What to do if your flight is delayed. What to do if your plane flight is delayed? How to get a new ticket

03.11.2019

Unfortunately, a delayed flight is a fairly common occurrence and anyone can experience it. But few people can navigate such a situation. The reason for this is ignorance important information. Below are several useful tips what to do if your flight is delayed.

What to do if your flight is delayed?

The rights of any passenger are always the same, regardless of which airline or flight you are flying with. These rights are regulated by consumer protection law.
The airline must warn you about how much and why your flight is delayed. This information can be obtained at the airline counter.
If you decide to complain to the airline if your flight was delayed, you must ask the airport staff for a special document that confirms that there really was a delay, for how long and for what reasons. In most cases, this is a permanent plane ticket, but before boarding, be sure to ask for a stamp with the exact departure date.
The airline must organize storage of luggage for passengers whose flight is delayed.
When you fly with a child under seven years old, you must be allocated a special room.
You will be given free drinks, as well as the opportunity to call twice and write a couple of messages if you are waiting for your flight for more than two hours.
If your flight is delayed by more than four hours, you must be served a hot set lunch. Must be fed regularly.
The airline is required to accommodate passengers in a hotel if the flight is delayed by more than eight hours.
When you are checked into a hotel, you receive a transfer from the airport to the hotel and in the other direction.
The airline company should not put other passengers in your room that are strangers to you.
It often happens that the airline finds an alternative way to travel so that passengers do not waste their time waiting. In this case, you are not required to pay anything extra.
If the flight is late for a long time, you must be paid compensation in the amount of 25% of the minimum wage for 1 hour of delay, but not more than 50% of the cost of the air ticket.

If your rights are violated, for example, they ask for an additional payment for accommodation or flight on an alternative plane, you can easily file a claim against this airline, or write complaints against it to various authorities. The main thing is to collect documentary evidence (receipts, tickets) and you will be able to compensate for your financial and time costs.

Probably everyone who flies at least several times a year has seen the words on the board at the airport opposite their flight DELAYED or DETAINED. Unfortunately, it is impossible to completely eliminate flight delays. Air transportation is an extremely complex process that includes many stages. A failure on any of them can lead to a flight delay. In addition, aviation activities are influenced by a number of factors that are hardly controllable. Every year, airlines suffer multimillion-dollar losses as a result of delays in their flights, and passengers suffer significant inconvenience. In this article we will talk about the main reasons for flight delays, what the airline does to prevent them, what passengers are told and what actually happens.

First, let's try to understand what a flight delay is. Many passengers mistakenly believe that the plane must leave the runway exactly at the time indicated on the ticket in the “departure time” column. In fact, this is not true at all, Departure time is the time when the aircraft starts moving from the parking lot, or the time for cleaning the ramp, depends on the technology used in a particular airline. Arrival time is, respectively, the time the aircraft is parked or the time the ramp is adjusted.

Scheduled flight time includes direct flight time, taking into account average wind data, as well as taxiing time before takeoff and after landing, which is determined statistically for a specific airport. Having bought a ticket, for example, from Domodedovo to St. Petersburg, you will see that the scheduled flight time is about an hour and forty minutes. It’s not surprising, because for a significant part of this time the plane will be rolling around the airfield.

Why not plan flights so that there are no delays? Yes, of course, you can schedule half an hour more “just in case”; the layover time between flights can also be increased so that the plane is guaranteed to be serviced in time. You can still keep a couple of reserve planes on the ground in case of breakdowns. The question is whether the passenger is willing to pay for it. The logic here is simple: if the plane does not fly, it causes losses.

There can be many reasons for delays, however, usually only three are announced to passengers at the airport. This is the late arrival of the plane, weather conditions or a technical reason. Let's talk about each of them in more detail.

Late arrival of the plane.

The most harmless delay from the passenger’s point of view, which is often abused by airlines. In a good way, such a delay should be issued several hours before the departure of your flight, if it was given half an hour before departure - know that late arrival most likely has nothing to do with it.

