Air travel

Air traffic passenger rights

Due to its speed and comfort as well as due to affordability, an increasing number of people are opting to travel by air. In the past five years, the number of air traffic passenger in the European Union increased by 17 %. When passengers fly on an airline with registered offices in the EU or an airline that does not have registered offices in the EU, but the flight is from an airport in EU territory, passengers shall have certain rights regulated by European legislation if their flight fails to go as planned. In such cases, airlines must provide the following to their passengers under certain conditions:

• information (e.g. on their rights, the future course of events, cancellations, and delay duration),
• a choice between a refund of the ticket price or re-routing to their final destination (in the event of a delay, only if the delay exceeds five hours),
• provisions (beverages, meals, phone calls/e-mails, accommodation and hotel transfer, if necessary).
In some cases, passengers are also entitled to compensation.

Your rights depend on whether your flight was delayed, was cancelled, or you were denied boarding. You shall also have rights if your luggage arrived late, has been damaged or lost.

Complaint due to the violation of rights

An airline shall provide a written notification to passengers whose flight has been cancelled or who have been denied boarding concerning any compensation and assistance, to which they are entitled according to EU legislation. It shall also send the same notification to every passenger who has been affected due to at least a two-hour delay. Also, the airline shall provide passengers with data for contacting a competent national authority, where they may file a complaint if they feel that their rights have been violated. Passengers shall file a complaint with the competent authority in the member state which is the location of the airport where the violation of rules occurred.

 

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