Passengers' rights in air transport
It’s important to know your rights if you encounter one of the following issues: delayed flight, cancelled flight, denied boarding, lost luggage.
It is evident that in cases of denied boarding, flight cancellations, or prolonged flight delays, passengers face serious inconveniences and difficulties. This is why Regulation (EC) No. 261/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council was adopted and ratified.
Who does the regulation apply to?
According to the European regulation, passengers departing from an airport located in a member state where the treaty applies, as well as those departing from an airport situated in a third country to an airport located in a member state where the treaty applies (except when they have received compensation or assistance in that third country), are entitled to receive compensation if they are in one of the aforementioned circumstances.
In the event that the flight is delayed, remember that you have the right to assistance, refund, and a return flight, depending on the duration of the delay and the flight distance.
Keep in mind that if the flight is delayed by at least 2 hours at departure, the airline must provide you with assistance (snacks and refreshments, and if necessary, accommodation).
If you arrive at the final destination with a delay of more than 3 hours, you have the right to compensation calculated based on the flight distance. However, if the airline claims that the delay was caused by extraordinary circumstances, they must provide evidence of these circumstances – for example, the logbook extract. In this latter situation, even if you do not receive compensation, the airline must still offer an alternative solution (refund or re-routing) and assistance (meals and/or accommodation) during the wait for another means of transportation.
Although flight cancellations create difficulties and inconveniences for passengers, they must be kept to a minimum according to Regulation (EC) No. 261/2004. Therefore, we are in a situation of cancellation when:
- The original flight schedule is canceled, and you are transferred to another scheduled flight.
- The plane took off but was forced to return to the departure airport, and you were transferred to another flight.
- The plane lands at an airport that is not the final destination indicated on the ticket, except in cases where this situation falls under delay cases.
It’s important to know your rights if your flight has been canceled, as you have the right to choose between reimbursement, re-routing, or returning to the point of departure. Keep in mind that once you’ve chosen one of these options, you no longer have any rights regarding the other two. Additionally, you have the right to assistance at the airport.
You are eligible for compensation if you have been informed about the flight cancellation less than 14 days before the scheduled flight date.
Similar to the scenario of flight delay, if the flight cancellation was caused by extraordinary circumstances and the airline provides evidence of this, unfortunately, you won’t be able to receive compensation.
The airline has the right to refuse boarding to passengers in the following situations:
- For reasons of safety, security, or health (for example, if you haven’t informed the airline in advance about possible infectious diseases or severe allergies) or if you don’t have the correct travel documents.
- If you haven’t used the outbound ticket from a reservation that included a return flight.
- If you haven’t boarded the previous flight(s) included in a reservation with consecutive flights.
- If you don’t have the necessary documentation for the pet you’re traveling with.
However, if you are not in one of the situations mentioned above and you have arrived on time for check-in with a valid reservation and necessary travel documentation, and the airline denies your boarding due to overbooking or operational reasons, and you do not willingly give up your seat, you have the following options:
- The right to compensation.
- The right to choose between reimbursement, re-routing, or finding an alternative flight provided by the airline.
- The right to assistance.
A missed connection is a situation where a passenger misses a flight because the announced time interval was not adhered to in the preceding flight. It’s important to know that you can only receive compensation if both the problematic flight and the flight for which the connection was missed are on the same reservation.
Therefore, if both flights are on the same reservation and you’ve missed the connection for the second flight, you can receive the compensation owed to you even for a delay of less than 3 hours.
However, if you have reservations with two different airlines on separate bookings, the first airline is not bound by the connection flight’s time interval. Thus, if you’ve missed the connection due to a 2-hour delay in the initial flight, you won’t be eligible for compensation.
