What to do when your flight is cancelled or delayed?

Having your flight cancelled or delayed, or being denied boarding is always very frustrating. But things are less stressful when you know your rights as a passenger and what to do in cases such as these.

 Although it's the airline's duty to display these rights at the check-in desk, many people often don't know they're entitled to care and assistance or even compensation from the airline. For this reason, we decided to put this guide together to help you out if any of these happens next time you travel.

1. Flight Delays

• What are my rights if my flight is delayed?

  Under EU law EU Regulation 261/2004, if you have checked-in you are entitled to compensation for delays of more than three hours. As an Irish resident, this applies when you travel from the EU/EEA or when you land at an EU/EEA country with a European airline.

• How much compensation am I entitled to for flight delay?
  

  Delays of less than 3 hours

  If your flight is delayed under 3 hours, you are entitled to no compensation from the airline but may be entitled to a food and drink voucher.

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  Delays of more than 3 hours

  If your flight is delayed over 3 hours you may be entitled to between €250 - €600 in compensation depending on the time delayed and destination. If necessary, a hotel stay of one or more nights.

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  Delays of more than 5 hours

  If your delay is over 5 hours you can opt for a refund on your ticket, or if you have already started your journey, you may be entitled to a return flight at no extra cost.

• Flight cancellation compensation exceptions

  Unfortunately, your right to compensation may not apply if the delay is attributable to extraordinary circumstances such as extreme weather conditions, strikes, unforeseen security measures or similar. For more details on this, check our EU Airline Compensation Rights page.

2. Flight Cancellation

• What are my rights if my flight is cancelled?

  If your flight is cancelled the airline must also offer you the three following options under the EU law.

  1. Refund the cost of the tickets for the part of the journey you were unable to complete. Once you have requested a refund you are not entitled to claim food and drink vouchers.
  2. Rebook your journey so that you can reach your destination as soon as possible. You are entitled to the appropriate assistance in this situation, meaning meals, refreshments, hotel accommodation and free phone calls depending on the distance of the flight and how long you must wait to be rerouted.
  3. Return home and book a new trip at a later date. You have the right to demand that the new journey is on the same terms as the original journey for example same class seats.
• How much compensation am I entitled to for flight cancellation?

  You may also be entitled to compensation between €250 and €600 depending on when you were informed of the cancellation.

• Flight Cancellation Compensation Exceptions 

  Similar to when your flight is delayed, the above does not apply if the cancellation is attributable to issues out of the airline's control, such as bad weather, strikes or air traffic control problems. You may also not get any compensation if you got notified of a cancelled flight two weeks before departure date or offered a similar flight instead.

  For more details on this, check our EU Airline Compensation Rights page.

3. Airline Compensations Claim

• How to claim compensation for delayed or cancelled flight?

  To claim your compensation, you must contact the airline directly. Some companies would have the claim form available on their website, otherwise try to reach them by phone.

  If the airline rejects your claim or do not meet your expectations, you can contact the national enforcement or even the Civil Aviation Authority or the European Consumer Centre. If none of these works, you could still take the claim to court.

• How long do I have to claim compensation?

  Although it's recommended to place a claim soon after any delay or cancellation, if you are only finding out about this now, don't worry. This law is retroactive so you can still be eligible to compensation if up to six years, depending on the country.

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