Refunds and Compensation for Cancelled Flights
Anyone who travels abroad with any frequency will be well aware
that turning up to the airport and boarding a flight that leaves on
time with no problems is becoming something of a novelty - more
likely than not there will be some problem, whether a technical
fault, scheduling conflict, or staffing issue which means that the
aeroplane cannot leave precisely on time.
However, increasingly flights are not just being delayed, but
are cancelled outright and this can cause major disruption to your
travel plans.
Historically, if disgruntled passengers wanted any kind of
redress for the inconvenience, it was up to them to prove under
local laws that there had been a breach of contract by the airline,
and often this would be impossible due to disclaimers and exclusion
clauses which the airline had written into the contract, denying
any liability for delay or cancellation.
In 1991 the European Parliament enacted legislation which would
give passengers a right to compensation from the airline where they
were denied boarding of a flight because it was overbooked, and in
2004 this legislation was repealed and replaced with an updated
version called Regulation 261/2004. This regulation also covers
flight delays and, more importantly, flight cancellations and gives
air passengers rights to refunds of ticket prices, food and
accommodation expenses, rerouting on an alternative flight and
additional financial compensation.
The regulation applies to the following classes of flight:
- Where the flight on which they have a reservation is departing
from an airport located within an EU member state.
- Where the flight on which they have a reservation departs from
an airport outside the EU but the destination is an airport located
in an EU member state and the airline is a "community carrier"
(i.e. it is a company based in an EU member state which is licensed
and a commercial air carrier by the aviation authorities of an EU
member state)