Late arrival occurs as follows. The airline assigns a specific aircraft to each flight. Most airlines try to minimize aircraft downtime, so flights are scheduled at minimal intervals. For A320 and B737 class aircraft this is about an hour at base and 40-50 minutes at transit airport between flights, this time is enough to prepare the aircraft for the next flight. Now imagine that the previous flight arrives late. Of course, the airline will try to quickly exchange planes in order to prevent delays to other flights. But if this is not possible, the next flight will be delayed by “late arrival of the aircraft.”

Weather conditions.

So what can stop you? modern liner perform takeoff and landing. The most common option is limited visibility, usually fog or heavy snow. During the landing approach, the so-called decision altitude is set, and if the pilot does not see the runway at this altitude, he has no right to continue the descent. Obviously, there is no point in flying if the crew already knows in advance that they will be forced to leave for an alternate airfield. It is not uncommon for one airline's plane to take off, while other carriers' flights to the same airport sit on the ground waiting for the weather. This is fine. Everyone has their own weather minimums for a specific crew, aircraft, and even airfield. And by the way, fog is often a local weather phenomenon; it is quite possible that it does not exist anywhere except the airport. Therefore, you should not say that you are being deceived; believe me, not a single airline will hide behind weather conditions. In addition to fog, delays may occur due to strong wind, which exceeds the aircraft's landing limitations, and also due to the low coefficient of friction on the runway, often due to a combination of the first and second. For each aircraft, restrictions are established on tailwind (it is more profitable for an aircraft to take off and land against the wind) and side wind components. Exceeding them is dangerous. If the runway is icy and even a not particularly strong side wind is blowing, you cannot land.

If we are talking about a short flight (less than 2 hours), then it often happens that delays are issued for a short time, and then extended many times, this is due to the fact that for such flights the decision is made based on actual weather conditions (actual weather reports are issued every half hour). If the flight time is more than two hours, the decision is made based on the forecast in order to arrive under the predicted improvement. For such flights, delays may be issued for several hours at once. It all depends on the specific commander, some prefer to issue a delay for two hours at once and wait quietly, others will keep passengers on board, hoping for improvement.

Technical reason.

Airplanes break down, that's a given. It doesn’t matter whether it’s an imported plane or a domestic one, new from the factory or one that has changed several airlines. If the flight is delayed for a technical reason, do not be alarmed; this does not mean that the wings of the plane will fall off in the air. As a rule, we are talking about minor malfunctions from a safety point of view, which are corrected within half an hour. The aircraft manufacturer provides clear instructions on what faulty equipment can be flown with and for how long. For example, you can fly with one faulty engine reverser and it will be absolutely safe, you just need to recalculate the required distances for takeoff and landing. If a plane breaks down at the airline's base airport, then most likely, if spare parts are available, it will be repaired within a few hours. It is much worse if the breakdown occurs outside the base at some small airport. In this case, most likely, you will have to wait until another plane is sent for you.

Often the airline tries to hide delays due to technical reasons from passengers. Firstly, this is a reputational loss, and secondly, it scares many passengers. If the plane broke down after passengers boarded, then, of course, everything is already obvious. But if it’s before passengers board, it’s unlikely you’ll ever find out about it.

Delays associated with the work of ground services.

As we have already said, the connecting time between flights for A320 aircraft at the base airport is about an hour. During this hour the following happens. The plane parks, the ramp is adjusted, buses for passengers arrive, passengers disembark, luggage and cargo are removed, a new crew arrives, fuel and water are refueled, the cabin is cleaned, in-flight meals are loaded, and the luggage of passengers on the next flight is loaded. These are just the main links in the aircraft maintenance chain on the ground.

If some kind of failure occurs in this circuit, a delay occurs. For example, they started refueling late, and until it is finished, passengers cannot be boarded. There are often queues at the airport at check-in, security screening, and passport control. All this is the result of unsatisfactory planning or simply ineffective work of the relevant services and results in late boarding of passengers on board, which means flight delays. All services, for one reason or another, more or less often fail or make mistakes; for the airline, all this results in flight delays.

The departure time has passed, and we are sitting on the plane, not going anywhere, why?

