Compensation for delayed or cancelled flights

There has been a lot of talk recently about flight cancellations by the airline Ryanair, which prompted me to write a short post on the subject of compensation for a delayed or cancelled flight. If you’d like to find out more about your rights, please take a look at today’s post.

This post will cover situations where a flight takes place within the European Union or begins or ends at an airport located within the EU. In such cases, the provisions of Regulation 261/2004 will apply. This Regulation sets out the rights to which passengers are entitled in the event of flight cancellations or delays. I will focus primarily on right to compensation.

Delayed flight

If our the flight is delayed by a few hours the airline should provide us with meals and drinks, access to a telephone, email or fax, and, if necessary, hotel accommodation (the right to care). Passengers who have reached their destination with a delay of more than 3 hours may also apply for compensation for a delayed flight. The amount of compensation depends on the length of the flight and is as follows:

• €250 for flights of up to 1,500 km
• €400 for longer flights within the European Union or other flights covering a distance of 1,500–3,500 km
• €600 for flights outside the European Union of more than 3,500 km

You are not entitled to compensation if the carrier can prove that the long flight delay is caused by exceptional circumstances, …which could not have been avoided despite the exercise of all reasonable care, that is to say, circumstances which are beyond the air carrier’s effective control.

Flight cancelled

In the case of cancelled flight The passenger has the right to cancel the journey. The carrier is then obliged to refund the passenger the full amount within 7 days ticket price at the price at which it was purchased, for the part or parts of the journey not yet made and for the part or parts already made, if the flight no longer serves any purpose in relation to the original travel plan, and to provide the passenger, where appropriate, a return flight to the first point of departure at the earliest possible date. Alternatively, if the passenger does not wish to cancel the journey and the flight has been cancelled, the carrier is obliged to provide the passenger with change to the itinerary on comparable terms, to their final destination, at the earliest possible opportunity or at a later date convenient to the passenger, subject to availability.

Passengers are also entitled tothe right to care and to compensation. In this case too, the amount compensation depends on the length of the flight, and the amounts are the same as in the case of delayed flight. No compensation is payable if passengers were informed of the cancellation at least two weeks before the scheduled departure time, or were informed of the cancellation between two weeks and seven days before the scheduled departure time and were offered a re-routing enabling them to depart no later than two hours before the scheduled departure time and to reach their final destination no more than four hours after the scheduled arrival time, or were informed of the cancellation less than seven days before the scheduled departure time and were offered a re-routing enabling them to depart no more than one hour before the scheduled departure time and to reach their final destination no later than two hours after the scheduled arrival time.

How do I claim compensation?

To apply for compensation for a delayed or cancelled flight You should first submit a complaint to the airline. A complaint form can be found on the carrier’s website, and if one is not available, simply submit a written complaint specifying the flight in question and attaching the booking confirmation for that flight. The carrier should respond to the complaint within 30 days. In many cases, airlines try to avoid paying compensation and cite exceptional circumstances. This term refers to circumstances beyond the carrier’s control, such as strikes, adverse weather conditions, acts of sabotage, political instability and terrorist attacks. If a claim for compensation is refused, the passenger may appeal to The President of the Civil Aviation Authority, which will determine whether extraordinary circumstances did in fact arise. The complaint must be accompanied by a copy of our complaint and the carrier’s response; if no response has been provided, you must state that no response has been received. After examining the case, the President of the Civil Aviation Authority will issue a decision requiring the carrier to remedy any infringements of Regulation (EC) No 261/2004 identified in the decision, if such infringements are found. The President of the Civil Aviation Authority may therefore order the airline payment of compensation. If the carrier still fails to pay compensation, the passenger may pursue their claim in a civil court.

Do you need additional legal assistance? If you have any questions about compensation, please get in touch!