apf annual report 2022: apf recovers 1.6 million euros for travelers

The Agency for Passenger Rights (apf) stands up for passengers traveling by train, bus, ship and air. Within the framework of out-of-court arbitration procedure , apf helps travelers obtain their rights free of charge and commission.

"The desire to travel was high in 2022 and some airlines and airports in particular were challenged - and sometimes overwhelmed - to get travelers to their destinations. Overall, flying became more (time-)consuming again. In the rail sector, too, demand on some particularly busy travel days occasionally exceeded the capacity of the trains on offer. All of this resulted in increased demand for apf. It is pleasing to see that the success rate was once again high and that the experts at the apf were able to reach an agreement between the parties in the vast majority of arbitration cases", says Climate Protection Minister Leonore Gewessler and thanks the employees of the apf for their commitment and dedication.

In 2022, apf was able to obtain a total of 1,603,428 euros in compensation and refunds for travelers in its arbitration procedure . At 1.5 million euros, the largest share is attributable to the air sector, followed by the rail sector with 114,600 euros and the bus sector with 3,300 euros. On average, this means a payment of 448 euros per completed apf procedure for passengers and air travelers.

"In view of the increased travel volume in 2022, an increase in irregularities was unfortunately also to be expected," says Maria-Theresia Röhsler, Head of apf, taking stock. "A large part of the amount generated for travelers comes from procedures for flight cancellations at short notice. In the rail sector, we have never had so many inquiries and arbitration procedure as last year. I am particularly pleased that we were able to resolve the vast majority of these proceedings unbureaucratically, out of court, quickly and absolutely free of charge for passengers.The increased number of applications clearly shows the importance of apf in the Austrian arbitration landscape."

Overview of figures apf 2022

In 2022, a total of 5,896 written requests for arbitration were received by the apf. From these applications, 4,264 arbitration procedure were ultimately opened. On average, the apf opens twelve arbitration procedure per day. On average, a procedure at the apf takes 31 days - a significant improvement on the previous year (87 days).

The apf recorded a total of 3,581 completed arbitration procedure in 2022, of which 2,673 were in the air sector, 888 in the rail sector and 20 in the bus sector.

Record number of applications and procedures at the railroad

Last year, 1,120 requests were submitted to the apf in the rail sector, more than ever before. Of the 888 proceedings concluded in the rail sector in 2022, 98% ended with an agreement between the applicant and the transport company. This represents an extremely high success rate and underlines the expertise and solution-oriented approach of our team in the area of passenger rights.

Most of the proceedings in the rail sector in 2022 concerned ticket refunds. The exclusion of refunds for PDF purchases of ÖBB Sparschiene tickets was particularly relevant in this segment. In addition, more cases of downgrades were registered, mostly in connection with canceled (night) trains.

The vast majority of the proceedings, 95 percent, related to ÖBB-Personenverkehr, followed by WESTbahn with around two percent.
Of the EUR 114,600 in monetary compensation received in the rail sector, around 54 percent related to reimbursements or refunds.

Development 2022 in the aviation sector

The majority of proceedings were conducted in the 2022 flight sector due to cancellations. Almost two thirds of the cases submitted to the apf related to this issue. Compared to previous years, delays are also making a comeback. Numerous connections were delayed due to congestion, especially in the summer months. Accordingly, the number of proceedings at apf in this area rose from 17 to 29 percent compared to the previous year.

Compensation (74%) and the reimbursement of ticket costs (20%) accounted for the majority of passenger revenue in the flight sector.

apf was able to successfully mediate between the airlines and passengers in 84% of the proceedings in the flight sector. Only three percent of proceedings in the flight sector had to be closed due to a lack of agreement. The remaining proceedings were discontinued due to "exceptional circumstances", for example.

The full apf annual report is available at https://www.apf.gv.at/de/publikationen.html and also includes data on the bus and ship transport modes.