At the end of 2023, the European Commission adopted a series of proposals designed to improve the experience of passengers and travellers by strengthening their rights. The new rules will build on lessons learned, including the recent experiences of the COVID-19 crisis and the bankruptcy of the travel group Thomas Cook in 2019, which had a major impact both on travellers and on the travel market.  

In particular, special attention is paid to the needs of passengers with disabilities or reduced mobility to address and facilitate the switch between transport modes and improve quality assistance where needed. 

Assistance for persons with disabilities on multimodal trips 

The proposal for a revision of the Regulations on Passenger Rights sets out, for the first time, new rules to protect passengers using different types of transport in one trip. Persons with reduced mobility who switch from one transport mode to another during their journey will be assisted at connecting points by carriers and terminal operators when they travel under a single contract of carriage or when they travel through multimodal passenger hubs.  

Furthermore, if an airline obliges a passenger with disabilities or a person with reduced mobility to travel accompanied by someone because the passenger needs assistance to comply with aviation safety requirements (for example, to fasten the seatbelt), the airline will be obliged to transport the accompanying person free of charge, and when practical, seat this person next to the passenger they are assisting. This right already exists when travelling by rail, ship or bus. 

Additionally, the revision of Delegated Regulation on EU-wide multimodal travel information service (MMTIS) will make it easier for passengers to find information on accessibility on travel information services. 

More information.