Your rights: flight delays
Your rights: flight delays
Contents
Right to care
Your right to care depends on how long the departure of your flight has been delayed by and the length of your journey, as set out in the following table:
| Length of journey | Length of delay |
|---|---|
|
1,500 km or less |
2 hours |
|
More than 1,500 km (flights between EU countries) |
3 hours |
|
1,500 km to 3,500 km (flights not within the EU) |
3 hours |
|
More than 3,500 km (flights not within the EU) |
4 hours |
If you qualify, you'll be entitled to a reasonable amount of food and drink (related to the waiting time) and 2 free telephone calls, emails, faxes or telex messages.
If the flight is expected to depart on a day after the original scheduled departure, you'll be entitled to free overnight accommodation and transport between the airport and the place of accommodation.
Longer delays
If the departure of a flight is delayed by 5 or more hours, you'll also be entitled to abandon your journey and get a full refund for all unused tickets, a refund on tickets already used if the flight no longer serves any purpose for your original travel plan, and, if relevant, a return flight to the first airport you departed from.
Compensation for delayed flights
An important court ruling has meant that if the arrival of your flight at your destination is delayed by 3 or more hours, you'll also be entitled to claim compensation as if the flight was cancelled, unless the delay was outside of the airline's control due to extraordinary circumstances.
Extraordinary circumstances are those that couldn't have been avoided, such as bad weather conditions or security risks. This doesn't include technical problems that are normally associated with the aircraft. Problems with the flight crew not being available are also unlikely to count.
Even if the original scheduled flight was delayed by less than 3 hours, it doesn't necessarily mean you won't be compensated for the delay. What is relevant is the total time of the delay up to the time you arrive at your final destination. Therefore, if a delay has caused you to miss a connection or your flight was diverted, resulting in you reaching your final destination with 3 or more hours' delay, you'll be entitled to compensation as if the flight was cancelled.