European Union law protects jetsetters when their travel plans go awry. But the rules are up for review and the reform process might end up diluting those protections.
Travellers within the EU can ease some of the stress of travel by remembering that big delays and cancellations normally result in some sort of compensation.
Airlines have to fork out reparations if delays last more than three hours or if flights are cancelled with not enough notice. Some estimates put that price tag at more than €8 billion per year.
EU governments are currently trying to hash out a deal on an update to the rules that stems all the way back to 2013, when the European Commission proposed a modernisation of the law.
There has been no progress since then during the subsequent decade, as there are big divides between countries about what changes should be made. But fresh talks aim to broker an agreement.
Part of the compromise on the table would see the length of delay needed to trigger compensation increased from three to four hours, or even six hours for long-haul flights.
The logic behind the move is that airlines claim three hours is too short and actually results in flights being cancelled outright. That has a negative impact on all flight plans, so they insist that more wiggle room would help the industry stick to its schedules.
Consumer groups are obviously up in arms about this idea, which some countries like Germany actually oppose. Another suggestion is to lower the amount of compensation from its maximum €600 to €300.
Air travel rights are often cited as one of the big and visible benefits of EU membership. Other countries like Canada and the United Kingdom have actually adopted rules that mimic those protections, given the popular support for extra rights.
Opponents of the changes being considered by the Council say that this in itself would create mass confusion about which flights qualify for compensation and which do not.
Legislators are hoping to sweeten the deal by banning airlines for charging extra for carry-on luggage that conforms to standard sizing, but the erosion of compensation rights is proving to be an extremely controversial prospect.
The sting in the tail is the method by which the Council is also going about this compromise, as it is considering using a process that would limit the say the European Parliament has over the final deal.
MEPs are likely to support extra protections for travellers, rather than watering them down and are unsurprisingly furious about being cut out of the decision-making.
National representatives are due to meet and discuss the idea further next week, ahead of a meeting of transport ministers in Luxembourg on 5 June, where the Polish presidency of the EU hopes to finalise an agreement.
