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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
If your flight is cancelled, you may be entitled to up to €600 in compensation.
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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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 have the claim form available on their website, otherwise try to reach them by phone.
If the airline rejects your claim or does 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.
4. Extreme weather & strike cover
Does Travel Insurance cover Airline Strikes & Bad Weather?
As you've seen above, in cases of cancellation or delays due to snow, volcano ashes, etc, you may not be entitled for compensation from the airline. Multitrip.com, however, offers Flight Cancellation and Travel Disruption as optional add-ons to your Multitrip Travel Insurance policy.
Flight Cancellation Cover
Flight Cancellation Optional extras would help you cover:
- additional accommodation and travel expenses incurred in reaching your overseas destination and/or in returning to Ireland should your flight be cancelled or delayed for more than 24 hours after check-in.
Travel Disruption
Travel Disruption Optional extras provides the following cover:
- If your flight is cancelled or delayed for more than 12 hours, it covers additional accommodation and travel costs up to €1,000.
- If your flight is cancelled or delayed for more than 12 hours, then you can claim back up to €1,000 for irrecoverable unused travel and accommodation costs.
- Claim back up to €1,000 for accommodation if you have to be moved from your current location or cut your trip short because of flood, earthquake, volcanic eruption etc.
- Covers cancellation or curtailment charges should the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) or World Health Organisation (WHO) advise against travel to the country or specific area you are travelling to.*
- Gives you control of the situation and the added security that you have sufficient cover should an airline cancel, delay or redirect your flight after take-off.
Please keep in mind that Travel Disruption will take 7 days to be effective and won't provide cover for anything existing or being publicly announced at the time of purchase. So, don't wait! Start my quote and add it to your policy now.
*Any claim relating to government lockdown or restrictions on travel are excluded if those restriction relate to pandemic illness (as declared by WHO) including Covid-19.
Why choose Multitrip.com?
No matter what holiday or trip you have planned abroad, we will help you to stay protected. Whether it's a single trip to Europe, a backpacker trip to Asia, or multiple trips around the world each year, you can rest assured that we have a travel insurance policy to suit your needs.
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Multitrip.com is part of Cover-More Blue Insurance Services Limited, winner of many best travel insurance provider awards and Deloitte best managed companies 2013 to 2018.
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In addition to affordable travel insurance, Multitrip.com provides up to three levels of cover and a full range of discounts and benefits.
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Our customer service team is always ready to help and can be reached via phone, email and social media. FAQs also available.
