If you are planning a few days abroad during these Christmas holidays, it is important to be aware of your rights and responsibilities in case your travel itinerary is disrupted by a flight delay or cancellation. Flight delays are more common than cancellations, and while they are often short, sometimes they can result in hours waiting at an airport and mess up holiday plans.
When flights are delayed for over two hours, airlines are in the first instance obliged to look after the affected passengers by providing them with meals and refreshments proportionate to the time of waiting.
In case of delays exceeding five hours, airlines must offer them a choice between reimbursement of the flight ticket within seven days, and if applicable, a return flight to the first point of departure, and rerouting under comparable transport conditions to the passengers’ final destination at the earliest opportunity or rerouting at a later date.
Should passengers decide to wait to board their original scheduled flight, and the waiting involves a night, the airline should provide them with adequate hotel accommodation and transport between the airport and place of accommodation.
Depending on the reason why the flight was delayed, passengers may also be entitled to financial compensation for the inconvenience suffered. In fact, if the flight is delayed for over three hours and not due to an extraordinary circumstance outside the airline’s control, passengers are entitled to claim monetary compensation from the airline that varies between €250 and €600 depending on the length of the flight.
If the flight is delayed for over three hours and not due to an extraordinary circumstance, compensation varies between €250 and €600- Odette Vella
Similar rights apply to cancelled flights. However, in this case the airline should offer the choice between a refund of the flight ticket and rerouting as soon as passengers are informed about the cancelled flight. If passengers opt for a refund, this means the airline is only legally obliged to refund the full amount paid for the flight ticket.
This, however, may not be the best option when the cancelled flight is a return flight, as it would mean that the passengers would need to make their own travel arrangements, which may cost more than the refund of the original flight ticket.
Passengers should keep in mind that in such situations they would need to buy another flight ticket to return home, and if they do not find a return flight on the same day, they would also incur accommodation costs. In such a situation, it is advisable for passengers to ask the airline to provide them with rerouting options, and if these are not available on the same day, then the airline is also legally responsible to cover any related accommodation costs.
If the airline does not offer rerouting to passengers and they are left with no other option but to make their own travel arrangements, then they should make sure that they have proof of this and keep the receipts of any expenses incurred. Once they return home, they may then communicate with the airline and claim a refund of all the costs incurred. It is, however, important that these extra expenses are kept to the minimum.
Financial compensation also applies to cancelled flights unless the airline can prove that cancellation was due to an extraordinary circumstance that could not have been avoided even if all reasonable measures had been taken.
Passengers are also not entitled to claim monetary compensation if the airline informed them about the cancelled flight at least 14 days before the date of departure.
Airlines are also not obliged to pay compensation when they inform their passengers about the cancelled flight between seven and 14 days before the departure date and offer them an alternative flight that departs not more than two hours before the original departure time and arrives at the final destination less than four hours after the original arrival time.
Air passengers who experience delays and cancellations and do not receive the compensation they are entitled to from the airline, should make an official claim with the airline concerned.
If the airline rejects the claim for compensation, passengers should contact the national enforcement body in the country where the incident took place. If the flight is delayed or cancelled in Malta or outside the EU on a flight to Malta on an EU-licensed airline, passengers may file their complaint with the Malta Competition and Consumer Affairs Authority on airpassengerrights.mccaa@mccaa.org.mt.
Odette Vella is director, Information and Research Directorate, MCCAA
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