Laws that came into effect in February 2005 are a boon for travellers whose flights have been delayed, cancelled or overbooked. If your flight to or from a European airport on a European airline is cancelled or overbooked, and it is the airline's fault, you should be in line for compensation unless the problem is caused by exceptional circumstances outside the airline's control. The legislation extends passengers' rights introduced in 1991, upping the general level of compensation and including domestic and charter flights.
What are you entitled to?
If your flight is delayed, you are entitled to free refreshments, two phone calls and, if necessary, overnight accommodation, but how much you will get depends not on how much your ticket cost, but on how far you were going and how badly you were inconvenienced.
Know your distances
For flights less than 1,500km (935 miles) - this covers the most popular city break destinations, eg, Heathrow to Dublin, Amsterdam, Paris, Prague, Warsaw - approximately £197 (€250) compensation will be paid for flights which have been cancelled, or where you have been bumped off the plane because the airline overbooked. If your flight is delayed more than two hours, you are entitled to meals, refreshments, hotel accommodation where necessary and phone calls. If the delay exceeds five hours, or the flight has been cancelled or overbooked, you are also entitled to a full refund and a free flight back to your point of departure.
For flights between 1,500 and 3,500km (935 miles and 2,215 miles) - Heathrow to Athens, Madrid, Helsinki, Istanbul, Rome, Moscow for example - expect around £315 (€400) if your flight is cancelled or overbooked. If your flight is delayed by more than three hours, you are entitled to refreshments, hotel accommodation and phone calls. If the delay exceeds five hours, or the flight has been cancelled or overbooked, you are also entitled to a full refund and a free flight back to your point of departure.
Flights beyond 3,500km (2,215 miles) - Heathrow to long-haul destinations beyond Europe - compensation up to £473 (€600) in case of cancellation or overbooking. If your flight is delayed for more than four hours, you are entitled to free meals, refreshments, phone calls and, if the delay lasts overnight, hotel accommodation. If the delay exceeds five hours, or the flight has been cancelled or overbooked, you are also entitled to a full refund and a free flight back to your point of departure.
How to put in a claim
The airline should offer you the compensation or assistance set out in the regulation. If it doesn't complain to the airline, and if the airline continues to deny you your rights, complain to the Air Transport Users Council, either by calling 020 7240 6061 or writing to CAA House, 45-59 Kingsway, London, WC2B 6TE.
The council will negotiate on your behalf. If the airline still refuses to comply with the regulation, the council can refer the matter to the Civil Aviation Authority. The CAA will be able to prosecute the airline, which will be liable for fines of up to £5,000 per incident. Each individual complaint will be treated as a separate incident. If you are entitled to compensation, the airline must pay it within seven days.
Likewise, Irish travellers should first contact their airline, but if you are having difficulty obtaining your rights, contact the Office of the Director of Consumer Affairs, 4-5 Harcourt Road, Dublin 2. Telephone 01 402 5516.
What is an "exceptional circumstance"?
It is "an event [that] has been caused by extraordinary circumstances which could not have been avoided even if all reasonable measures had been taken". So the most common causes of disruption - bad weather, technical problems or strikes - are not covered.
Is everybody happy?
Airlines, particularly the low-costs, have not been keen to comply with these new regulations and have used the "exceptional circumstance" loophole to avoid paying out. And industry figures suggest that the regulations are of little use to consumers too. They say that fewer than one per cent of claims for flight delays and cancellations are successful.
More details
Europa: gateway to the European Union
Air passenger rights in the EU
Oonagh Shiel
© Cheapflights Ltd
Updated April 2009
