Blogging Heros
The EU regulation 261/2004 was established to protect the rights of air passengers when a flight disruption occurs. This includes flight delays and cancellations, overbooking, and denied boarding. If you’ve ever had to deal with any of this, you must understand how frustrating it can be. To compensate for this inconvenience, the law was established and has been effective over the years.
However, while this law has been in place for years, not everyone knows about it. For those who are aware, not all attempt to claim the compensation due to the process involved. But this process isn’t as tedious as many think it is.
This article shows you a quick guide on how you can claim compensation should your flight get delayed.
Know if You’re Eligible
To get compensated for a delayed flight, you must first understand that the EC regulation 261/2004 does not apply to everyone or to every airline. Understand the rules in place. In this context, you can always visit the website of AirAdvisor and spend only 3 minutes for checking out whether you’re eligible for flight delay compensation in the EU region or not, by submitting your details and knowing your eligibility, at absolutely no cost at all.
Use the checklist below to determine if you fit into the criteria:
- You have a valid booking ticket.
- Your flight is departing from an EU member state or landing in one with an airline headquartered in the EU.
- You weren’t informed of any possible delay at least 14 days to the departure date.
- You checked in for your flight at the required time, which is 45 minutes before the original departure time.
- You’ve been delayed for two hours or more.
- The reason behind the delay is within the airline’s control and they could have avoided it.
If you ticked all the boxes for the eligibility criteria, you may be entitled to some form of compensation.
Know What Are You Entitled to
The EU regulations on delayed flights makes you entitled to as much as €250 – €600 in compensation if your flight has been delayed for three hours or more. The exact amount you get is calculated based on the distance of the flight, as explained below.
- Short distance delay – up to 1500km – €250 compensation
- Medium distance delay – up to 3500km – €400 compensation
- Long distance delay – 3500km – €600 compensation
Apart from monetary compensation, you may also be entitled to the right to care for a delay of at least two hours. This includes access to a telephone, free meals and drinks, and a hotel booking if the delay requires you to spend the night at the airport.
Contact the Airline and Get Compensated
The first step to claiming your compensation is to contact the airline. Ask them about the delay and what caused it, as this will help you determine if they are obligated to compensate you. Then, you can go ahead to follow the necessary steps to get compensated.
Some airlines readily have a form you can fill on their website or you may have to contact them directly. Gather all relevant documents that you will need during this process to help you get properly compensated.
Bottom Line
The process of getting duly compensated can be sometimes tricky. Preferably, get the help of a lawyer or an agency like Flightright to help you exercise your rights effectively if the process seems complicated for you.
