“Sadly, some governments appear more keen on punitive regulation than on doing their part to enable hassle-free travel,” Walsh said. 

According to the director general, the EU261 laws have not led to a reduction in delays but have only penalised carriers, as the legislation doesn’t address issues that are outside airlines’ control – including inefficient traffic management or staffing shortages. 

“The single best thing that Europe could do to improve the travel experience is deliver the Single European Sky,” he added. “As for other governments contemplating passenger rights regulations, avoiding a repeat of Europe’s mistake would be a helpful starting point.”

The UK is among those countries currently working on tightening aviation regulation, giving the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) as well as the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) more powers to crack down on airlines that break consumer law. 

Walsh’s comments come on the heels of Iata releasing its latest data, which shows that air traffic is almost back to pre-pandemic levels.

Figures published recently show that global traffic in April was at 90.5% of 2019 levels, with load factor down only 1.8% compared to pre-Covid times. 

Domestic traffic has risen 42.6% on last year, going up 2.9% over April 2019, while international traffic has surged due to Asia-Pacific carriers reporting a 192.7% increase in passengers.

“The easing of inflation and rising consumer confidence in most OECD countries combined with declining jet fuel prices, suggests sustained strong air travel demand and moderating cost pressures,” Walsh concluded.