Flight Cancellation

February 28, 2024

Right to reimbursement or re-routing

  • Reimbursement within seven days, of the full cost of the ticket at the price at which it was bought, for the part or parts of the journey not made, and for the part or parts already made if the flight is no longer serving any purpose in relation to the passenger’s original travel plan, together with, when relevant, a return flight to the first point of departure, at the earliest opportunity;
  • Re-routing, under comparable transport conditions, to their final destination at the earliest opportunity;
  • Re-routing, under comparable transport conditions, to their final destination at a later date at the passenger’s convenience, subject to availability of seats.

Right to care

Regardless of the cause of the cancelled flight, you always have the right to receive service and assistance if your flight is cancelled. The airline have to let you use the phone to call someone or to send a text message, or e-mail, if you wish to do so. They should also offer you food and drinks.

Should it be necessary to stay overnight, the airline is required to pay for accommodation and the transport between the airport and the hotel. You do have to limit your costs, however.

Right to compensation

According to EU regulations standard compensations can be paid:

  • 250* euro for all flights not exceeding 1 500 kilometers;
  • 400* euro for all flights within the EU longer than 1 500 kilometers and for all other flights between 1 500 and 3 500 kilometers;
  • 600* euro for all other flights, covered by EU regulations.

* The amount of compensation payable may be reduced by 50% if the rerouting offered allows you to arrive at your final destination close to the original scheduled arrival time (within two to four hours depending on the distance of the flight).

The approximate distance between the airports you can check by visiting this site: http://www.airportcitycodes.com/calcform.aspx

Exceptions from the right to standard compensation

An operating air carrier shall not be obliged to pay compensation, if it can prove that the cancellation is caused by extraordinary circumstances which could not have been avoided even if all reasonable measures had been taken.

You are not entitled to compensation if you have received information about the change more than 2 weeks before scheduled departure, you have received information about the change 2 weeks – 7 days before scheduled departure, and the new travel time is set to a maximum of 2 hours before the original departure. The new arrival time has to be 4 hours after the original arrival time at the latest, you have received information about the change less than 7 days before scheduled departure, and the new travel time is one hour before the original arrival time at the most, you have been informed that the flight is cancelled due to extraordinary circumstances.