What are your rights?
The European Union has introduced a regulation to protect you as a consumer. Your passenger rights are laid down in the European Regulation (EC) 261/2004.
Because it is an European Act, it is important that your flight departed within the European Union territory, or your flight was outside of the EU, but was operated by an airline with headquarters in an EU-member state. In general, it is crucial that you arrive at your final destination with more than 3 hours of delay before you are entitled to a financial compensation. The legislation governs different situations:
If you arrive at your final destination with a delay of more than 3 hours, you are likely to be entitled to compensation! If you miss your connection by a delay on your previous flight, the airline should also provide new flights. Learn more
Depending on the time of cancellation, you are likely to be entitled to compensation when your replacement flight arrives at your final destination more than 3 hours later. For short flights of up to 1,500km, 2 hours delay is enough to have a right for compensation, unless:
The airline must provide replacement flights at all times. Learn more
If your plane is overbooked and your entry to the plane is denied, chances are high for you to be entitled to a compensation if you arrive at your final destination 3 hours later than scheduled. Learn more.
If your first flight is delayed or cancelled, you are probably missing your connecting flight. If you are being offered a replacement flight and arrive at your final destination 3 hours later than the scheduled time of arrival, you are likely to receive a compensation.
Compensation
If any of the above situations apply to you, you are likely to be entitled to a financial reimbursement to compensate for the loss. These are fixed amounts, based on the flight distance and are completely independent of the ticket price.
For flights within the European Union:
For flights outside the European Union:
According to the Sturgeon judgment, for flights of more than 3,500km with a delay of 3 to 4 hours, you are entitled to a compensation of €300.00.
Care
In order to make the waiting more bearable, there are also rules for care included in the Regulation. These must be fulfilled by the airlines at all times, unless it would cause an additional delay. The extent of meals and drinks depends on the flight distance and the situation that applies to you.
|
Situation |
Duration |
Flight distance |
|
|
more than 2 hours |
up to 1,500km |
| Delay |
more than 3 hours |
1,500 - 3,500km |
|
more than 4 hours |
more than 3,500km |
If your flight has been cancelled or you are denied boarding, the airline should provide you with the same care as well.
What can you expect?
In most cases, the airline will take care of these costs by means of vouchers, hotel reservations and bus services. If you incur these costs yourself, keep your bills and receipts. You can also declare these incurred expenses.
New flights
Delayed flights are inconvenient for flight passengers. You lose vacation time, you miss an important meeting or it doesn't even make sense to proceed the trip anymore at all because of delays. To have a right to compensation, it is important that the cause of the flight issue is the airline's fault and is not rooted in extraordinary circumstances. For example, if you are late for your flight or weather conditions don't allow for a save flight, there are no rights to compensation.
However, the airline should provide you with:
Upgrading and downgrading
If you are offered a seat in a higher class on your replacement flight, no additional payment shall be requested. If you are placed in a lower class, a refund has to be issued within 7 days in the form of a percentage of your ticket price. These are 30%, 50% and 70% for short, medium and long flights, respectively.
In any case, the delay, cancellation or denied boarding of a flight has to be the fault of the airline. If the flight can't be operated appropriately, e.g. due to bad weather conditions and/or strikes, the airline may rely on extraordinary circumstances. In these cases, claims can be rejected. However, only the right to a financial compensation will expire. You are entitled to care (meals, refreshments, accomodation etc.) at any time as in the overview above.