Apr-2014
What are my air passenger rights?
Let’s talk about your air passenger rights. How is your legal position when you get problems with your flight? It might be a short delay, but it can also be a long delay, or even perhaps an overnight at the airport and so on. What can someone do to get some compensation? I thought it would be nice to break it down in a way everybody will understand.
Flight delayed
You just heard the announcement. Flight this and that to here and there has a delay of five hours and the only thing you are thinking now is why does this always happen to me? Don’t worry. You can’t do anything about it for now and you’ll have to wait anyway, but there is something for you to compensate your worrying with after all.
Sturgeon arrest
Now let’s say you have a delay longer than three hours. Then you need to know the existence of the Sturgeon arrest. According to the Sturgeon arrest passengers with over three hours of delay may be treated as passengers of a canceled flight relating to their right for a compensation.
What can i do?
Always write the airline a letter explaining that you are entitled to financial compensation based on the Sturgeon arrest when your flight is delayed for more than three hours. Explain that you are entitled to compensation equal to cancellation by the airline. If you can find out what the distance of the flight is you could name that too, since many times the compensation is fixed on the kilometers. Passengers of a canceled flight or a long delay can receive compensation from 250 to 600 euro, so it’s worth your time to figure things out and to write a letter.
Put your foot down
According to the EU rules, airlines must pay compensation for cancelled or heavily delayed flights, however, they can escape this under some often used ‘extraordinary circumstances’. This can include bad weather events, such as a hurricane or ash in the air after an volcanic eruption. Remember the ash cloud near Iceland in 2010? 
Airlines will often try to claim extraordinary circumstances to wriggle themselves out of paying a compensation. They will try to make you think technical faults are part of these extraordinary circumstances, which of course is not the case. Extraordinary circumstances are things that are unexpected and out of the airline’s control. If the airline tries to fob you off with their mechanical problems then remember that an airline should always be prepared for mechanical problems and that these are not extraordinary. Just remember whenever you have to catch a flight and you get a delay which is more than three hours, cancelled or even overbooked, you can always try to claim your compensation.
having to spend the night
If the long delay is overnight the airline is obligated to arrange a hotel for you to spend the night and a decent meal in the evening and/or morning depending on the new flight time. They often won’t give you your luggage back during the night, so you should always ask for a “delay-survival-package” which contains a toothbrush, toothpaste, shampoo, soap, a raiser and often a T-shirt. It happened to me that I had this really weird delay in London where the airline had to organize a hotel for me in the middle of the night so the restaurant was already closed and they let me order room service. Not too bad at all.
How do I know this?
During my studies (International Tourism Management in the Netherlands) I followed International Law and I graduated with the subject on my degree. If you want to know more about your rights in reference to traveling I will always try to help you out by sharing what I’ve learned during my studies and experiences. Now let’s hope there won’t be any delays soon!
Photo credits: Marjolein van Hout
About Renate Rigters
Ever since I left my home country I felt at home at any other place I went to. I enjoy getting to know more cultures by talking to strangers and hearing their philosophy about life. Speaking with gestures when you can not find a shared language, finding places only the locals go to and learn about their customs and values. Hanging out with local people makes me happy. The experience of every new place is a step out of your comfort zone where I like to wander around until it feels like a second home.
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