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Your rights

When you travel by plane, you are protected under the European regulations. Few passengers are aware of these consumer rights and many lack the legal knowledge required to claim compensation. How much compensation are you entitled to?

European regulations

Your rights are protected under the Montreal Convention and Regulation (EC) 261/2004. These regulations prescribe that when your flight is delayed, cancelled or overbooked, you are entitled to compensation of £212, £339 or £509 per passenger. The compensation amount is not dependent of your ticket price, but of the distance and destination of your flight.

 

     

Determining your legal status

What was your flight distance, what was the exact length of your delay, what were the weather conditions like on the day of your flight and may extraordinary circumstances have been a factor in your delay or cancellation? We will answer these questions for you and assess the validity of your claim. All you need to do is enter your flight details and submit the claim; we'll do the rest.

 

Your rights

When you fly inside the EU, fly with a European carrier or if your flight departs from the EU, your rights are protected by Regulation EC No. 261/2004. If no extraordinary circumstance has occurred, the law gives you the right to be compensated when a flight has been delayed, cancelled or overbooked. We can help you exercise your rights and claim up to 600,00€ (£514.00) per passenger!

Claim compensation for a delayed or cancelled flight

You have the right to claim compensation for your flight delay, cancellation or overbooking. The exact length of your delay, the cause for your disruption and when you were informed about it, are among the criteria that will determine if you’re owed compensation. The distance you were travelling defines the total amount of financial compensation you could receive, you can be entitled to up to 250€ (£220), 400€ (£350) or 600€ (£520) per passenger.

When am I entitled to receive compensation?

Generally speaking, if you’ve arrived at your final destination with a delay of more than 3 hours (2 for cancellations) and no extraordinary circumstance has occurred, you will be entitled to compensation. Airlines often misuse the argument of extraordinary circumstances and frequently dismiss valid claims. If the airline is responsible for your disruption, we will make sure you receive the compensation you are owed. Check your flight for free with our claim calculator and we’ll immediately tell you if you have the right to claim compensation.

How much compensation can I get for a delayed flight?

This depends on the distance between your point of origin and your point of arrival.

  • For flights of fewer than 1,500 km, the flight delay compensation is 250€ (£220).
  • For flights between 1,500 and 3,500 km, the flight delay compensation is 400€ (£350).
  • For flights over 3,500 km, the general flight delay compensation is 600€ (£520) however, if your flight has been delayed between 3 and 4 hours, the total amount can be reduced by 50%.
Remember that in order to get the compensation, your flight must have been delayed by at least 3 hours.
   
Amount: Flight destination & distance
Compensation of € 250€ For flights of fewer than 1,500 km
Compensation of € 400€ For flights between 1,500 and 3,500 km
Compensation of € 600€ For flights over 3,500 km, the general flight delay compensation is 600€ (£520) however

 

compensation for flight cancel
It’s also worth noting that if you have not been offered an alternative flight or the alternative flight does not meet your schedule, you are eligible for a flight refund.
If your flight has been cancelled fewer than 14 days before the departure date and you have not been offered an alternative flight, you are entitled to both a refund and compensation.
   

Can I get compensation if my flight was cancelled?

Generally, if your flight was cancelled fewer than 14 days in advance, you are eligible for cancelled flight compensation. However, there are some additional criteria that must be met. See the information below for details.

 

Can the airline deny me flight delay compensation?

Unfortunately, many airlines still decide to deny passengers their delayed flight compensation. They often believe that the passenger — especially one not aided by a legal professional — will not decide to pursue the case to court.

At PassengersRights.eu, we have legal teams in 9 countries and over 10 years of experience in getting passengers the money they are owed. In many cases, we are able to process the flight delay compensation claim faster thanks to our knowledge of the industry and airlines; and if mediation doesn’t work, we will fight for you in court. All this is handled on the ‘no win, no fee’ basis — you don’t have to pay us anything until the airline issues your flight delay compensation.

However, keep in mind that there are also the so-called extraordinary circumstances in which the airline can rightfully deny the flight delay compensation:

  • Bad weather, such as thick fog, heavy rain, or thunderstorms.
  • A strike, most often specifically within the aviation industry.HOWEVER! A strike of a specific airline/their crew is not considered an extraordinary circumstance!
  • Political circumstances, such as a terrorist attack or general security risk due to political unrest.
  • Natural disasters, including volcanic eruptions and hurricanes.
  • A collision between the aircraft and birds or other foreign objects.
  • An unruly or ill passenger.
  • Flight delays caused by the airport staff, such as extraordinarily long queues to security checks.

Be aware, though, that airlines often claim that the flight delay happened because of extraordinary circumstances when, in fact, that wasn’t the case.

I have incurred additional expenses due to my flight being delayed or cancelled. Can these be reimbursed?

Yes. Additional expenses can include unexpected hotel bookings due to very lengthy delays or sudden cancellations, food in airport restaurants, as well as spendings on taxis or car rentals.

If you decide to submit your flight delay compensation claim with PassengersRights.eu, you can upload all the bills to our system. We’ll carefully review them and include them in your case against the airline.

How long will it take to get my delayed flight compensation?

Thanks to our extensive experience in the industry and good relationship with many airlines, we are able to process your flight delay compensation claim fast and get it the much-needed attention. If our legal team manages to settle your claim directly with the airline, you can expect the payout within a few weeks or months.

Unfortunately, if the airline is unresponsive or the case has to be taken to court, the process might take significantly longer, up to a few years. However, stay assured that we will always keep you well informed on any updates regarding your flight delay claim and fight for your rights until the very end.

We have won 98% of court cases against airlines and work exclusively on a ‘no win, no fee’ basis.

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