What must the airline provide to passengers in the event of a delay?

The start of the season is quickly approaching, which inevitably means that many of you reading this are bound to experience flight delays or cancellations. Yes, yes, this is, unfortunately, exactly so. Believe it or not, we issue a lot of insurance to our tourists and, of course, no one thinks that it will be useful to him. However, every month someone seeks medical help!

This time we will only touch on the topic of canceling a flight, and not a flight as part of a package tour purchased from a tour operator! Those. It’s simple, you bought a ticket, but a malicious carrier delays the flight, or it may not take place at all! What to do in this case, what rights do you have and what are the responsibilities of the airline?

How to get compensation for a flight delay

All passengers can expect to receive compensation for flight delays. However, the airline is not always obliged to make cash payments. First of all, it is worth understanding whether the company is to blame for the current problematic situation?

The airline is guilty of delaying a flight under the following circumstances:

• if the flight schedule is incorrectly compiled;
• when the aircraft crew is unprepared for departure;
• when overbooking. This situation arises when a company issues and sells a number of tickets that exceeds the number of seats in the aircraft cabin. This is done deliberately so that the company does not lose profits. The fact is that according to statistics, 5% of passengers do not show up for the scheduled departure time of the plane;
• when a flight is canceled due to the unprofitability of the flight (often this applies to charter flights);
• in other circumstances, when airline representatives cannot provide facts proving their innocence.

However, flights are not always delayed due to the fault of the airlines. Delays may occur due to poor meteorological (weather) conditions. Adverse natural factors can endanger the life and health of the entire crew and passengers. The airline is also not responsible for:

• insurmountable force majeure situations;
• technical violations on the plane;
• strikes of employees, crew members;
• requirements received from authorized bodies.

In such circumstances, no compensation will be paid to passengers for flight delays.

In case of short-term delays, financial payments are also not provided. You need to focus on specific circumstances and time:

• If the flight is delayed by an hour, no compensation will be paid. However, an airline customer is entitled to make one free call. If you wish, you can send a message by email. It is important to ask the operating personnel about the reason for the delay or call the hotline;
• If the flight is delayed by 2 hours, compensation is also not provided. In this case, passengers have the right to receive cold snacks and drinks. For parents traveling with children under seven years of age, access to a children's room must be provided in which mother and child can relax. You can also use means of communication;
• If a flight is delayed by 3 hours, compensation is expressed in the form of an offer to rebook tickets. Drinks and snacks are also provided;
• if the flight is delayed by 4 hours, compensation includes free service at the airport, the right to make a couple of calls or send an email. Parents with children have access to the baby and mother room;
• if the flight is delayed for more than 3 hours, compensation can be expressed in the following: an offer to reimburse the cost of the air ticket within a week, the provision of a hotel room (at night), the provision of a transfer (in the daytime, after 8 hours), compensation for losses incurred as a result of the purchase of the most necessary of things. In this case, you need to provide receipts.

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If possible, the company should notify passengers in advance that the flight is delayed. In this case, all citizens with tickets can either go to their destination on another flight or cancel the flight altogether. If a flight is canceled or delayed and the planned connection is in jeopardy, the airline must make a monetary payment. If the plane's takeoff is delayed due to the fault of the airline, then passengers have the right to demand compensation payments. The question arises: “How to get compensation for a delayed flight?” First of all, you need to file a claim. It is important to take into account that applications for flights operated within the country (within Russia) are considered in accordance with the laws in force in the country. Applications for international flights are made according to the laws of the country where the departure airport is located. Such a statement can be drawn up at the airline's place of registration. In Russia, you need to put a stamp on your boarding pass or on your itinerary receipt about a flight delay. This can be done if you contact airline service personnel or go to the information desk at the airport. All required documents must be attached to the claim. A written complaint can be made in free form. It must indicate all the nuances of the problematic situation that has arisen, the violations committed by the carrier, as well as the requirements of the applicant himself. A copy of the complaint and confirmation of dispatch must be kept (in case the case is resolved in court). It is important to comply with application deadlines. The complaint must be made no later than six months from the date of the flight delay. If the case concerns international flights, then the complaint can be made no later than two years from the date of delay.

What services is a passenger entitled to when a flight is delayed?

In addition to the rights specified in the previous section, when a flight is delayed, a passenger has the right to be provided free of charge by the carrier with additional services provided at the airport during the period of waiting for the delayed aircraft. These additional services include:

• organization of luggage storage;
• provision of mother and child rooms to a passenger with a child under seven years of age;
• provision of refreshments, as well as two phone calls or two emails when waiting more than two hours for a flight to depart;
• provision of hot meals when waiting for flight departure for more than four hours. If the flight is further delayed, meals will be provided every six hours during the day and every eight hours at night;
• accommodation in a hotel when waiting for a flight departure for more than eight hours - during the day and more than six hours - at night, as well as transportation of passengers by transport from the airport to the hotel and back.

