The European Parliament has voted for a sweeping overhaul of passenger-rights legislation, raising compensation to €600 for delays over three hours, mandating full fee transparency and outlawing punitive re-booking charges. Because Switzerland participates in the EU’s aviation acquis via bilateral agreements, Bern will be obliged to transpose the new rules—likely in the 2027 winter timetable. Under the package, airlines such as SWISS, Edelweiss, Helvetic and Chair will have to provide automatic refunds within seven days, honour ‘right to return’ tickets when schedules change and offer free seat selection for children under 14. The Federal Office of Civil Aviation (FOCA/Bazl) told local media that it expects a spike in passenger complaints in 2026 as travellers test the strengthened regime. Corporate travel managers welcome the clarity: many firms had resorted to purchasing fully flexible fares to avoid administrative hassle when flights were disrupted. Once implemented, companies should be able to reclaim compensation directly via their travel-management company (TMC) instead of asking individual employees to file claims. Airlines, however, warn that the higher cost of care obligations could translate into ticket-price increases of up to 3 percent on short-haul routes. Switzerland will open a brief consultation later this year to align its Air Transport Ordinance with the EU text. Mobility departments should monitor the implementation timeline, update duty-of-care policies and educate business travellers about the forthcoming automatic compensation mechanism.
Source: The Local Switzerland
