Denied boarding – passenger rights
Denied boarding – passenger rights
• You are entitled to compensation, ranging from €250 to €600 or
• You have the right to choose between a refund, re-routing or rebooking at a later date or
• You have the right to assistance
Compensation for denied boarding
If you have checked in on time, you should always receive compensation if you are denied boarding. The exception is if there are reasonable grounds for denying you boarding, such as health, safety or security concerns or failure to present the necessary travel documents.
Under European Regulation 261/2004 and the Montreal Convention, passenger compensation is calculated on the basis of the distance of the flight.
Here is an explanation of the compensation scheme, calculated on the basis of flight distance:
– Short-haul flight – up to 1500 km – Airline owes compensation of EUR 250
– Medium distance flight – between 1500 km and 3500 km – Airline owes compensation of EUR 400
– Long-haul flight – over 3500 km – Airline owes EUR 600 compensation
IMPORTANT
You are entitled to compensation if you are denied boarding because the airline considers you too late to board (because the first flight was delayed). If the airline has rerouted you to another flight and you arrive at your final destination 2, 3 or 4 hours late, the amount of compensation may be reduced by 50%.
Note: the cost of the ticket is irrelevant to the total amount of compensation and as such you will be able to claim for flights with low-cost airlines. It is also possible to make claims for flights up to 3 years. However, for your claim to be eligible for compensation, the flight must depart from the EU or if it lands in the EU, the airline must be based in the EU.
| Short distance up to 1500 km | Average distance up to 3500 km | Distance longer than 3500 km |
|---|---|---|
| Bucharest- Wien | Bucharest- Rome | Bucharest- Montreal |
| 250 € | 400€ | 600 € |
| 125 € | 200 € | 300 € |
| If an alternative flight has been offered, with delay to the final destination | If an alternative flight has been offered, with delay to the final destination | If an alternative flight has been offered, with delay to the final destination |
In the case of connecting flights, distance and delay time are measured at the final destination airport from the original departure airport.
Denied boarding – refund, re-routing, finding an alternative flight
You have the choice between a refund of the entire ticket price (return) and re-routing to the departure flight.
The airline must offer you the choice of one of the following:
– reimbursement of the ticket price and, if you have a connecting flight, a return flight, at the earliest opportunity, to the departure airport
– re-routing to your final destination at the earliest opportunity, or
– re-routing to a later date agreed by you, under comparable transport conditions (a new reservation), subject to availability of seats.
Once you have opted for one of these three options, you have no further rights in relation to the other two. However, the airline may offer you compensation depending on the distance flown and the delay in relation to your original scheduled arrival time.
If the airline fails to meet its obligation to offer you re-routing or a return flight to the place from which you departed at the earliest opportunity and under comparable transport conditions, it must refund the cost of your ticket.
If the airline does not give you the choice between reimbursement and re-routing, but decides unilaterally to refund the price of your original ticket, you are entitled to an additional reimbursement of the difference in price between the new ticket and the original ticket (under comparable transport conditions).
If the outbound and return flight were booked separately and are operated by different companies and the outbound flight is cancelled, you are entitled to a refund only for the cancelled flight.
However, if the two flights are operated by different companies but are included on the same booking, if the outbound flight is cancelled you have the following rights:
You are not entitled to a refund or re-routing if you were denied boarding for health, safety or security reasons or did not have the necessary travel documents.
Assistance in case of denied boarding
While you are waiting, airlines must offer you free assistance. If you have problems with your journey, let the airline know to avoid having to find your own solutions. Airlines should also make sure, if possible, that they provide accessible accommodation for disabled people and accompanying dogs. Assistance provided should include:
– refreshments
– food
– accommodation (if booked for the following day)
– transport between the airport and the accommodation
– 2 telephone calls, telex, fax, e-mail.
If you are not offered assistance and have paid for any of the above yourself, the airline should refund your money, as long as the expenses you incurred were necessary, reasonable and appropriate. Keep your receipts for settlement. You are only entitled to assistance while you wait until you are re-routed, under comparable transport conditions and as soon as possible, to your final destination or to your return flight to the airport from which you originally departed (if you missed your connecting flight because of problems with your previous flight).
In exceptional cases, the airline may decide to limit assistance or not provide it at all, if this would lead to further delays for passengers waiting for an alternative or delayed flight.
You are not entitled to assistance if you have been denied boarding for health, safety or security reasons or have not had the necessary travel documents.
The first steps towards compensation
– Collect relevant documents, such as receipts and vouchers for expenses incurred by the delay
– Use our application to claim compensation
Compensation procedure
The first thing to do is to have confirmation that you are indeed eligible for compensation. This is not a simple process: getting access to flight databases, comparing your situation with other similar cases, checking whether European Regulation 261/2004 or other international regulations applicable to air transport apply to you.
In fact, for a person without aviation expertise and the necessary technological means, this can prove to be very complicated.
However, the simple alternative is to claim compensation with DELAY.AERO. To do this, simply enter your flight details into the “GET COMPENSATION” application on our website for free. The DELAY.AERO team will check the details entered and determine whether you are entitled to make a claim against the airline. From then on, DELAY.AERO takes over the case and you are notified when the airline grants you compensation. The DELAY.AERO tool analyses hundreds of thousands of flights, has access to a wealth of meteorological data and is able to check whether your claim can be settled under EU law or other legal provisions applicable to your case.
Your application will be checked for eligibility free of charge
Our network of experts and our experience in the aviation sector, as well as the partnerships we have, allow us to negotiate with airlines on an equal footing. In 98% of open cases, our clients have won the case and received compensation/refunds. Regardless of the outcome, we take all the financial risk. If we are unsuccessful in your case, for whatever reason, we alone bear the costs. When we win, we receive a service fee according to the Price List from the amount recovered. This protects you, as the client, from any lost expenses and investment.