With the number of commercial flights doubling every 15 years and increasingly congested airports, the number of flight delays and cancellations is increasing every year.
According to an article in Le Parisien , in the summer of 2018, canceled flights were up 31% while delays increased by 20.5% compared to summer 2017. These delays are at the expense of passages that do not have other choices than to undergo this development, and sometimes endanger their stay abroad.
Fortunately, Europe has regulations in place to protect the rights of airline users in Europe, and ensure fair compensation in the event of delay or cancellation.
European regulations in the event of delay or cancellation:
The compensation rules within the EU relating to air passenger rights apply under the following conditions:
Domestic flight within the EU regardless of the airline
If your flight departs from an EU airport regardless of the airline
The European Union is understood to mean the 28 member countries plus the French overseas departments and territories, Iceland, Norway and Switzerland.
Note that if you travel with a different company on the outward and return journey, each company is solely responsible for its flight. It is then possible to get compensation for each flight if you are particularly unlucky and face a delay each time.
The compensation received by passengers is valid from 3 hours late and ranges from 250 euros to 600 euros depending on the distance traveled during the journey. And your rights to claim these amounts go back up to 5 years! If you discover this possibility today, then do not hesitate to review your flights of the past few years and make sure that you have not missed an opportunity.
To go further, all the conditions are available on the Europa.eu portal.
How to assert your rights and be compensated?
You have two possibilities in the event of a delay or cancellation of your flight: carry out the procedures yourself on the airline's portal or go through an agency specializing in this type of procedure.
If you wish to carry out the procedures yourself, airlines have an obligation to have a contact form directly on their website in order to allow passengers to make their request easily. With just a few clicks, you can normally submit your request and receive a response by email within 15 days.
If you wish to have support during your procedures, in particular if the situation which led to the delay or the cancellation is complex, you can go through a specialized agency such as Flightright which manages the file for you and informs you in detail. about your rights in the event of a flight delay.
The agency will be better able to assess in case of refusal of the airline whether it is a legitimate case or not of claim for compensation. In the event of a legitimate request, despite a refusal from the airline, Flightright will continue to take steps to assert your rights!
When is it not possible for you to claim compensation?
There are several cases where you cannot claim compensation for a delay or cancellation of your flight. We are talking about the following situations in particular:
Your plane is less than 3 hours late on arrival
The airline notified you of the delay or cancellation of your flight more than 14 days in advance
You did not show up for check-in
The delay or cancellation dates back more than 5 years
The delay or cancellation was due to extraordinary circumstances.
For this last point, beware of airlines invoking more often than they should the extraordinary circumstances which allow them not to be blamed. In fact, the situation must be completely out of their control.
Thus, strikes by airline personnel do not represent exceptional circumstances and are an integral part of their activity. Ditto for weather conditions preventing their planes from flying, if you notice at the same time that the majority of other flights are maintained at the airport!
translated from etudionsaletranger dot fr
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