Only 18% of air passengers who are entitled to compensation actually claim it.

Omissions

• No source was found that reports the 18% claim-rate figure; the specific statistic cited by the MEP is not corroborated by any located official or journalistic source.
• The European Commission's evaluations of Regulation 261/2004 and ECC-Net reports commonly discuss low awareness and low claim rates among passengers, but none of the retrieved pages stated the 18% figure.
• Only four web searches could be performed (search limit reached); further targeted searches (e.g., 'Regulation 261/2004 evaluation claim rate', 'share of passengers claiming compensation') might locate the underlying study.
• The MEP did not cite a source for the figure, making it impossible to trace the statistic to its origin.

Sources

• SecondaryPortal CEC (Spanish Ministry of Consumer Affairs) — Air passenger rights at risk under new EU proposalArticle on the proposed reform of EU air passenger rights states that a proposed increase in delay thresholds 'could result in up to 85% of passengers currently entitled to compensation losing this right'. It contains no figure on the share of entitled passengers who actually claim compensation.
• SecondaryEuropean Parliament press room — European Parliament stands behind air passenger rightsPress release on Parliament's position on the air passenger rights recast, stating MEPs 'want to maintain the right for air travellers to be reimbursed or re-routed and to claim compensation if a flight is delayed by more than...' It does not contain the 18% claim-rate statistic.
• SecondaryAPRA — Economic Impact of the Proposed EC261 ReformIndustry study estimating 'the average direct cost of compensation owed to passengers on intra-EU flights ranges from €0.53 to €1.61 per [passenger]'. It does not report the share of entitled passengers who actually claim compensation.