Your flight has been delayed, overbooked or cancelled. What are your rights?
This article helps you to understand when you are entitled to obtain a compensation.
1. MY FLIGHT HAS JUST BEEN CANCELLED WHILE I WAS WAITING AT THE AIRPORT
If you are at the airport and your flight has been cancelled, it is the airline’s responsibility to sort out your journey finding another flight and providing meals and, if necessary, accommodation until it can get you where you need to be.
Indeed, European’s rules on passenger rights applicable to all flights from a European airport and on EU airlines anywhere in the world (known as EC261/2004), are designed to oblige airlines to do the right thing for their passengers.
If the airline does not carry out its duties and you support the costs of your own arrangements (train tickets, taxi, hotel, food and drink), then you are entitled to obtain the costs you have incurred will be refunded to you. For this reason, we advise you to keep all your receipts!
Submit your claim “no-win no-fee” now, it takes less than 3 minutes!
To know the amount of EU compensation, click here: “How to claim your compensation for delayed or cancelled flight”.
2. WHAT TO DO IF THE AIRLINE CANCELLED THE FLIGHT AHEAD OF TIME
In case the airline has cancelled a flight, even if it gives you months of notice, you are entitled to choose between a refund or an alternative flight.
If the airline that cancelled the flight does not have an acceptable alternative, then you are entitled to ask it to pay for a seat for you on a different carrier.
If a flight is cancelled at short notice (within a week or a fortnight), unless the airline can plead “extraordinary circumstances,” you may also be entitled to compensation.
Submit your claim “no-win no-fee” now, it takes less than 3 minutes!
To know the amount of EU compensation, click here: “How to claim your compensation for delayed or cancelled flight”.
3. IN CASE OF OVERBOOKED FLIGHT
Overbooking flights is a common airplane practice and it consists in selling to more people than seats available or having to use a smaller plane than originally anticipated.
If a flight is overbooked, the EC261/2004 Regulation enables airlines to ask for people to swap their seat for benefits.
However, if no one volunteers, they have the right to deny passengers boarding against their own will. But there are three basic rules airlines must observe.
First of all, staff must offer inducements such as money or travel vouchers to other passengers to travel later.
Secondly, if there are insufficient volunteers, the airline that offloads them must find seats on the first available departure to reach their final destination at the earliest opportunity.
If the only tickets are in business class on another carrier, the offloading airline has to buy them.
Finally, the airline must immediately compensate the offloaded passengers and you can be paid up to €600 compensation depending on your flight duration.
Submit your claim “no-win no-fee” now, it takes less than 3 minutes!
To know the amount of EU compensation, click here: “How to claim your compensation for delayed or cancelled flight”.
You may also be interested to “simple travel tips to avoid being denied boarding”.
4. YOUR FLIGHT IS DELAYED
If the flight delays for 2 or more hours, you are entitled to food and drink, access to phone calls and emails and overnight accommodation if it is necessary, as well as the journeys between the airport and hotel.
If the flight is delayed by 3 or more hours, you are legally entitled to the EU compensation and distance, length of delay and destinations will also impact the amount of compensation to obtain.
Of course, the same compensation is guaranteed in the case of flight cancellation, in addition to the replacement flight.
The delay or cancellation, also, must be due to the fault of the airline so passenger can’t obtain compensation only in the case of “extraordinary circumstances”, for example bad weather conditions or political unrest, or airline strikes.
We are able to assist you and identify clearly the amount of compensation you are due for your delayed or cancelled flight.
Submit your claim “no-win no-fee” now, it takes less than 3 minutes!
To know the amount of EU compensation, click here: “How to claim your compensation for delayed or cancelled flight”.
5. TIME LIMIT: HOW FAR BACK CAN I CLAIM FOR A FLIGHT COMPENSATION?
The time-limit depends on the legislation of the country you bring the claim to: six years for England and Wales, five years for Scotland. Several airlines have sought to impose a limit of two years, but successive court cases have rejected this limitation.
Below is a list of countries in Europe with how far back you can claim for each of them:
Submit your claim “no-win no-fee” now, it takes less than 3 minutes!
To know the amount of EU compensation, click here: “How to claim your compensation for delayed or cancelled flight”.