Know Your Rights
What Are Air Passenger Rights?
Do you know your Rights? Research shows that more than 80% of air passengers don’t know their rights.
There are two references for air passenger rights: European legislation, Reg.
CE 261/04, and International Legislation, the Montreal Convention.
Reg. CE 261/04 applies to all flights departing from Europe and/or with European Companies.
Montreal Convention applies for all flights when REG. CE 261/04 does not apply. You can qualify for compensation if you prove that you have
suffered economic damage.
According to Reg. CE 261/04 you have the right to be compensated without having to prove economic damages, and it is the airline’s responsibility to prove an “exceptional circumstance” that caused one of the following:
Flight delays of more than 3 hours, flight cancellations, missed connections, and denied boarding.
This regulation applies to:
- Passengers arriving or departing in an airport in the territory of an EU country subject to the provisions of the Treaty, providing the airline is an EU carrier.
○ Note: This regulation applies to passengers arriving from a non-EU country
If the event of a flight delayed more than 3 hours, cancellation or denied boarding, passengers affected have the right to compensation totalling:
- €250 for all flights of 1,500 kilometres or less;
- €400 for all intra-EU flights of more than 1,500 kilometres, and for all other flights between 1,500 and 3,500 kilometres;
- €600 for all other flights.
The amount of Compensation is not dependent on the late hours, but on the route!
Be aware that in case of non-delivery of baggage/damage, you have to make a report at the airport (PIR), and in case you have to buy basic necessities, you have to keep receipts in order to be compensated.
Montreal Convention: Article 22 - Limits of liability in relation to delay,
baggage, and cargo:
- n the case of damage caused by delay as specified in Article 19 in the carriage of persons, the liability of the carrier for each passenger is
limited to 4,150 Special Drawing Rights (around € 5.400).
2. In the carriage of baggage, the carrier’s liability in the case of destruction, loss, damage, or delay is limited to 1,519 Special Drawing
Rights for each passenger (around € 1.900).
Your right to compensation under Reg. CE 261/04 does eventually expire, but the time limit varies from one country to the next. Usually, you have 2 years to claim.
You can read the European Regulation EC 261/04 by clicking here.
