Air passenger rights for cancelled and delayed EU flights
By Darren Cronian on Friday, December 26th, 2008

It is good news that airlines can no longer use mechanical faults as an excuse to stop passengers receiving compensation claims when a flight is delayed or cancelled. It seems the European court of Justice has closed up a loophole that airlines took advantage of.

Air passenger rights for cancelled and delayed EU flights

I wrote last year that a number of airlines were not advising passengers of their rights for compensation under EU Regulation [EC]261/2004 and before you travel it is a good idea to read up on what you’re entitled to.

Entitled to assistance

To be able to receive compensation or assistance you must have a confirmed booking and checked in on time. You must be departing from an EU airport or from a non-EU airport but to an EU airport that has its headquarters in the EU.

Delayed flight

You are entitled to two free telephone calls, faxes or emails and free meals and drinks. You are only entitled to this assistance when a flight less than 932 miles is delayed for more than two hours, a flight is more than 932 miles is delayed for more than three hours. A flight that isn’t within the EU but is between 932 and 2174 miles is delayed by more than 3 hours or when any other flight is delayed for more than four hours.

If you are delayed overnight then you are entitled to free hotel accommodation plus the cost of the transfer between the hotel and the airport. If the delay is more than five hours then you can choose to have a full refund on the price of your ticket, which is something that I was not aware of until now.

Passenger confusion

You would think that they would say is the delay is more than three hours for any flight then you are entitled to receive assistance, but no, they have to make it confusing for passengers. If the airline does not offer any assistance then challenge them and quote [EC]261/2004.

Cancelled flight

For cancelled flights then you are entitled to the same assistance as a delayed flight but in addition you should be offered a choice of a refund within 7 days of the full cost of the flight, re-routing to your final destination at the earliest opportunity or re-routing to your final destination at a later date.

You can complain about an airline with the Air Transport Users Council who are the UK’s consumer watchdog for the aviation industry, or the European Commission for transport via their website or telephone 00 800 678 910 11 from anywhere.


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15 responses to “Air passenger rights for cancelled and delayed EU flights”

Happy Hotelier | 26 December, 2008 at 2:15 pm

Hi Darren
Glad you are in the air again. When I clicked yesterday your wp.config file seemed out of order. Maybe you were updating…
In addition I would like to warn you not to use the AntiLeech plugin, that you recommended once to me, anymore. It garbled my other blog. Some sites describe it as malware…
On topic I would like to know if any of your readers ever went through the complete procedure of complaining and whether they actually got a decent and timely response….let it be compensation…

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Darren Cronian | 26 December, 2008 at 3:56 pm

Hi Guido,

I was upgrading upto WordPress 2.7 yesterday so there was 5/10 minutes downtime whilst I updated the plugins etc. Looks fine though, no major problems with the upgrade which is always a relief.

As for the plugin, I got rid of that plugin a while back but I had the same problem with another plugin, called adrandomizer, had to get rid because someone used it to hijack my pc and caused problems with the blog.

On topic, yes I would like to know that too, if anyone has had an experience trying to receive compensation we would like to learn more. I suspect not many people know about this EU legislation, and the airlines or airports do not promote it.

That’s why I wrote about it to try and raise awareness.

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Gabriel | 27 December, 2008 at 12:05 pm

Good to see you back Darren, and a great post even i didnt know some of these points, thanks for the info and this would be really helpful for others also

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AnnaE | 27 December, 2008 at 4:00 pm

Hi Darren,
I read about this on the BBC website, but I’m glad you translated it into an easy to digest bit for the little people. I am like so printing it and carrying it in my purse from now on. :)

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Murray H | 28 December, 2008 at 12:35 pm

Critical thing here, which you do mention, is to “ask”, and ask forcibly. No-one (in any walk of life) will offer something that they do not have to offer and all to often people will say precisiely nothing at the time of the event and then spend hours afterwards moaning. You should not be rude or shout, just quietly but purposefully ask and state one’s case. Bit like ending sentences with prepositions, Darren; it is the sort of English up with which, one will not put. :-)

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Darren Cronian | 29 December, 2008 at 1:11 pm

@ AnneE

No problem, I do try to be jargon free, unlike the media ;) Keep a look out for a consumer guide on this issue that I am working on, it’ll be available in PDF so much more printable for readers.

@ Murray

I think thats the problem, consumers don’t know about this EU ruling and hopefully this post will make more people aware over time. Good point about not being rude or shouting, but the mention of [EC]261/2004 should put them into action.

It’s also interesting that the posters given to airports to advertise this ruling are no where to be seen. Not on my travels anyway.

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Solomon | 1 January, 2009 at 2:54 am

I have a question about passengers rights in regards to cancelled flight.

If I have a flight with airline A from X to Y and then eight hours later I have another flight from Y to Z with airline B (different from A). Airport Z being my final destination.

If the first flight (with airline A) is cancelled and I dont get to Y on time and so I miss my second flight with airline B from Y to Z.

I understand that airline A should definitely provide an alternative flight from X to Y, my who is responsible for my follow on flight which is with airline B.

Is it Airline A?
Is it the passenger?, or
Is it Airline B?

If it is airline A, could you please send me a link from a place like IATA or somewhere similar.

Your help will be much appreciated.