Again, there are several options. The most common. There is a queue for departure and in order not to burn fuel in the queue in front of the runway, the controller does not give permission to start the engines. There's really no point in being tenth in line when you can wait in the parking lot and take off without queuing. By the way, in Europe the same mechanism works with airspace. A powerful computer evaluates the congestion of the European sky and, if there is no space for your flight yet, issues a slot, i.e. delay time. Imagine if such a system worked for automobile traffic. Each driver submits his route plan and desired departure time. If the system sees that the roads are congested, a delay will be issued or a different route will be suggested. This is how they deal with traffic jams in the European sky.

The second option is that a passenger was removed from the flight (perhaps he did not show up for boarding or showed up drunk), but this passenger’s luggage remained on board. For safety reasons, the luggage of passengers not on board must be removed. It doesn't matter that it's already been watched. There are, say, 150 suitcases scattered in the trunk of an airplane; you need to find the right one, which takes time.

We took off on time but arrived late, why?

Yes, this happens very often. There are several possible reasons. As a rule, there is a strong headwind. The wind is on high altitudes can easily reach 200 kilometers per hour, and if it is oncoming, then you will arrive much later. The influence of wind is especially noticeable on long flights.

Of course, the average value of wind speed and direction is taken into account when creating the schedule, but it is impossible to include any extreme cases in the schedule. Another reason is the forced lengthening of the route, this may be due to the avoidance of dangerous weather conditions (for example thunderstorms) or the closure of certain areas for flights.
And the last thing is waiting in line to board. In general, all over the world except Russia, this happens solely due to force majeure, for example, one of the runways or weather conditions do not allow landing, resulting in a queue. In Russia, all of the above is added to the lack of adequate planning on the part of the airport, that is, the airport confirms slots (slot is a time interval for the departure or arrival of a flight) for more flights than it can actually provide.

How do airlines deal with delays?

Any airline has an operations department that monitors current flights and, in the event of delays, can quickly exchange subsequent flights with each other and take other measures to minimize delay time. Major airlines have entire departments that are responsible for investigating delays. In any case, if there are culprits, various types of sanctions are applied to them.

If an airline has canceled or rescheduled a flight, the first encounter with this situation causes panic. Especially when this happens with a transfer flight (intermediate flight with a transfer), implying a specific arrival time. However, an airplane ticket is a type of agreement with an airline that confirms a list of the carrier’s responsibilities.

These include:

delivery of the passenger to the agreed place and time;
taking care of clients in case of violation of their interests.

Knowing the nuances will allow you to navigate an unplanned situation, as well as solve the problem of flight delays or cancellations in the most effective way.

Reasons for flight cancellations

When a flight is invalidated, the carrier is not always at fault for the cancellation. Before making a claim for compensation for cancellation, the organization's office should find out the reason for such a decision.

The airline is guilty in cases where the cancellation of the flight is associated with:

with inconsistencies in the schedule;
with the aircraft not being prepared for the flight or cleaning being delayed before departure;
failure of a passenger to check in due to overbooking: this happens when the number of tickets sold exceeds the actual number of seats;
lack of benefit for the enterprise;
the impossibility of providing evidence proving a satisfactory reason for canceling the flight.

The carrier is not at fault if the incident was influenced by:

weather;
natural disasters;
military actions;
transition of the state to martial law;
introducing a ban or restriction on certain transportation routes;
airline workers strike;
damage to the aircraft that threatens the lives of customers.

If the departure was canceled due to unsatisfactory weather conditions, the action algorithm includes the following steps:

Before leaving for the airport, check that the flight will take place. This option is available in the online display on the airport website.
Make every effort to arrive without delay. In a situation the largest number traffic congestion, use the subway.
Complete the registration procedure on the website owned by the air carrier. This precaution will provide a reserve of time, which will be very helpful if there is a delay on the way to the airport. By default, you need to arrive for the check-in procedure at least one and a half hours before your scheduled departure. If a printed boarding pass is present, the time limit will be reduced to 40 minutes.

Flight cancellation due to the airline's fault

When the company does not have evidence that the cancellation of the flight was influenced by unforeseen circumstances, the passenger has the right to claim a payment in the amount of 3% of the ticket price. The rate is calculated for every 60 minutes spent waiting.

