BOSSES at EUJet say they are confident that new compensation measures introduced by the EU this month will not affect the airline.

Mike Halper, product and planning director for the budget airline, said: "We are confident that EUJet performs well in terms of punctuality and performance and that these new regulations will have only a minimum impact."

However, echoing the sentiments of other low cost airlines, Mr Halper added: "We will abide by the new regulations but that does not mean we agree with them."

From February 17 new EU rules state that short notice cancellation of flights will entitle passengers to £173 compensation for short haul journeys, £276 for long haul. In addition food, drink and hotel accommodation must be provided during long delays. The legislation applies even when delays cannot be avoided by an airline.

Mr Halper said: "The new rules fail to take into consideration aspects of running an airline which are beyond our control - notably the weather, security alerts or strikes - and also our ability to achieve a rapid turnaround at overseas airports - ensuring our flights are punctual.

"These regulations, which have been imposed without consultation with the airline industry, do not differentiate between short and long-haul flights and take no account of the cost of a ticket.

"We would argue that any compensation should be in relation to the cost of the original fare. Given that our average fare on EUJet - one way, excluding taxes - is less than £50 then compensation of £173 to £276 looks disproportionate at best."

Failure to comply would prove costly for the airline which has recently announced it was cancelling routes to Madrid and Glasgow through lack of customer demand. The routes were two of 26 planned for this summer, but commercial director Stuart McGoldrick said that the decision was made based on demand for travel. Edinburgh, he said, had proved more popular than Glasgow.

EUJet will now join all airlines operating out of European airports in facing fines of up to £5,000 per passenger if they fail to comply with the regulations.

Mr Halper added: "The European Commission is already facing a legal challenge from International Air Transport Association (IATA), which has attacked the package as a bad piece of legislation. EUJet fully backs these actions.

"Ultimately, it is passengers who will pay the price for the new legislation through higher fares to cover for any potential compensation which an airline may find itself paying."