The protection of passengers’ rights in case of cancellation/delay of the flight or denied boarding

Anyone who has taken a plane to go on vacation, for business or other reasons was the victim, at least once, the known “setbacks” related to the flight:

delay / cancellation, denied boarding ( overbooking ), resulting in endless waiting at the airport.
loss / damage of luggage ;
the absence of information and / or assistance from the operators of the airline with which you are traveling;
etc

Often, however, travelers are not aware of their rights in the field of air transport and related protection that they should be (especially by the Companies), or consider it too difficult the process of obtaining a compensation for damages suffered because of the ” disservice “.

Instead, the international and European legislation, in the last 20 years, has put the traveler in the foreground, thereby strengthening their position against the air carrier and establishing clear safeguards, simple and valid in all EU countries and acceding to international conventions .

This article will analyze the main rights of passengers in case of cancellation / delay of the flight or denied boarding on the plane and the relative protection that the airlines are obliged to pay, as required by the European Regulation 261 of 2004 and Legislative Decree No. 69/2006 , which prescribe common rules well summarized by the passenger rights Charter ENAC (the synthesis of this article is located at bottom of page).

The recipients of the protection

It ‘good to do once a premise: the rights and protections that we analyze are applicable only to those who:

It is holding a plane ticket or a confirmed reservation;
It is present at the check-in counter ( check-in ) in the time and manner specified in the transport contract (or, if not present, not later than 45 minutes from the start );

for scheduled flights, charter and low cost flights departing from an airport located :

in an EU country (eg: Milano Malpensa);
in a non-EU country (eg Mexico City), but with destination at a Community airport , ONLY IF the airline both Community and are not the benefits provided by local regulations have already been disbursed.

DO NOT apply instead:

to flights departing from a non-EU country with destination at an EU country by non-EU airlines (Ex .: Emirates). In this case the safeguards are ensured by legislation local and the rules laid down in the contract of carriage;
to anyone who travels for free or at a reduced fare not available to the public (eg employees of airlines, travel agencies or tour operators);
to those who are denied boarding, in case of invalid travel documents or health / safety reasons.

Without this necessary premise, let us see what are the rights of passengers in case of cancellation / delay of flights or denied boarding.

1) The right to information

Apart from the possibility of occurrence of a malfunction, the Art. 14 of EC Reg. 261/2004 provides that any airline with which it has entered into a contract of carriage is required to:

post, in the area in which you are checking in and on its website, a notice by which inform travelers (in many languages) of the possibility of requiring operators to check-in counter or boarding gate , the text stating your rights of passengers in case of flight cancellation, delay of 2 hours or denied boarding;
in case of cancellation or denied boarding:

delivered to all passengers concerned a written notice containing all the information about the compensation and to ‘ support to which they are entitled ( click here to view the notice provided by an airline low cost ).
inform passengers, in 30 minute intervals, the real causes of the disruption.

3. indicate to travelers the company that will operate the flight (the cd. Operating air carrier), if it is different from the one with which the ticket or the reservation was purchased.

Very often, however, the airlines do not provide ever (or do so only partially) such information, with serious consequences borne by consumers, left at the mercy of events and without the opportunity to officially know the reasons for not starting.

2) The right to assistance

Among the obligations of the airlines there is also the ‘ support in favor of passengers in case of flight delay, cancellation or long.

What’s it about?

Under Article. 9 of the EC Regulation 261/2004, the Company must provide free travelers:

meals and refreshments in relation to waiting times ;
two telephone calls / messages, fax or email;
accommodation in hotel , where one or more nights becomes necessary (for example the case of a flight with a scheduled departure in the late evening and then deleted);
The transportation between the airport and the hotel;

It ‘always due?

Yes, in case of cancellation and denied boarding; while in case of delay are due the protections referred to in points 1 and 2 only if this exceeds:

2 or more hours for all flights of up to 1,500 km;
3 or more hours for all intra-Community flights of more than 1500 km and for all other between 1500 and 3500 km;
4 or more hours for all other flights not falling in the previous two cases;

If the delay exceeds five hours , they are due to the protections provided for in points 3 and 4.

If these charges are not fulfilled, the passenger has the right to send a formal complaint to the competent body at national and ensure respect for these rights, and to impose sanctions in case of violation.

As for the flights departing from Italian airports or coming from another country and headed for Italy, the organization that submitted the complaint is the ‘ Civil Aviation Authority – National Agency for Civil Aviation ( click here to download the form).

3) Right to reimbursement or re-routing.

The passenger, as well as assistance by the airline, also has the option to choose between two options alternatives , according to art. 8 of Reg. 261/2004:

the reimbursement , within the next 7 days, the full price of the ticket at the time of purchase, for / the part / s of non-performed / eo already made trip (if the flight is no longer serving any purpose in relation to your original travel plan passenger). In this case, also the right to a return flight to the initial point of departure, as soon as possible;
l ‘ boarding on an alternative flight to the final destination, under the same conditions of the original flight, as soon as possible or at a later date to his liking, depending on the availability of seats.

However, if a city or a region has several airports and the Society offers a passenger boarding on a flight to a destination aerodrome other than booked, the cost of transfer arrival from the airport to that provided in the reservation (or to another nearby destination agreed with the passenger), I shall be borne by the air carrier.

They are always due?

Yes, in case of cancellation and denied boarding; while in case of a delay only if this is greater than 5 hours.

4) The right to compensation

The need for a standardized compensation in favor of travelers forced to suffer the effects of the “unexpected” previously described (waiting at the airport, stress, fatigue), has prompted the European Union to provide for a compensation proportional to the distance of the flight.

