In May 2020, the Minister of Consumer Affairs announced that working groups were being developed between the Ministries of Consumer Affairs, Justice and Transport, Mobility, and Urban Agenda to explore measures to promote outof-court systems for resolving conflicts arising from flight cancellations due to COVID-19, in application of the European regulations ensuring the right to reimbursement5. This statement might lead to the mistaken conclusion that the establishment of an ADR procedure regarding passengers’ rights was a response to flight cancellations due to the pandemic. However, we have noted that this stems from the mandate in the second additional provision of Law 7/2017. The need for such a procedure became more pressing, however, given the high number of cancellations caused by COVID-196. In fact, in 2019 -the year immediately preceding the pandemic- the majority of claims filed in commercial courts were related to air transport issues, specifically delays and flight cancellations or lost luggage7. In parallel, the number of complaints submitted to AESA regarding Regulation No. 261/2004 of 11th February, which establishes common rules on compensation and assistance to air passengers in the event of denied boarding, cancellations or significant delays of flights -hereinafter referred to as Regulation No. 261/2004-8 and Regulation (EC) No. 1107/2006 of the European Parliament and the Council of 5th July 2006 on the rights of persons with disabilities or reduced mobility in air transport -hereinafter referred to as Regulation No. 1107/2006- also increased exponentially: while in 2015, 10,295 complaints were submitted, in 2019, the figure reached 34,3869. Among the various legislative measures adopted in response to the pandemic, the Law 3/2020, of 18 September, on procedural and organisational measures to 5 https://www.lamoncloa.gob.es/serviciosdeprensa/notasprensa/consumo/Paginas/2020/110520-consumidores.aspx 6 On this matter, see FASSIAUX, S., “El difícil equilibrio entre la crisis del sector aéreo y los derechos de los pasajeros en la era de la COVID-19”, Revista de Derecho Comunitario Europeo, nº 68, 2021, pp. 185-225. The topic has also been addressed in several of the doctrinal works included in the tribute to the professor A. MADRID PARRA, directed by M.ª J. GUERRERO LEBRÓN and L. ALVARADO HERRERA, El Derecho mercantil y la pandemia: algunos problemas del pasado, la crisis coyuntural y las perspectivas futuras, Editorial Colex, Madrid, 2023. 7 As stated in the report by the Consejo General del Poder Judicial -General Council of the Judiciary-, “Medidas organizativas y procesales para el plan de choque en la Administración de Justicia tras el estado de alarma”, 6 May 2020, p. 182. It also points out that in Spain, 68,737 claims related to national and international transport were filed in 2019, of which between 75% and 80% referred to air transport. Specifically, of the 20,402 cases that were referred to the commercial courts in Madrid in 2018, 13,552 cases were related to air transport, representing 65.19% of the total. In the first quarter of 2019, 10,144 claims were filed in total, of which 6,114 were related to air transport, i.e., 60.27%. In addition, in 2019, Barcelona registered 28,000 claims for delays and cancellations. 8 OJ L 46/1, 17 February 2004. 9 See the “Informe Anual 2019 de actividad en Derechos de los Pasajeros”, p. 9, prepared by AESA, which includes the number of claims from 2015 to 2019. 33 THE IMPLEMENTATION OF ADR IN PASSENGERS AIR TRANSPORT
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