Travelling by Air

The nightmare of every traveller is to encounter problems at the airport – a misfortune of not being able to begin your journey due to the flight being delayed or cancelled. Even though I hope you’ll never need the following information, it’s still good that you’re familiar with the rights that you have as an air passenger.

In the EU, air passenger rights are set out in the EU Regulation on air passenger rights that lays down rules on compensation and assistance to passengers in case of:

• denied boarding,
• cancellation or
• long delay of a flight.

These rights apply if your flight departs from an airport within the EU or if your flight arrives in the EU and is operated by an EU airline. Unfortunately, there are no similar international rules in this area that would cover other flights outside the EU. If you end up in such a situation you should contact the operating airline, since most airlines offer their passengers certain rights and provide compensation despite the lack of unified rules.

In case of denied boarding or cancelled flight you’re entitled to:

• compensation,
• freedom of choice between reimbursement of the full cost of the ticket, re-routing to the destination at the earliest opportunity and re-routing to the destination at a later date,
• and assistance.

Compensation

Compensation depends on the duration of the flight and the delay of the arrival time. It amounts to EUR 250 for all flights of 1500 kilometres or less, EUR 400 for all flights within the EU of more than 1500 kilometres, and for all other flights between 1500 and 3500 kilometres, and EUR 600 for all flights of more than 3500 kilometres. However, the compensation may be reduced by 50 per cent if the delay of the arrival time is less than 2, 3, or 4 hours, respectively.

You are not entitled to compensation:

• if you were informed of the cancellation by the airline at least two weeks before the flight,
• if you were offered re-routing of similar flight time by the airline, or
• if the cancellation was caused by extraordinary circumstances (you are, however, entitled to freedom of choice if the cancellation was caused by extraordinary circumstances, as described below).

The choice

The airline must offer the following choice:

• reimbursement of the full cost of the ticket,
• re-routing to the destination at the earliest opportunity, OR
• re-routing to the destination at a later date.

Attention: after opting for one of the three choices you can no longer choose the other two! The airline must still provide compensation (depending on the distance of the flight and the delay of the arrival time in regard to the scheduled arrival time).

If the airline does not offer you a choice and unilaterally decides to reimburse the full cost of the ticket at the price at which it was bought, you are entitled to a supplementary compensation of the fare difference.

Assistance

The airline must provide the following assistance free of charge during your waiting time:

• meals and refreshments,
• access to means of communication,
• accommodation (when continuing your flight the next day), and
• transportation between the airport and place of accommodation.

If you are not offered assistance, the airline is required to reimburse the costs if they are necessary, reasonable and appropriate. Don’t forget to save the receipts, so you can later demonstrate the costs! First, however, you must immediately submit a complaint to the airline operating the flight.

The airline must provide free assistance when the delay is two or more hours in the case of flights of 1500 kilometres or less, three or more hours in the case of long flights within the EU and other flights between 1500 and 3500 kilometres, and four or more hours in the case of flights of more than 3500 kilometres. If the airline does not provide these rights, the same as above also applies in this case.

Simply “calculate” your rights for a specific case

If the above information is insufficient and you still don’t know what you’re entitled to in a specific case, then I have some good news for you! The Norwegian Consumer Council prepared a “Flight Rights Calculator” which will provide information you’re looking for. All you need to do is enter the departure and destination airport and you will find out what rights you have in case of a delayed or cancelled flight, denied boarding or lost luggage. The calculator is easy to use, and all the information is available in English.

What to do next and how to proceed if you find yourself in one of the situations described above?

1. You should first contact the airline operating the flight. The first step should be fairly easy, thanks to the EU complaint form for air passengers which you should complete according to instructions and send to the airline.

2. If the airline does not respond after six weeks upon receiving the complaint or you are not satisfied with the answer received, you can contact the appropriate national authority of the country where the incident occurred.

3. If you are not satisfied with the answer that you received from the airline, you can use out-of-court procedures or remit the case to the Court of Justice of the EU.

For more information, you can visit the Your Europe website or read the Air Passenger Rights pamphlet. I hope you have as little inconveniences and as many flights to new adventures as possible.