Flight Cancelled! What now?

You are waiting packed and ready at the airport to check in for your flight, all ready to go, when the unthinkable happens. Your flight is cancelled. What now? EUclaim will explain your rights as a passenger when you flight is cancelled and what your entitlements are. This way you can enjoy your holiday and you don’t have to worry about a thing.

Your right to care

When your flight is cancelled you have to get rebooked on another flight. This could take hours or sometimes even days. During this period of time you are entitled to care, provided by the airline. This entails meals and beverages but also hotel stays. Often the airline will provide you with vouchers to cover the costs of food and drink, but this is not always the case. In this case you can purchase this yourself and submit the costs with the airline later. It is important to always save your travel documents and receipts for this. Even when your flight is cancelled due to an extraordinary circumstance, you are still entitled to care.

Your right to compensation when your flight is cancelled

If your flight is cancelled your right to compensation is determined based on your arrival delay and the distance of your flight. When you have to leave earlier than planned you could also be entitled to compensation. Your right to a financial compensation is covered by EU Regulation 261/2004. The Regulation is valid when your travel within the EU or from outside of the EU to the EU with a European Airline. Besides this it is also of importance when you are informed about the cancellation of your flight. This is how that works:

• If you are informed about the cancellation more than two weeks before departure, you are not entitled to compensation.
• If you are informed about the cancellation between two weeks and seven days before departure and you departed two hours earlier or arrived four hours later, you are entitled to compensation.
• If you are informed about the cancellation less than seven days before departure and you departed more than one hour earlier or arrived more than two hours later you are also entitled to compensation.

The amount of compensation is determined by the distance of your flight. This is divided in destinations within the EU and outside of the EU. Within the EU you are entitled to:

• €250 for a cancelled flight up to 1500 km.
• €400 for a cancelled flight over 1500 km.

For flight destinations outside of the EU you are entitled to:

• €250 for a cancelled flight up to 1500 km.
• €400 for a cancelled flight between 1500 km and 3500 km.
• €600 for a cancelled flight over 3500 km.

Example 1: Your flight from London to Las Vegas is cancelled two hours before departure due to crew shortness. Your flight won’t depart until tomorrow. In this situation you are entitled to a compensation of €600 and care such as meals, beverages and a hotel stay.

Example 2: Your flight from Miami via New York to London with Delta Airlines is cancelled due to a storm. You are not entitled to compensation because of two reasons: You are flying outside of the EU with a non-European airline and your flight is cancelled because of an extraordinary circumstance, in this case a storm. You are entitled to a new flight and care during the delay.

Your right to a replacement flight or reimbursement of your ticket

If your flight is cancelled you are always entitled to a replacement flight. If you no longer choose to fly you can get a reimbursement of your ticket. Even when your flight is cancelled due to an extraordinary circumstance you are entitled to this.

Example 3: You booked a flight from London to Paris to attend a business meeting. One day in advance your flight gets cancelled due to a strike of Air Traffic Control in France. You are now no longer interested in flying at a later stage since you will already miss the meeting. You are choosing not to fly and you can ask for a refund of your purchased ticket.

When is your flight cancelled because of an extraordinary circumstance?

In some cases you are not entitled to compensation when your flight is cancelled. In these situations extraordinary circumstances caused the problems with the flight and the airline cannot be held responsible. Examples of such are bad weather conditions, terrorism, emergency landings and strikes.

Example 4: Your flight from London to Tokio is cancelled three weeks in advance due to a strike of the airline’s cabin crew. You are not entitled to compensation because of two reasons: your flight was cancelled more than two weeks in advance and it was cancelled due to a strike, which is an extraordinary circumstance. If you do not want a replacement flight you are always entitled to a refund of your purchased ticket.

Is your flight cancelled? EUclaim is the answer!

If your flight is cancelled you can check your entitlements quickly and easily on our website. EUclaim is active in the UK, Germany and the Netherlands and keeps close ties to the European Union in Brussels. By developing our own database with flight, weather and press data we succeed where others don’t. We continue to fight for passenger rights with heart and soul to assure that you get the compensation you deserve.