The European Commission has presented a campaign aiming to inform European passengers about their rights against problems which could appear when travelling around Europe. At the beginning of the Summer season, when millions of Europeans are starting or planning their holidays, the Commission provides them with a multilingual website where they can find full information about their rights as passengers.

The campaign launched by the European Commission on June 29th will provide European passengers travelling by rail or air easier access to information about their rights. As part of this campaign posters reminding people of their rights will be displayed in airports and train stations in all Member States, and travellers will also be able to consult free leaflets.

One of the main elements of this informative campaign put forward by the Commission will be the specially designed website that will provide full information about train and air passenger rights in all of the European Union's official languages.

The fact is that, although the Commission has in recent years introduced legislation to ensure air and rail passengers benefit from the same standards of treatment throughout the European Union, not all passengers are yet aware of what they are entitled to. Passenger rights stipulate what people are entitled to when things go wrong during their trip. For example when their journey gets delayed or cancelled, or when their luggage gets lost or damaged. They also guarantee equal treatment for people with a disability or reduced mobility.

The Commission is working on extending passenger rights to other transport modes. In particular, it has launched proposals for passengers travelling by sea or inland waterways and for those travelling by bus or coach. Depending on legislative developments at European Parliament and Council, such proposals might be adopted as early as this year.

As soon as this happens, passengers will be updated through the campaign, which will run over two years.