What are Your Rights as an Airline Passenger?

With many of you about to fly to your summer holiday destination, we look at the rights of airline passengers. The following summary concerns the rights of those departing from a destination in the EU, as well as Norway, Iceland and Switzerland.

Your Flight has been Cancelled

The airline is required to provide you with a written statement that explains your rights. They must then offer you either a refund of your ticket, or another flight. If you choose to take another flight, it should be under comparable conditions, and taken ‘at the earliest possible opportunity’, or otherwise at your convenience, subject to seat availability. If the replacement flight lands at another airport, then the airline is required to provide transport to take you to the original airport, or other mutually agreed destination. If you decide not to take another flight then you are entitled to be flown back to your point of departure as well as a full refund of your ticket price, including any connecting parts of the journey already flown if the flight taken no longer serves any purpose. The refund must be paid within seven days. Needless to say, if you are travelling with a low-cost airline you will not benefit from this rule, as most do not operate through-ticketing. Ryanair are not going to give you a refund a ticket for an earlier journey!

Compensation

Whichever option you choose, you are entitled to a flat-rate compensation, the amount of which depends on the length of the original flight. This compensation is halved if you are offered another flight that does not exceed the scheduled arrival by a specific period.

Up to 1500 kilometres, the compensation payable is €250, which drops to €125 if the delay is less than two hours.
Up to 3500 kilometres the sum is €400 or €200 if the delay does not exceed three hours.
For other flights the sums are €600 or €300 if the delay is not greater than four hours.

If you consider you have incurred costs that exceed the level of compensation payable, then you can ultimately make a claim in the courts. Some airlines offer travel vouchers in lieu of cash, but you need to be careful with the terms of such vouchers, as they are likely to contain restrictions. No compensation is payable if you were informed of the cancellation at least 14 days before the scheduled departure time, or between fourteen and seven days notice if a re-routing offer means the scheduled time is only changed by two hours, with arrival within four hours of the scheduled time. Less than seven days then no compensation is payable if they get you to your destination within 2 hours of the scheduled time, and the flight does not leave more than 1 hour before the original departure time. Most importantly, an airline is not obliged to offer compensation if it can prove that it was caused by ‘circumstances which could not have been avoided even if all reasonable measures had been taken’. Accordingly, cancellation of the flight in the event of bad weather or a strike will normally mean no compensation is payable. Where a crew is not available, the aircraft is faulty, or there is merely late running of the aircraft, you are entitled to compensation. Similarly, even if you know the aircraft is delayed, if you do not check-in on time, you can be refused compensation.

Food and Care

If you are stranded at the airport waiting for a replacement flight, you are entitled to meals and refreshments, two free telephone calls/fax/text messages. If the flight does not leave the same day, then you are entitled to hotel accommodation. There is nothing stated about what form the food and refreshment should take, other than that it should be ‘appropriate’, and you cannot buy them yourself and seek compensation.

Your are Denied Boarding (Overbooking)

If you arrive at the airport and you are denied boarding due to lack of seats (and not because you are drunk!), your rights are the same as those as if the flight was cancelled. If the operator has overbooked the aircraft, then they are obliged to ask for volunteers to offer up their seats. Most will offer another flight, plus some cash. You are able to negotiate your own terms, which the airline can accept or refuse. You have no entitlement to other compensation if you volunteer your seat. If they cannot find enough volunteers, then the aircraft will choose from amongst the remaining passengers. You will be offered the next flight, refreshments, and compensation on the same terms as above.

Your Flight is Delayed

If the flight is delayed by more than two hours, then you are entitled to receive formal notice of your rights from the airline. The rules do not make clear when a delayed flight constitutes a cancelled flight and the European Commission has expressed concern that some airlines abuse the spirit of the regulations to avoid the payment of compensation for a cancelled flight.

Right to Care

You are entitled to a right to care on the same basis as cancelled flights, in the following circumstances:

Two Hours - Up to 1500 km
Three Hours – Up to 3500 km
Four Hours – Above

Unaccompanied children and those with mobility problems (including those accompanying them) are entitled to immediate care.

Refund of Ticket

You are entitled to a refund of your ticket once the flight delay reaches five hours. You will also be entitled to refund of other journeys taken in connection with the flight on the same basis as cancellation of the flight.

Lost or Damaged Baggage

These rights apply to in those countries who have signed the 1999 Montreal Convention, which would include most international passengers. If you notice any damage, then you should notify the airline immediately, or at the latest within seven days. If your baggage is lost then you should immediately contact the Lost Baggage service of the airline. Even if later found once you have left the airport you can send the airline a claim for any inconvenience caused, within 21 days. The amount of the compensation for lost or damaged cannot exceed 1,000 Special Drawing Rights (SDRs), which is equivalent to around €1000. Accordingly, if the value of your baggage exceeds this sum, you should consider taking separate insurance, unless covered through your credit/debit card used to book the flight.

Enforcement

The enforcement body for these regulations in the UK is the Civil Aviation Authority, whilst in France it is the DGAC (Direction de la régulation économique Bureau de la facilitation et des clients du transport aérien). Other countries have their own enforcement bodies. The relevant competent body is the one located in the country of departure of the flight.

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