The amount of compensation is specified in Art. 28 of Russian legislation regulating consumer rights (Article 5). Higher amounts are not provided in case of flight cancellation, however, the buyer is required to return the amount of money spent on the ticket or exchange the ticket for an alternative one available from the carrier.

Airline liability in the Russian Federation

The regulations established by the legislation of the Russian Federation apply equally to all companies that carry out air transportation of citizens. This does not depend on the name of the company.

Exempt from liability under Art. 794 Civil Code of an aviation organization in the following cases:

Natural Disasters.
Changes in the living conditions of society (epidemic outbreak or military operations).
Start of strikes (industrial or national).
Introduction by the state of restrictions on flights to certain destinations.
Removal or postponement of boarding time due to a defect in the aircraft, if this poses a threat to the health of clients.

Important! In most cases, airline companies cite these reasons, since in this case the carrier’s liability is minimal. Make sure the information provided is accurate.

Airline liability in the EU

Like Russian air hubs, European air terminals are not responsible for cancellation or delay of a flight due to extraordinary circumstances, if they were unavoidable even if all permissible measures were taken.

When the situation is related to overbooking (violation on the part of the carrier), inconsistencies in the compiled schedule and other internal processes, the culprit is the airline company. The actions and rights of companies providing air travel services, as well as their passengers, are regulated by Parliament Resolution 231.

The algorithm that should be followed if the departure time at a European airport is late is similar to the occurrence of such a situation in the Russian Federation. The proposed alternative would be another flight, or rescheduling the landing to a later date.

At this time, the passenger must provide:

food and drink (within reason);
hotel room (if delayed for 1 or more nights);
delivery from the airport to your place of residence;
2 phone calls, fax and email.

Attention! Airline employees must inform clients about the algorithm of actions provided for a particular situation. If a force majeure event occurred and the company was unable to influence the course of events, the passenger is required to return the money spent on the purchase of the ticket, since the service was not provided. Please indicate on your ticket that the flight was delayed or cancelled.

It would be useful to take a photo of the board, where information about the cancellation of the flight or its delay is clearly visible. This will simplify the procedure for returning funds and receiving compensation payments. When faced with overbooking, the carrier must offer a voluntary cancellation of the flight to all customers who do not have enough seats. They are entitled to compensation in the amount of 250 to 600 euros. The amount depends on the flight distance.

If the required number of volunteers is not available, the buyer will be forcibly removed from the flight and the full amount spent on the ticket will be returned to him.

If the cancellation occurred several days before

During the call, the airline employee will offer a replacement flight option, which can be carried out by the original carrier or a third party. An alternative flight may be scheduled for a different date, and a connecting flight will be used instead of a direct route.

Attention! If you are not satisfied with the offer, the money spent will be returned in full. This condition is dictated by Order 82 of the Ministry of Transport. There are separate nuances for connecting types of flights.

An example is the situation of canceling a flight to a transfer point. Only part of the money will be returned, since the service was not half provided. The second tickets are handed over by clients independently in accordance with the general rules. If it is impossible to depart from a connecting airport, transportation is considered in principle unfeasible, so the passenger will receive full return funds.

If the cancellation occurred on the day of departure

If upon arrival at the airport you see a notice on the board that your flight has been cancelled, contact the airline counter immediately. They will offer another flight option a few hours later or refund the money spent on purchasing the ticket.

Important! If you are given the choice of another type of departure, resolve the issue immediately, since there may be no seats left due to reservations by other passengers who also arrived to board the canceled flight.

For those customers who agree to wait for the next plane, there are a number of advantages. If you have to wait more than 2 hours, you can count on the following:

Separate room for mother and child under 7 years old.
Two emails or phone calls sent.

For a wait of 4 hours, passengers have the right to receive hot food at intervals of 6 hours during the day and 8 hours at night. If the boarding procedure is delayed by more than 8 hours during the day and at night - from 6 hours, the list of privileges includes:

accommodation in a hotel room at the expense of the airline;
delivery to the hotel by airport vehicles and back (when the provision of accommodation is not burdened with additional payment);
free storage of personal luggage.