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Darren Cronian | 3 January, 2009 at 5:59 am

@ Solomon

Good question, which I can’t personally answer. I’ll get someone to pop by early next week to help out.

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Denise Barrett | 3 January, 2009 at 12:06 pm

hi
Can you help. my return holiday flight from egypt was delayed 2 hours. We flew at 08.30pm we was airbound for about 2 hours when they had a medical emergency on board and they diverted to athens. When we arrived they then informed us that due to them exceeding their operating hours we was to stay overnight in hotels and fly again the next day.

We was offered no food on board and none when we got to the hotel. You can image now we are are very hungry and very tired. They did how ever supply breakfast the following morning. The delay now is going into 16 hours.

Can we claim from the airlines????

Your comments please

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Darren Cronian | 3 January, 2009 at 7:03 pm

@ Denise

Wow, that sounds like a bit of a nightmare. From the information gathered on this site, you can complain about an airline with the Air Transport Users Council and you should be entitled to a refund or some form of compensation, as your flight was delayed for so long.

I would contact the airline first, telephone them, before you put the phone down get the persons name your speaking to and the address for complaints, and back it up in a letter, send it recorded delivery. Quote [EC]261/2004 and give them full details of the flight.

If the airline do not respond within 2/3 weeks then contact the air transport users council and see if they can help you. Please do report back here with how you went on, either if you do not receive compensation, it’ll be interesting to learn from your experiences.

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Davina | 23 February, 2009 at 10:01 pm

Please can you advise. We had a five hour flight delay due to BA overbooking the flight. We were given £250 each compensation but no offer to make telephone calls, no offer of drinks or meals. Regarding the compensation, we were told to “sign here” and as we were not told what we were signing for we assumed it was for the new flight. On returning home and looking at the website I am of the opinion that as the flight was delayed for five hours and that the air miles were in excess of 3500 km, the compensation level due is in fact 600 euros per person. BA are not having this stating that compensation payments under EU Regulation 261/2004 are only made in the event of a flight cancellation. Are they right in what they say?

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Laura Holgate | 16 March, 2009 at 12:45 am

My son bought tickets through Orbitz for his trip home to the US from IT. There were 4 legs of travel. Lufthansa canceled the first leg (Palermo to Milan). The other 3 connecting flights have not been canceled. The 2nd leg (Milan to Frankefurt) is also on Lufthansa, but the next leg (Frankefurt to Chicago) is on Air India and the final flight (Chicago to Portland, OR) is on United. Orbitz tells me that a refund (taking approx 60 days is the only option). I quoted EU 261/2004 (Article 8) insisting that he be re-routed since a refund amount wouldn’t be enough to purchase new tickets. I also mentioned that if he were to opt for a refund, the same EU reg provides that reimbursement must be made with 7 days, not 60. The Orbitz customer service “international specialist” responded that they “don’t go by that (EU 261/2004) because each airline has it’s own policies”. He learned of the cancelation when he called in on another matter. He has not received any written notice of the cancellation or of his rights.
MY QUESTION: does Lufthansa have an obligation only with respect to the flight they canceled, or are they obligated to re-route to the final destination (since the connecting flights can’t be made as a result of the first leg being canceled)? Does Orbitz have any obligation as the travel agent?
Any advice appreciated! Original booking was for 3/28, and my son’s tourist visa expires mid-April – he can’t wait 60 days for a refund, and he can’t afford to pay the current fares.

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Everette | 21 April, 2010 at 10:05 pm

Hi Laura
First of all the rule that has been passed by the European courts is clear but not defined. Secondly airlines hide behind the fact that the rules are not clearly defined so there policies are flexible which only then benefit from. As for your son the fact that the first leg of his trip was cancelled that should not affect the rest of his journey; however it’s cheaper to refund passengers when a flight is cancelled simple because other airlines double their airfare because of the high demand from the cancelled flights. Never the fewer airlines seem to operate in an entity of their own where they flaunt the rules to suit their own needs.
The company offered the refund as your son is entitled if the airline cannot provide alternative and suitable travel. As the flights were indirect and different companies collect there payments it will be hard to get a refund in 7 days; however that shouldn’t matter as there was connecting flights; the answer to your question is : it is the airline responsibility to get you to that contracted destination on time so you can catch your connecting flights. If they have cancelled they should re-route you by any means to that destination.
Please remember the rules state that the EU law only applies if the company is registered in the EU, Orbitz is registered in the US and they operate on different rules. As a pre-caution if you live in the EU always book your flights with a EU registered company as you will have some leverage when “push comes to shove”

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linda | 3 May, 2010 at 7:23 pm

I was recently delayed in Tenerife for 7 days due to the recent volcanic ash issue. My flight operator paid for food and accomodation but I wanted to find out if I was entitled to a refund of the cost of the flight under the European Union Travel Directive. I also had to take unpaid leave from work and a very large phone bill.

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Lucy Meadows | 11 May, 2010 at 3:18 pm

Hi i Was one of a party of three in Hungary when the Volcanic ash cloud cancelled our flights on Jet2 airlines. I have now arrived home and am not sure when I will recieve my payment for new tickets I had topay for to get home with. Jet2 emailed and told me the payment would be in my bank by last thursday but nothing has happened. They have made no reference to the expencses incurred for 3 nights. What should I do next? Their phone lines charge 50p per minute so would like to have a dialogue ready if I have to phone them.

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