Laws in every country provide passengers with broad rights in case of airline cancelations, including compensation and refunds.
Nobody likes hearing the dreaded message that their flight has been canceled. However, it’s not all bad news (depending on where you live), with airlines required to offer compensation and new flights. Here’s a guide to your rights as a passenger if your flight is canceled.
All about timing
For the sake of this article, we will focus on flight cancelation rights offered by the European Union (which the UK currently follows as well) and the US. The United States does not legally require airlines to provide any compensation for a delayed or canceled service except for a refund.
However, airlines have historically offered basics such as a new flight, food vouchers, and a hotel for overnight delays. The only situation where travelers in the US can claim benefits is if they are ‘bumped’ or unable to fly due to an oversold flight.
When it comes to the EU and UK, benefits are a lot more generous depending on your route and the airline’s notification of cancelation. These rights are codified in the EU Directive 261/2004 (EU261), which means airlines must provide these in case of any cancelations. Here’s a detailed look.
The conditions
Before calculating your dues from the airline, here are the important conditions to fulfill to be eligible. EU261 includes:
- ALL flights departing from an EU airport;
- Any flights arriving at an EU airport that are operated by EU airlines only.
If your flight meets these conditions, it’s time to check when you were notified of the cancelation. Here’s what matters:
- 14 days or more: no compensation (only refund or rebooking)
- 7 to 14 days: Compensation granted if the airline cannot offer an alternate flight that leaves two hours before the original flight and lands less than four hours later.
- Under 7 days: Compensation granted if the airline cannot offer a new route that leaves less than an hour before the original flight and lands less than two hours later.
If you’ve ticked off both these conditions, here’s a look at the compensation you’ll receive for your axed flight.
How far are you going?
Airlines owe you two things if your flight is canceled less than 14 days from departure and no acceptable rerouting is available: the first is monetary compensation, and the second is a duty of care. Here’s the breakdown of how much to expect in cash:
- Flights under 1,500 kilometers: €250
- Over 1,501 kilometers (within the EU) and between 1,501 and 3,500 kilometers (outside the EU): €400
- Over 3,500 kilometers (outside the EU): €600
Given the price you paid and plans affected, these figures might seem generous or lacking. However, a €200 compensation for a cheap EU flight is a good deal. However, the more significant benefit of longer delays might be the duty of care EU261 requires airlines to provide.
Duty of care means airlines have to:
- Provide vouchers for meals with the value depending on the length of delays
- Hotel rooms for overnight connections
- Reimbursement for communication-related expenses such as a SIM card or phone calls.
Notably, in cases where “extraordinary events” (such as unseen weather or strikes) occur, airlines do not need to provide monetary compensation but must still offer a duty of care.
Source: Simple Flying