Attention! Be sure to notify the company representative about the flight delay or cancellation. After passing passport control You can find it near the gate that is reserved for boarding your plane.

What compensation can you expect?

You can apply for compensation only if the company does not have evidence of its non-involvement in the occurrence of a force majeure situation.

In the Russian Federation

The law regulating the protection of consumer interests obliges airlines to compensate passengers for each hour of waiting for a flight in the amount of 3% of the ticket price (Article 28, paragraph 5). The maximum payment amount does not exceed ½ the cost boarding pass. This is dictated by the Air Code (Article 120).

In the European Union zone

In the EU, the amount of payments is specified in the resolution of the Parliament and the Consulate. The rules are specified in Regulation No. 261. They are the same for all organizations providing air transportation services. This does not depend on the place of registration of the enterprise, since all flights over the EU zone, flights into the territory or departures from EU air hubs in any direction are included in the list of the regulation.

Payments are provided for all passengers, citizens of any country. The amount of compensation is related to the length of the flight in kilometers and the period of inconsistency with the agreed schedule.

For European airports Tariffs for compensation payments are shown in the table below.

Important! If you were warned about cancellation in advance (at least 14 days), then you do not have the right to receive payment. In case of shorter periods, compensation is paid depending on the time for which the flight was delayed and the flight distance.

Reimbursement upon notification from 7 to 13 days before the scheduled departure and the offer of an alternative.

In case of warning within seven days or earlier.

IN THE USA

If the situation occurs in the United States, then food, calls or drinks to the affected passengers are not a prerequisite, since there is no such information in the legislation. However, it all depends on the policies of the individual company.

American laws do not provide for compensation even for long delays. Most of carriers will exchange the flight for an alternative one (or help with the flight using an aircraft of a third-party company). If the cost of a new ticket is higher, you will have to pay the difference from your own funds. Money can be returned or compensation paid only in case of overbooking.

List of documents for receiving payments

Cash compensation is issued upon provision of:

flight information (number, route and time);
reservation numbers (mandatory for most air carriers);
boarding pass;
letter confirming the reservation;
ticket

Receipt options

The algorithm for receiving compensation yourself consists of several steps:

Submitting a claim in English.
Attachment of evidence and supporting documentation.
Sending a complaint with a package of papers to the company’s email account, by fax or through the official website.

If the answer has not changed, you can contact the authorities that monitor compliance with consumer rights and interests.

You can avoid unpleasant scenarios by contacting the airline's help desk or representative office in advance to clarify current information about the planned flight.

It will not be possible to completely eliminate cases of force majeure, so take with you in advance:

additional battery for phone;
cell phone charger;
non-perishable food products;
books, scanwords, magazines, etc.;
personal hygiene products;
amount to purchase another ticket.

Do not throw away receipts or tickets. You should also familiarize yourself with the company's internal regulations. There is a possibility of no liability if the flight is cancelled. This is a common practice on budget airlines. In case of violation of interests, go to court.

When should you file a claim in court?

According to the regulations of clause 1 of the VC, a decision on a request for payment of compensation must be made within thirty days (Article 128). If the airline organization rejects the application, it is possible to file a claim with the judicial authorities within 3 years from the date of detention or cancellation of the flight. This is stated in Art. 196 Civil Code.

To do this you need to present a package of documents:

plaintiff's statement;
ticket with a stamp indicating cancellation or late boarding;
receipts for meals, hotel rooms, telephone calls during this period;
papers that can confirm that as a result of the airline’s actions, the passenger suffered moral or financial damage;
a written complaint previously sent to the carrier (proof of receipt and dispatch is desirable);
response message from the airline.

Attention! If you are not confident in your abilities, try to resolve the issue pre-trial. It is unlikely that luxury accommodation and inflated food costs will be reimbursed. If they behave correctly, representatives of air hubs will make every effort to compensate for losses.

Return deadlines

The exact period for receiving compensation is not established by the legislation of the Russian Federation for the case of a client’s involuntary cancellation of a flight. Each company has an individual policy regarding timing, but often money spent on a ticket is credited back to the passenger account within 60 days. Some proceedings drag on for up to six months.

