Delayed Flight ? Here's how you can get 600 EUR per passenger

Posted by sky on November 4th, 2019

Air travel is convenient but often more complicated than we would like. At one point or another we can experience some type of flight delay. Fortunately, under EU Regulation 261/2004 you can be entitled to delayed flight compensation of up to €600. 

1. Was your flight delayed by more than 3 hours?

2. Have you departed from the EU or arrived at an EU airport with an EU registered airline?

If your answer to the above questions is “Yes” and your delayed flight was not subject to extraordinary circumstances, then you can claim up to €600 compensation under EU law.

Do you have flight details ready? All we need is the date and the flight number so we can check if you are entitled to compensation. 

At 3FlightDelay, an experienced legal team will take care of all the hassle that you as a traveler would typically come up against. Additionally we have a quick and intuitive tool that takes into consideration the distance and the duration of your delay and calculates the amount of compensation you are entitled to.

Am I entitled to compensation?

The compensation amount depends primarily on the distance of the journey itself and ranges between €250 and €600 per passenger. There are a few other considerations that are taken into account when determining your eligibility to compensation. We will illustrate all of them in this guide.

How much are you owed in the event of a delayed flight?

If your flight was shorter than 1500 km, you could receive €250 in EU travel delay compensation from the airline.The amount rises to €400 for flights between 1500 km and 3500 km and up to €600 if the distance exceeds 3500 km.

Two important exceptions: 

If your flight takes off and arrives in the EU, the compensation for your delayed flight cannot exceed €400. This is true even if your trips are longer than 3 500 km.

In addition, if your flight is over 3 500 km but your delay lasts between 3 and 4 hours, your reimbursement could be reduced in half. In this case, the amount of your refund would be €300.

How to find out my trip's length?

In most cases air passengers don’t know the exact distance between their departure and landing point

A very simple way to get a rough idea about your trip’s length would be to remember that in most cases flights shorter than 1500km take less than two hours. Flights between 1500km and 3500km are usually with a duration of two to four and a half hours. Flights that last longer than four and a half hours are usually longer than 3500 km.

When can you claim compensation for a delayed flight?

According to Regulation 261 passed by the European Parliament when passengers have a prolonged flight delay, cancellation or denied boarding they may be entitled to compensation.

1. EU and non-EU flights

   Good news, almost all European flights are covered by EC 261 including the outermost regions in Europe (French Guiana and Martinique, Saint-Martin, Madeira, the Azores and the Canary Islands).

   It is important to understand that EC 261 also applies to flights outside of Europe.

   Your flight is covered when:

   1. It departs from an EU airport
   2. ..or it arrives at an EU airport and is operated by an EU airline!

2. What determines your right to compensation?

   To be eligible for compensation, the duration of your delay has to be over three hours.

   Your delay’s length is the difference between your actual and your expected time of arrival.

   It is all about Arrival Time, not departure.
   
   

   Let’s review the following examples:

   1. Your flight was scheduled to arrive at 12:45 pm but instead arrived at 4 pm. Your delay duration is 3:15 hours and you would be entitled to claim for your flight delay.
   2. Now, let’s say that the departure of your flight was late by more than three hours. However, the crew made up for some of that delay in-flight. As a result, you arrive at your destination 2:45 hours behind schedule. Because you arrived less than 3 hours late, you would not be eligible for a flight delay claim.

3.  What about extraordinary circumstances?

   European Regulation 261/2004 states that airlines are not required to compensate passengers if a flight delay was caused by “extraordinary circumstances”.

   Instances of “extraordinary circumstances” include:

   • Bad weather (for example: snowstorms, windstorms, low visibility)
   • Strikes of the airport personnel and union strikes
   • Bird strikes
   • Air traffic control restrictions (including runway closures)
   • Political and civil unrest
   
   

   Changes in weather conditions can be very subtle. Sometimes a weak crosswind can prevent a flight from landing on schedule whereas a much stronger headwind may not affect the flight at all.

   
   

   Technical problems, however, are usually not considered extraordinary circumstances. Aircraft maintenance is the airline’s obligation. Therefore, the carrier would not have fulfilled its responsibilities if a mechanical problem prevents a flight from departing on time.

   So, if your flight was delayed due to technical issues, you could claim flight delay compensation.

   
   

   According to a 2018 ruling of the European Court of Justice, not all strikes are seen as force majeure events. Internal ‘wildcat strikes’ by flight staff that arise as a result of the airline's restructuring are not seen as exceptional anymore. It is the carrier management’s obligations to avoid changes which would cause employee strikes that result in delays, cancellations and other flight disruptions.

Missed a connecting flight due to a flight delay?

With global air traffic constantly on the rise and passengers flying farther than ever, the number of connecting flights has increased spectacularly in recent years.

Missing your connection even by a few minutes, could lead to a significant overall delay.

Under EC 261/2004 you could be entitled to compensation, if you arrived at your final destination more than 3 hours late.

A Connecting Flight is required when a single flight would not take the passenger directly to their final destination. That usually means one or more aircraft/airline changes on the way which brings a greater possibility of delays and cancellations.

In some cases, a delay in your inbound flight may cause you to miss your next connection. It is the airline’s responsibility to arrange a new flight for you. Additionally, if as a result of your missed connection you got to your final destination with a delay of more than 3 hours, you could submit a compensation claim as this scenario follows the 3-hour rule mentioned above.

European Regulation 261/2004 has no special provisions regarding connecting flights. If you, as a passenger experience a disruption such as flight delay, cancellation or denied boarding, you have the right to make a compensation claim. Check below if you are eligible.

Am I eligible for a connection flight compensation? 

To be eligible for compensation, your tickets must be issued under the same booking number. This is a fancier way of saying that they were issued together and are on the same booking.

If your flights are on separate bookings, strictly speaking, they count as different trips. Therefore, if your journey involves two flights under different bookings, you would have two separate final destinations.

To identify your reservation number, you can simply double check your booking reference number stated on your reservation.

Unfortunately, low-cost airlines like easyJet, Ryanair and Wizz Air do not offer multi-flight trips under the same booking reference. This means that if you have more than one flight with them, they would not be seen on the same booking and passengers affected by a missed connection, would not have a valid claim.

But there is good news if you are flying with traditional carriers.

• With single flights, your compensation amount is determined by the flight distance of that flight only.
• With connecting flights, the size of reimbursement will be set depending on the distance of your entire journey