All airline passengers travelling within the EC, have protection under legislation known as Regulation 261/2004. This provides airline travellers with certain rights when travelling. The key elements of the rights are :-

• Compensation for cancelled flights
• Assistance and support from the airline if your flights is delayed

The protection under the regulation is only available if you :-

• have a confirmed reservation
• have checked in on time for your flight
• depart from an EU airport or
• depart from a non-EU airport but on a `Community Carrier` ( this is an Airline with its headquarters and main place of business within the EU )

A useful summary of legislation published by the European commission can be found here. EC-Regulation

Compensation for cancelled flights

Your compensation depends on a number of a number factors which include where you where flying to as well as the delay suffered in you reaching your final destination. The compensation ranges from 250 euros ( about £191 ) up to 600 euros ( £458 ) so it is worth claiming!

The table of compensation is as follows :-

Example

• You where travelling to say New York
• Your flight was cancelled and you did not receive any notice from the airline.
• You arrive in New York late by over 4 hours
• You could be entitled to compensation of 600 euros (In the region of £458 !)

Start your claim here !

What should always happen if your flight is cancelled

The airlines should always comply with the legislation often they don’t ! if you have suffered a cancelled flight, the airline should have offered you a choice of a :-

• Refund of your ticket within 7 working days as well as a return flight to your point of departure or
• Re-routing to your final destination at the earliest opportunity

While the airline where sorting out your cancelled flight they should have also offered you assistance with calls and refreshments as per the table below

If the cancellation results in a delay of 2 hours or more in you arriving at your destination then you can also claim compensation as per the table above.

Overbooking ?

We often get asked about overbooking, that is you turn up for your flight and then the airline says there isn’t enough spaces on the plane, this is despite you booking you seat !

So what should happen ?

The airline should first ask for volunteers to give their seat up. If you do then you are entitled to the assistance in the form of calls and refreshments as per the table below.

Unfortunately if you don’t volunteer the airline can still refuse you entry under EC Regulation however if they do you can claim compensation if the delay in your arriving at your destination is over 2 hours whilst the airline should also offer you a full refund or re-routing.

If you have been a victim of overbooking and want to claim compensation start your claim here !

The Airlines extraordinary circumstances defence

Under the EC regulation an airline does not have to offer compensation if the cancellation or delay is due to extraordinary circumstances which could not have been avoided even if all reasonable measures had been taken. So what does this mean ?

Few cases if any have come before the Courts on the meaning of extraordinary circumstances however the legislation makes clear that airlines would not be liable for things such as extreme weather, security risks and terrorists threats etc by contrast technical faults, maintenance issues or staffing problems are not in aeroclaim’s opinion extraordinary circumstances.

As airlines often try and use all sorts of unfair excuses for your cancelled flight by claiming through aeroclaim you know your case is in safe hands and we will always look very carefully at whether the excuse given by the airline is acceptable. Often in our opinion it isn’t !

To start you claim click here

Delayed flights

No compensation is due if your flight is delayed, despite this you have a very clear legal entitlement to care by the airline. So what does this mean ?

The amount of assistance ( or right to care as it appears in the legislation ) depends upon the length of the delayed flight. The table below highlights the amount of assistance the airline should provide you with. As you can see assistance ranges from food and refreshments, as well as the opportunity to make phone calls, e-mails or faxes, while If your flight is delayed for longer than 5 hours the airlines should offer either reimbursement of your ticket ( if you decide not to travel ) together with hotel accommodation if an overnight stay becomes necessary.

My flight was delayed and I missed by connection can I claim compensation?

The rules on connecting flights are complex. Ultimately it depends upon whether your flights where booked with the same carrier, if they are then the airline will be liable to compensate you for losses unless it can show it took all reasonable steps to avoid the damage.