For European flights, the maximum processing time for a refund request and compensation does not exceed 7 days (Article 10 and Article 2).

Conclusion

If the organization is guilty:

If the boarding procedure is late from 2 to 4 hours, remind you of the right to 2 messages to airport employees. If you have a child under 7 years old with you, ask for a room.
Delay of 4 hours or more. You have the right to insist on receiving free food.
If the flight is delayed (for 6 or more hours at night or 8 or more hours during the day), request delivery to and from the hotel by the carrier, as well as payment for the hotel room.
In the EU zone, a delay of more than 5 hours entitles you to a refund, delivery to your original destination (for connecting flights) and compensation.

Don’t forget to document every violation: keep your receipts and take pictures of the flight board.

When planning a trip by plane, force majeure circumstances may arise. Due to many of them, air carriers cancel flights or announce delays. What should travelers do in this case?

Air passenger rights in case of flight delay

The departure or arrival of an aircraft is delayed for various reasons. Air carrier employees notify customers who have already purchased tickets about it. There is a special service at the airport for this. If the plane's departure is cancelled, the company sends out SMS messages.

In Russian federation

When a plane's flight is canceled or delayed, any airline has certain obligations to its customers.

Regardless of how long the flight was delayed, each passenger has certain rights. They are established by the legislation of the Russian Federation.

If the flight is delayed for 5-15 minutes Travelers with children under seven years old are provided with a special room - the “Mother and Child” room. It is equipped specifically for rest, feeding and other needs.

If an aircraft's departure is delayed by no more than 2 hours, each traveler has the right to make two free phone calls. Airline staff must provide water and other drinks.

If a flight is delayed by 4 hours or more, waiting travelers must be provided with hot meal vouchers. During the day, passengers must eat every 6 hours, at night - every 8 hours.

If a flight is delayed for 8 hours or more, the airline must accommodate people waiting for the plane in a hotel. Their transfer, luggage storage are her obligations.

There is no need to wait for company employees to bring drinks or give out coupons for free food. You need to approach them yourself.

Do not ask questions to airport staff. Their organization is an intermediary and provides services only for issuing tickets, checking luggage, and boarding a flight.

In Europe and abroad

The work of European airlines is regulated by “Regulation of the European Parliament and Council” No. 261/2004. It is valid only in the European Union and for companies registered in its territory.

Air carriers must provide their customers with free food and drinks in the following cases:

When an aircraft's departure is delayed for 2 hours or more. The flight length is up to 1500 km.
If the flight is delayed for 3 or more hours, and flights are carried out only within the EU. Their length reaches 1500-3500 km.
If the flight is delayed for 4 hours or more.

The passenger can make two free phone calls. In the event that the departure or arrival of an aircraft is delayed by one or several days, the airline provides a hotel room. Compensation can only be received if the flight is delayed for 3 or more hours due to the fault of the air carrier. These rules are set by the EU Parliament.

To speed up the compensation process for delays, flight cancellations or denied boarding due to overbooking, we recommend contacting Compensair using the form below. This is a reliable service that specializes in air compensation for problems with European airline flights over the past 6 years.

Compensation for flight delays in Russia

Even the slightest delay in departure can be fraught with material costs for the traveler. For example, an important meeting was missed or contractual obligations were violated.

In this case, compensation is provided for flight delays. It is paid in the Russian Federation if the delay was due to the fault of the airline.

Important. Financial compensation is not paid if the plane is late or does not take off due to bad weather conditions.

It will also not be paid in the following cases:

industry strikes of employees began;
there have been changes in social life that affect the safety of flights (war, epidemic, etc.);
state restrictions have been established on the implementation air transport;
fault detected aircraft which may result in a crash.

In the Russian Federation, according to the established rules for delays of aircraft flights due to the fault of the air carrier, the amount of compensation is 25-50% of the minimum wage. The percentage of financial payment depends on many circumstances.

Advice! To exercise the right to payment of compensation in full, you must put a special mark with an airline employee.

