Rejected air travel bookings and lack of transparency for passengers with disabilities

Question for written answer E-002307/2025
to the Commission
Rule 144
Brando Benifei (S&D)

A few weeks ago, an EU citizen had a reservation on an EU flight cancelled because their electric wheelchair was supposedly 'incompatible' with the aircraft. No refund was offered: according to the airline, the passenger could have changed wheelchairs or been accompanied. In 2024, another airline refused to carry a wheelchair in the hold because of supposedly 'excessive dimensions', but then accepted the same wheelchair on the same route and aircraft on the following day.

Citizens with disabilities are careful to report their needs as passengers, yet detailed information on acceptance, compatibility and safety criteria is frequently missing from airlines' websites, and contact centre operators are often not trained or have insufficient information available. This severely restricts people from planning and undertaking journeys independently.

Articles 21 and 26 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union are transposed into Regulation (EC) No 1107/2006, which protects the right of persons with disabilities to travel by air without discrimination.

Also in the light of Commission Notice C/2024/5992, can the Commission clarify whether and how it intends to promote the development and use by airlines of tools, such as digital tools, to better protect the rights of persons with disabilities when they are using air transport, at all stages of their journey?

Submitted: 6.6.2025