Amount of compensation for flight delay

Frequent air travelers often wonder whether it is possible to receive compensation for flight delays in cash? Yes it is possible. It is important to highlight one point here: the amount of compensation and the procedure for its payment in the Russian Federation and in European countries are different. The laws regulating air travel in the Russian Federation provide that compensation for flight delays in Russia by leading (Ural Airlines, S7, Aeroflot) and other companies is:

• 25% of the established minimum wage (per hour of detention). The payment should not exceed 50% of the ticket price;
• 3% of the ticket price per hour of delay in the departure of the plane (this is moral compensation for the flight delay);
• if a charter flight is delayed, compensation in the Russian Federation is 25% for each hour of the established minimum wage.

Flight delay compensation in Europe is subject to stricter laws. Compensation in case of flight delay will be provided if the flight was carried out from the Russian Federation to the countries of the European Union or for a flight of a Russian or European company from the countries of the European Union to Russian territory. If an international flight is delayed, compensation depends on the time and planned distance of the flight. If a flight in the EU zone is delayed for more than 3 hours, the passenger may receive a payment in the amount of:

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• 250 € for a distance of no more than 1,500 kilometers;
• 400 € for distances exceeding 1,500 kilometers.

If flights are delayed between airports in European and non-European countries, with a flight distance of more than 3,500 kilometers, an airline client can claim compensation in the amount of:

• 300 € (up to 4 hours);
• from 600 € (4-12 hours).

In case of delay of charter flights (exceeding 3 hours), airlines of the European Union countries must pay compensation in the amount of 290 to 590 €.

If there are problems in the EU

If your flight is delayed by an organization that is registered in the EU, or problems begin at an airport in an EU state, the passenger's rights are established by Regulation No. 261/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council.

According to the rules of the regulations, a client can ask for compensation if his trip was delayed by more than 3 hours, completely canceled, or the organization refused boarding. Most importantly, compensation can be obtained within six years of the delay.

ATTENTION! An organization can refuse compensation only if the flight delay was due to terrorists, a strike, an explosion, political unrest, or weather. In the latter option, the refusal is legal only if absolutely all flights from the airport have been cancelled. To get your money back, you need to carefully study the Regulations.

If your problem corresponds to the provisions recorded in the Regulations, you will need to file a claim with the airline.

When changing the schedule, the passenger must be aware of his rights and confidently declare them in the event of problems. Receiving money and compensation for damage received depends on the availability of general evidence of the company’s guilt and documents confirming the client’s waste.

What documents are required

In order for the company's clients to receive compensation for flight delays, Russia, represented by the authorized bodies, establishes a certain list of documents that must be attached to the application to the airline. Such documents include:

• copies of tickets containing a note about the delay;
• receipts serving as proof of expenses incurred (payment for a hotel room, transportation, meals in restaurants, etc.);
• confirmation of other losses, as well as moral damage.

Refund terms

The Russian airline must make a decision on payment no later than 30 days from the date of receipt of the claim (in accordance with Article 128, paragraph 1 of the RF CC). However, the law does not establish exact terms for compensation for damage to passengers. For this reason, each company can set its own deadlines. As practice shows, such periods do not exceed 2 months. In rare cases, a passenger may receive compensation payments within six months. In Europe, the amount of compensation must be transferred to the passenger no later than 7 days (in accordance with Regulation 261/2004).

Going to court

If 30 days have passed after the airline received the pre-trial complaint, and company representatives refused to satisfy the applicant’s demands, the passenger whose interests were violated can file a claim in court. A claim may be brought:

• at the legal address of the company’s office, representative office or branch;
• at the place of drawing up the contract (including at the place of its execution);
• at the place of residence or actual stay of the plaintiff.

The statement of claim must be accompanied by documents that were previously attached to the pre-trial complaint (copies of purchased tickets, receipts confirming losses, etc.), as well as copies of the pre-trial claim itself and the response letter from the airline that delayed the flight. To be guaranteed to receive compensation, you need to convincingly state the legal grounds confirming the airline’s violation of their duties, as well as the violation of the rights and interests of the passenger. In addition, it is necessary to indicate the reasonable amount of expected compensation. It is important to note that a claim can be brought within 3 years from the date of the flight delay. You also need to be aware that the case should be resolved in court if it was not possible to resolve the problem pre-trial.

Author of the publication

offline 7 months

How to check your flight and get 600 euros?

To receive compensation yourself, you must:

1. Read the EC261 provision and check whether your flight meets the criteria: delay time, distance between cities, and calculate the amount you can receive.
2. Form a claim to the airline and send it to the appropriate department.
3. In case of refusal, write a statement to the consumer protection society of the country of departure.
4. In case of a new refusal, file a claim and go to the court of the country of departure.