Amount of compensation for flight delay to the EU

In the European Union the amount of compensation is fixed. It depends on the flight distance and flight delay time.

To be collected, a mark must be placed on the travel document. This is performed by an airport or airline employee. When collecting large evidence, you can take a photo of the board on which information about the flight delay was displayed.

Interesting! If the air carrier notifies the customer of a flight cancellation or delay 14 days in advance, no compensation will be paid. If this period is shorter, the passenger can count on a financial payment in the same amount as in case of a flight delay.

How to get paid: detailed instructions

Unfortunately, not all air carriers strive to maintain their positive reputation. Not only do they not provide travelers with drinks or free food vouchers, but they are also slow to answer questions about reimbursement.

On one's own

If all the passengers' demands have been ignored, you can collect a package of documents and go to court.

Supporting documents:

a copy of the ticket with a note about the cancellation or delay of the flight;
letters or invitations if you planned to travel abroad to visit relatives or to an important event;
copies of tickets for excursions;
receipts or checks for hotel accommodation and meals for the entire time you are waiting for the flight.

You also need to write a complaint. It is handed over to an airline employee along with the collected package of documents.

Advice. It is better to send all this by registered mail. This will give travelers proof that they have filed a complaint.

Some people photocopy the claim. Its second copy is signed by the airline employee to whom it was handed over. He indicates the date of application and his data (full name, position).

You can apply for compensation immediately after the exact time of the aircraft’s departure delay has been established. But no later than 6 months from the date of flight cancellation or delay. In the EU, this period is set individually for each airline.

Via Compensair

You can also contact companies that specialize in air compensation from European airlines. For example, Compensair helps travelers receive compensation of up to 600 euros in case of canceled or delayed flights, or denied boarding. At the same time, compensation can be obtained for problems with flights of European airlines over the past 6 years. To receive compensation, fill out the form below.

Complaint consideration period

According to the legislation of the Russian Federation, complaints about the airline's work are considered within 30 days. After this period, the air carrier either compensates for the damage or refuses to pay compensation. At the same time, he must provide irrefutable evidence of his innocence.

Note. In the rules for transporting passengers by air not indicated exact time, in which compensation must be paid. Sometimes this process drags on for months.

In the European Union the situation is different. Airlines pay compensation no later than 7 days after consideration of the complaint.

Litigation

“Fighting” with the airline on your own for the right to receive compensation is a difficult task. This organization employs experienced lawyers. They do their jobs well. And sometimes it is not possible to receive the long-awaited compensation.

Advice. In this case, you need to seek help from professional lawyers. They will help collect sufficient evidence of the airline’s guilt.

The court must provide supporting documents. You can file a claim within 3 years from the date of the flight delay.

What to do if, due to a delay in one flight, a passenger is late for another

The outcome of the situation depends on how the traveler issued his ticket. For example, he makes a flight from Krasnodar to Minsk with a transfer to Moscow. In this case, the airline is responsible for the Moscow - Minsk flight. They will put the traveler on the nearest plane that flies in that direction.

Important. Receiving compensation due to the current situation is possible if the passenger arrived at the destination 3 hours or more late.

If documents were purchased for two separate flights (“Krasnodar - Moscow” and “Moscow - Minsk”), the air carrier is not responsible for being late for the second plane.

What to do if the airline does not provide a hotel

This situation happens quite often. What to do if your flight is delayed for a day or more? And the airline ignores its obligations.

The first thing you need to do is to mark the flight delay with a company employee. Next, you need to collect all receipts: for food, luggage storage. When checking into the hotel, ask for supporting documents indicating the amount of payment. They will be evidence of material expenses that the carrier company must reimburse.

Upon arrival at the airline, the passenger writes a statement in the prescribed form. You can get it from an employee. He attaches copies of the collected documents to it. It is also necessary to provide a copy of the ticket, which contains a note about the delay or cancellation of the flight.

On the website of many airlines it is possible to submit such a complaint online. As practice has shown, it is better to submit the application in person or send it by mail (issue a registered letter). This way there will be a greater chance that the claim will be considered on time and a decision will be made on it.