National Enforcement Body Recorded 789 Air Passenger Complaints in 2025

On Wednesday 15 July 2026, Martine Hansen, Luxembourg’s Minister for Consumer Protection, held a press conference dedicated to the EU’s recently agreed changes to air passenger rights.

The Directorate for Consumer Protection, Luxembourg Consumer Union and European Consumer Centre Luxembourg reported that Minister Hansen welcomed the agreement reached at European level on the revision of the Regulation governing air passenger rights. 

The revised text provides greater transparency and legal certainty for travellers, while confirming key rights such as the right to information, re-routing and compensation in the event of disruption attributable to the airline. The reform also introduces new safeguards for families and persons with reduced mobility, as well as stronger regulation of certain commercial practices.

According to the press release, the press conference also provided an opportunity to present the annual review of the National Enforcement Body (NEB), the national authority responsible for ensuring compliance with passenger rights, which operates under the Directorate for Consumer Protection.

In this regard, it was noted that the NEB's statistics relate exclusively to complaints submitted by passengers who believe that their rights were not respected after they had contacted the airline. They therefore do not reflect the total number of complaints submitted to airlines, a significant proportion of which are resolved directly without the intervention of the NEB.

According to the annual review, in 2025, the NEB recorded 789 complaints relating to almost 2.7 million passengers departing from and arriving at Luxembourg Airport. The cases mainly concerned flight cancellations and delays. These figures appear to confirm that the vast majority of complaints are resolved directly by airlines before any intervention by the NEB.

The figures also highlighted the importance of distinguishing between the right to reimbursement and the right to compensation. While reimbursement or re-routing is always due, regardless of the cause of the disruption, compensation is payable only where the airline is found to be responsible. In the case of extraordinary circumstances, no compensation is payable.

Patrick Wildgen, Head of NEB Luxembourg, reminded travellers that those who believe their rights have not been respected may submit a complaint free of charge to the National Enforcement Body. This can be done easily using the online form available on Guichet.lu.

Thomas Segrétain, Director of the European Consumer Centre (ECC) Luxembourg, spoke about cases involving lost, delayed or damaged baggage and stressed the importance of reporting any incident to the airline promptly and retaining all supporting documentation required to submit a claim.

Navid Poushanchi, Legal Adviser at the Luxembourg Consumer Union (ULC), presented the main issues encountered in the area of package travel and outlined the remedies available to consumers.

Minister Hansen also highlighted the continuation of the information campaign promoting the website www.passengers.lu. Running on trams, at Luxembourg Airport and across various media aimed at travellers, the campaign seeks to improve awareness of passenger rights and the steps to take in the event of travel disruption.

At the conclusion of the press conference, Minister Hansen stated: “Effective passenger protection depends above all on good information. Thanks to the close cooperation between the authorities, consumer associations, lux-Airport, airlines and the other stakeholders in the aviation sector, we continue to strengthen awareness and the effective implementation of air passenger rights.”

Full details of the changes to air passenger rights can be found at: https://www.consilium.europa.eu/en/press/press-releases/2026/06/15/council-and-parliament-reach-landmark-agreement-on-stronger-eu-air-passenger-rights/