eunion1-9, Exercise 1: Flights, health card and passenger rights

Model answer:

Cheap flights: in the 1990s, as part of the single market programme, the Union opened its airline market in stages. Any airline from a member state could fly any route within the Union, and governments could no longer fix fares or protect national carriers in the same way, so low-cost airlines grew quickly and made routes and fares ordinary that were impossible before.

The health card (EHIC) lets a visitor receive state-provided healthcare during a temporary stay on the same terms as people insured in that country. It is not travel insurance: it does not cover private treatment or repatriation.

The passenger rights regulation (2004) can entitle passengers on most flights within the Union, and on flights leaving it, to fixed compensation depending on distance, plus assistance such as meals and a hotel, when a flight is cancelled, badly delayed or overbooked.