that the information collected by the Member States on cases of denied boarding due to overbooking are also made available to consumer associations; - improve the information supplied to the consumer; - stipulate that load limitations may be imposed for safety reasons; - extend the field of application to Community carriers leaving third countries; - stipulate that it is up to the airline company to identify the passengers still in the queue when the check-in closes; - invite the airline companies to disseminate denied boarding compensation rules to travel agencies; - simplify the procedures for adjusting the amount of compensation by replacing a new committee with an existing committee; - propose means of additional payment.