What to do if the flight is canceled: the rights of passengers and the obligations of the air carrier

2024 Author: Harold Hamphrey | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 10:06

Flight cancellation is an unpleasant and quite common situation in recent years. As a rule, it does not have serious consequences, but sometimes it can cause a delay for a connecting flight at another airport. Flights can be canceled due to various circumstances, which are often beyond the control of the carrier. What rights do passengers have under current legislation? How can you minimize the impact of a flight cancellation?

Reason for flight cancellations

Of course, canceling a flight is an unpleasant procedure. However, this is not always the fault of the air carrier. Before claiming compensation for a canceled flight at a company representative office, you need to clarify the reason for the incident.

A flight cancellation is the airline's fault if:

there are inconsistencies in the schedule;
aircrew do not have time to prepare the plane or clean up before departure;
passenger was not registered due to overbooking (i.e. more seats were sold than actually available on the plane);
flight isunprofitable for the enterprise;
the carrier cannot provide evidence or explanation of the reasons for non-fulfillment of its obligations.

The carrier is not at fault if the cancellation was caused by the following circumstances:

weather conditions;
natural disasters;
military action;
entering martial law in the country;
imposing bans and restrictions on cargo transportation on certain routes;
airline strike;
aircraft defects that pose a threat to the life of passengers.

What to do?

So what if the flight is cancelled? First of all, you need to contact the representative of the air carrier and get an explanation from him of the reason for the cancellation. As a rule, the representative office will immediately offer you an alternative flight option. However, companies are not always ready to send their passengers to their destination on the same day, so sometimes they offer a refund. We will talk about this in detail below. The passenger must record the date and time when the announcement of the cancellation of the flight took place.

If canceled several days in advance

What if the airline canceled a flight a few days before the expected departure date? In this situation, passengers have the right to demand:

change tickets (drawing up an alternative route of transportation);
return the money (if the airline claimed responsibility).

Importantnote that the transit passenger has more rights. The fact is that the responsibility of the air carrier is determined by the legislation of the state to which the passenger arrives in transit. In the United Kingdom, for example, if the cancellation of a flight inevitably led to the fact that the purpose of the trip failed (a business meeting did not take place, the passenger missed the competition), the British carrier provides a free flight to the Russian Federation.

If the passenger found out about it on the day of departure

What to do if the flight is canceled on the day of departure? The first thing that the representative of the company will offer in this case is to reissue travel documents for another flight. If flights from the airport of departure on a particular route are operated by only one carrier, the passenger will have to wait for the next flight. Sometimes it can take several hours or days.

If another airline is ready to carry passengers, then two options are possible:

free ticket reissuance if canceled due to carrier's fault;
reissuing a ticket with a surcharge if the carrier is not at fault.

According to Russian law, for every hour of waiting for an alternative flight, the carrier undertakes to pay compensation. Its size is 3% of the ticket price + 25% of the minimum wage. The same law states that the maximum amount of the fine cannot be more than half the price of the ticket, even if the wait was relatively long.

In Europe, the amount of compensation depends on the waiting periodand is usually from 100 to 600 euros. The number of days before which the company warned the passenger about the cancellation also plays a significant role.

The situation with flight cancellations in the United States is fundamentally different. Each air carrier has the right to establish its own rules. In the US, the exchange of tickets is at the expense of the passengers themselves. Tickets can be exchanged free of charge only due to overbooking.

Refund for air tickets

If an unpleasant situation occurred on the territory of the Russian Federation, then Russian law will apply here. If in another country, then, accordingly, the return will be carried out according to local laws.

In order to return the money, you must first make a written claim to the airline. The following documents must be attached to the claim:

copies of air tickets;
copies of boarding passes (if available);
tickets for the event that was planned on the trip;
copies of hotel reservations.

A transit passenger (if the itinerary included several transfers) can receive compensation both for a separate segment and for the entire round trip. If the passenger purchased two separate tickets, compensation will only be for the canceled flight.

In Russia, the carrier is obliged to refund money for a canceled flight within a 30-day period. For European airlines, this period has been reduced to 7 days. If the return was not made, the passenger has the right to file a claim with the court.

Tickets for charter flights are usually sold by travel agencies. It is they who will return the money for the flight.

Providing alternative route

Air carriers in 90% of cases offer passengers an alternative to a canceled flight. These can be flights of other carriers, with transfers, with a changed date and time of departure. Options are offered depending on the availability of free seats in the declared aircraft. It is important to note that the point of departure cannot be changed.

If a passenger agrees to an alternative route, tickets are reissued at the expense of the airline. When the departure time of the original flight and the alternative flight do not match, compensation will be provided to passengers, as with a delayed flight.

If the charter was canceled

As mentioned above, tickets for charter flights are sold by travel agencies. Therefore, in case of cancellation of flights, all responsibility falls on the shoulders of these organizations. Please note: Compensation related to flight delays and cancellations must be specified in the service agreement.

Where and when to complain?

What to do if a flight is canceled and your rights are violated? In all situations, legal proceedings take place in the country where the incident took place. You can write a claim directly at the airport of departure. If there is no office of a specific air carrier at the airport, a claim can be submitted through its website. It is also possible to send a claim by registered mail torepresentative office.

If the carrier did not return the money for the canceled flight or violated the rights of the passenger, within six months you can file a claim with the court. The application must be accompanied by a copy of the claim and all documentation related to the flight.

Helpful tips

To avoid an unpleasant situation, you can call the representative office or the airline's information service in advance, before leaving for the airport. There you will always be given up-to-date flight information.

No one is immune from force majeure. Therefore, a traveler's bag should always contain batteries, chargers, books and other things that will help pass the time, dry rations, and personal hygiene products. In addition, you should have enough money with you to buy another ticket. It is also necessary to keep all receipts, copies of tickets.

Don't ignore airline rules. Do not be lazy and read them when you buy a ticket through the carrier's website. The contract may state that he is not responsible for the cancellation of the flight. This phrase, of course, can be written in other words. In particular, low-cost airlines like to set such rules.

What to do if a flight is cancelled? This is not always the fault of the carrier. The latter can refund money for tickets or offer an alternative route. If the airline violates the rights of the passenger, he has the right to go to court. Travel and know your rights!