Flying is a beautiful thing, but anything that happens can complicate the vacation or work trip we are taking. And among the most frequent complications is that of a flight that is delayed.
Here we explain How to claim compensation for a flight delay.
Flight delays
One may think that a plane is not a taxi, nor a bus, that the skies are safer than the highways and that up there all the traffic is super orderly. And for what we pay for a plane ticket, nothing, everything will work out wonderfully.
However flight delays and cancellations are the order of the day and they are so frequent as to wait longer than necessary for the bus. Delayed or delayed flights are a constant and unfortunately The number does not stop believing year after year. Because? Simply there are more flights, there are more passengers, so it is estimated that by 2040 the number of those affected by flight delays and cancellations will be nine times greater than today. The source of the data is Eurocontrol.
So the big question is Why can a flight be delayed? First of all for the weather conditions. It is one of the most common causes, both at the departure and destination airports. You may see that there is sun and everything is beautiful at your starting point, but something very different is happening at the destination or even on the air route that you have to follow. This bad weather thing is something that the airlines have nothing to do with, that's why In this case there is no compensation.
Another common reason is Security issues. Airports are safe places but a lot happens all the time. If security personnel find something that catches their attention and is suspicious, then everything goes on pause. For example, a piece of luggage that is about to be taken to the aircraft turns out to be strange, it is stopped, its owner is searched, and so on and so forth. In this case You are also not entitled to any type of compensation.
Thirdly, the delay may be due to technical issues. And this happens very frequently. A pre-flight inspection by engineers can find something that is considered dangerous for the trip and then there are also waits, pauses, and with bad luck, the flight is canceled. These are regular control issues, so there is nothing extraordinary about these situations.
But good news, As it is something that concerns companies, in this case you do have the right to receive compensation. We'll see which one or which ones. Fourthly, there may be strike by airport or airline employees. This is one of the most frequent reasons in European airports.
Do you remember the strike in Ryaniar a few years ago? More than 10 thousand passengers were affected by it. These types of reasons fall within the complex bag of extraordinary circumstances so here there is no compensation for us.
But one thing in favor: it usually happens that if the strike is at the airport there is no compensation, but If it's about the company you can get something. A fifth reason why flights are delayed is the wait you have to do to connect flights. This wait involves passengers and you have to wait for them. They tend to be waits that we don't even notice, half an hour at most, which one attributes to procedures at the airport itself, but in reality what the plane does is wait for passengers that it knows should be on top and are on their way.
Waiting may or may not occur, it will depend on the captain and the time available. I remember one time they came running to pick me up and made me go first to take me running again throughout the Rio de Janeiro Airport because my flight to Los Angeles was waiting for me. Things that happen. And the good thing is that If the wait is more than three hours, flying to or from Europe there is compensation.
Another reason may be the airport congestion, few staff, special dates and stuff. More and more people fly and that doubles the work of all airport staff. It may be that the captain is kind and decides to wait for the passengers from the previous case, but it is rush hour, so that will lead to a final delay. And that in a situation where planes arrive and depart all the time... Is there compensation? It depends, if the delay is more than three hours, yes.
In short, what you should know, if you don't already know it from your own experience, is that flights are delayed all the time. They don't always cause big problems, but they can always happen. That is why it is best to take some precautions: book flights that are not very close in time, do not forget the cases in which you deserve compensation and make the correct claim and if at the end of the day the flight is canceled, then also proceed with your complaint.
The truth is that it is bad for us You cannot completely trust what the airline claims. Many times they do not tell the truth about the reasons for the delay and we have to intervene there. Nowadays we can do some research from our mobile phone. Oh, they tell me it's because of the bad weather, well, then I look at what the website says about the airport and my destination and things like that. What we should not do is stay with what the company tells us.
How to claim compensation for a flight delay
So we already know that If your flight arrives at the destination airport with a delay of more than three hours you can claim 250, 400 or 650 euros, always depending on the distance of the flight. If the delay is greater, 5 hours or more, you can now claim compensation for the full price of the ticket and say that you are not interested in taking that flight. And if you do take it, then The company must pay for your accommodation, transfers and drinks.
Now, not everything is as automatic as you read. It seems that Only 65% of delayed flights in Europe (more than three hours) are entitled to compensation from the company.. That will depend on whether or not the company could have avoided the delay or the circumstances that caused it. If it is an extraordinary circumstance, the weather, there is no fault of the airline.
And it must also be said, Airlines have tedious procedures for making a claim., which demand time from us that sometimes we don't have. So, we give in and forget about the issue. And if we add to that the fact that it is estimated that more than 80% of air passengers are unaware of their rights We are in the hands of the airline companies.
For example, a long time ago my Emirates flight was stranded in Brazil: we flew from Buenos Aires to Rio de Janeiro, we waited three hours and it left for Dubai. You arrive at midnight and leave again at 3am. It was 6 am and we were inside the plane with no news. At 8 am we were transferred to a hotel to take the next day's flight.
At 5 pm we were taken to the airport again, but at midnight we were told that "the part of the plane they were expecting to arrive from Dubai" had not arrived. Ergo, flight cancelled. Back to the hotel. The next day there was a general meeting and they began to send us to our destination on other flights at other times. Result: I arrived in Japan on a Saturday when I should have arrived on Thursday.
The subsequent complaint was online: I had to have my tickets, my frequent flyer number and so on. It was 10 days of waiting and the only thing they gave me were low quality miles with which I could barely buy a perfume at Dubai Airport the following year. That is, paying another ticket.
But still, my experience indicates that you have to complain, you have to always complain. And if you want someone else to do it for you, and you don't mind paying for it, there are others who can do it for you. For example Myfliyright, a web service that claims everything for you without charging you. Only if the claim is positive is a commission of 25% plus VAT charged.
Finally, if you are a victim of a flight delay or cancellation Don't leave the airport without knowing how to proceed next. Money or miles, fight for why nowadays a plane ticket is not the cheapest thing in the world. Of course, keep in mind that everything we mentioned applies to Europe, the United States does not have very good legislation in this regard and leaves it at the mercy of airlines that have nothing from Mother Teresa of Calcutta...