In particular, Article. 7 of Reg. 261/2004 provides for an amount equal to:

a) 250 euros for all flights of less than or equal to 1500 km;

b) 400 euros for all flights:

– intra-community (eg: from Rome to Paris) in excess of 1500 km;

– for all the other between 1500 and 3500 km;

c) 600 euros for flights not falling under a) or b).

How do you determine the distance of the flight?

It is used as the ultimate destination calculation basis for which the passenger’s arrival later than the scheduled time due to denied boarding or cancellation of the flight (eg .: if the flight departs from Stockholm and arriving in Milan with direct flights to Berlin, it calculates the distance between Stockholm and Milan).

The compensation, however, can be reduced by 50% from the Airline, if passengers are offered to reach their final destination on an alternative flight, the arrival time of which does not exceed that provided by the flight originally booked:

of 2 hours, for all flights of up to 1,500 km;
of 3 hours, for all intra-Community flights of more than 1500 km and for all other between 1500 and 3500 km;
of 4 hours, for all flights not falling in the previous cases.

EXCEPTIONS
The passenger is always right to compensation? Unfortunately not. In case of:

Overbooking (denied boarding) , the compensationis NOT due if the passenger is willing to give up voluntarily their reservations in exchange for benefits to be agreed with the carrier. E ‘due (in addition to assistance and refund / re-routing), of course, in the event that one is denied boarding against his will.
Flight delay, the compensation is due only if there are the requirements for the right to assistance (delay exceeding 3, 4, or 5 hours depending on the route aerial).
Cancellation of the flight, the compensation is NOT due in the following cases:

When passengers have been informed of the cancellation and any possible alternative transport:

at least 2 weeks prior to the scheduled departure time;
or in the period between two weeks and seven days before the scheduled departure time, and it was offered to them to leave with rerouting more than 2 hours before the scheduled departure and to reach their final destination less than four hours after the estimated time of arrival;
less than 7 days before the departure time scheduled, and it was offered to them to leave with rerouting over an hour before the scheduled departure and to reach their final destination less than two hours after the scheduled time of ‘expected arrival.

EXCEPTIONAL CIRCUMSTANCES

Compensation is not payable even when the airline is able to prove that the cancellation is caused by extraordinary circumstances which could not have been avoided even if all reasonable measures had been taken .

What are the exceptional circumstances?

The European Court of Justice, in cases subsequent to the issue of EC Reg. 261/2004, has never provided a list of suitable circumstances to justify the company’s decision to cancel a flight, preferring to decide case by case basis depending on the case.

However, from the decisions published so far, it appears that the Court has included among the exceptional circumstances the adverse weather conditions and the problems of flight safety caused by external factors (eg the eruption of the Icelandic volcano in 2010), while excluding the technical problems of the plane caused by lack of maintenance.

How the Company is obliged to provide evidence?

The European Commission, the Communication C 214, 15.6.2016 to meet the unjustified waste of airlines to pay the compensation demanded by passengers, provided a detailed interpretation of Article. 5, paragraph 3, of the EC Reg. 261/2004, prescribing that the air carrier should try:

the existence of exceptional circumstances and the causal link between these and the delay / cancellation of the flight;
that the delay or cancellation would not however have been avoided even if all appropriate measures had been taken.

The Company, at the request of the passenger or the competent national body (ENAC, for example), has the obligation to provide any document that can demonstrate the above circumstances (eg extracts from logbooks and reports on events, documents and external statements).

4) Damages

If the passenger, due to the flight delay / cancellation or denied boarding, considers to have suffered further damage (eg loss of the working day and consequent lost profits), will be entitled to claim compensation to the airline (provided that the same both Community and belonging to a country adhering to the Montreal Convention of 1999 ), within 2 years from the day of arrival (estimated) to your destination:

provided that the damages represent a direct consequence of the failure or misconduct of the Company and have not been caused – even indirectly – by the passenger;
up to the amount of 4,150 Special Drawing Rights (DPS), even (at today’s exchange rate) to about 5116.22 Euros.

Violation of rights

If a traveler considers that the airline has failed to provide (or does so in a partial way) one or all so far indicated protections, must, in order:

contact the carrier (contractual or operational) to gain the respect of their rights (eg, payment of compensation, reimbursement of the ticket or any accommodation / transport costs, etc., claim further damages because of “unforeseen” );
lodge a formal complaint to the national competence to ensure compliance with these rights and to impose sanctions in case of violation ( click here to download the form);
sue, asking for compensation due to the competent Court within the statute of limitations (in Italy, within 2 years after the event ), in case of refusal by the company to the requests or no answer in 6 weeks .

IN SUMMARY

Any passenger who meets the requirements prescribed by law (/ airplane ticket reservation and arrive at check-in timetable established; Community flight or destined to a Community airport, which is the European airline) is entitled to obtain from the carrier all the protections provided in the event delay / cancellation or denied boarding:

right to assistance (due in most cases);
right to reimbursement or re-routing (in case of delay if this is more than 5 hours);
right to compensation (not due in some cases);
(If any) entitled to compensation further.

In case of failure protection by the air carrier, the passenger will be able to:

contacting the airline to get the respect of their rights;
lodge a formal complaint to the national competence to ensure compliance with these rights and to impose sanctions in case of violation;
sue, asking for compensation due to the competent Court, within the statute of limitations (in Italy, within 2 years after the event ), in case of refusal by the Company of the requests or no answer in the sixth term weeks.

Law Office Att. Marco Coscia offers legal advice and assistance to any traveler who believes have been violated their rights, following him at every stage of the event detrimental to the end of the judicial phase.