Flight delay: what to do

Flight delays or cancellation of departure are quite common troubles that can confuse even an experienced traveler, especially if the journey includes transfers and connections. If the flight is delayed, the passenger can exercise his rights, and he has a lot of them. Moreover, it does not matter at all which airline is delaying the departure: a low-cost airline or a national air carrier, and the flight is regular or charter. Passenger rights in these cases are regulated by the Federal Aviation Regulations (FAR) and the Russian Air Code, which clearly spell out all possible situations and ways to resolve them.

The passenger has the right to know

According to the FAP, the representatives of the air carrier operating the flight must inform the customers of the reasons and duration of the delay in take-off, even if there is a delay in the departure of the charter flight. The information must be announced by the loudspeaker dispatcher and indicated by the appropriate text on the board in the airport building (paragraph 92 of the FAP).

Also, at the check-in counter of the airline, its representative must provide comprehensive information about all the circumstances and reasons for changing the departure time. If there is no representative office of the air carrier operating the flight at this airport, representatives of the airport at the information desk must answer all questions of passengers. The passenger has the right to demand from the representative of the air harbor to provide complete data on the flight.

Important! By purchasing an air ticket for an airplane, the client enters into an agreement with the carrier for the provision of transport services, and the air ticket form becomes a written proof of this fact.
Important! The client has the right to demand that his rights to information be respected (clause 74 of the FAR).

If the flight is delayed

What a passenger should do in case of a flight delay, you can find out from the provisions of the current legislation and the FAP. Air carrier customers must demand compliance. In the event of a delay in departure, the airline must:

Passengers traveling with children under the age of 7 should be given access to the mother and child's room;
Provide free luggage storage.

When departure is delayed for more than two hours, passengers must be provided with:

2 free phone calls and 2 e-mails;
Providing drinks.

In the event that the departure is delayed for more than four hours, the air carrier must arrange hot meals for passengers at intervals of 8 hours during the day and 6 hours at night. Usually, coupons are issued for certain restaurants at the airport.

If the delay in the departure of the aircraft is longer than 6 hours at night and 8 in the day, the air carrier must, free of charge:

place your passengers in the nearest hotels;
provide transportation from the airport to the hotel and back.

Important! Passengers do not have the right to lodge in rooms with strangers, distribute family members to different numbers without their consent, etc.
Additional Information. If the passenger is not satisfied with the hotel room provided by the airline, he can check in at his own expense and subsequently submit payment documents for reimbursement to the head office of the air carrier.

What to do if your flight is delayed

It so happens that a passenger follows a complex route that includes one or more connecting flights. In such a situation, being late for a connecting flight due to the delay of the previous one due to the fault of the air carrier ruins the entire journey.

There are several nuances that a passenger needs to know:

If all flights are operated by one company and one ticket is issued. In this case, the passenger does not have to worry about anything - the airline is obliged at its own expense to send its client to the destination on its other flights, and the sooner, the better, because delay increases the costs of the air carrier (meals, passenger accommodation, etc.);

If one ticket is issued, and the flights are operated by two companies. There is no reason to worry here either. Since such connecting flights are carried out by partner companies, the company that is responsible for the passenger being late for the connecting flight is obliged to settle all problems with its partner at its own expense and send the passenger on the next flight to the destination airport;
Connecting flights are issued with different tickets, operated by one or different airlines. The passenger should be aware that when purchasing different tickets and choosing connections on his own, he is at great risk, because in this case, he is not a transit passenger. If the first flight is delayed, then the connecting ticket simply disappears.

Important! If a round-trip connecting flight ticket is lost, the return ticket is also canceled, as if the passenger had not shown up for the flight.

Immediately after the announcement of the delay in departure, a stamp must be put on the ticket - the corresponding mark by the representative of the airline. Next, you need to contact another airline whose flight the passenger is late for, and ask to make a reservation for the next flight without canceling the return ticket. Most often, airlines meet their customers halfway.

If it was not possible to avoid unpleasant consequences, and the return ticket was canceled, then you will have to buy other tickets at your own expense, while keeping all receipts and receipts, as well as a ticket with a note about the flight delay.

Subsequently, it will be possible to send a written claim to the office of the airline responsible for the delay, demanding reimbursement of the costs incurred, attaching all financial documents and tickets to it. But according to the rules, in this case, the company is not obliged to compensate the passenger for monetary losses, and he can only count on compensation for damage for the delayed flight of the guilty company.

Important! A written claim must be made to the air carrier within 6 months of the incident, no later than.

Let's consider in what cases the air carrier is not responsible for the flight delay. There are a number of objective reasons that exonerate the airline from the blame for the delay in departure, regardless of whether it is charter flights or regular ones. These include the following:

deterioration of weather conditions;
the airliner is technically defective;
airport congestion;
other force majeure circumstances (natural disasters, flight restrictions, etc.).

In all other cases, air carrier companies are responsible for the timely delivery of their customers to their destination, in particular:

erroneous flight schedule;
the airliner or aircraft crew is not ready to fly;
a situation called overbooking: when tickets are sold more than the number of seats in the airliner of a given flight (airlines often sell more tickets, because, according to statistics, several passengers always cancel their trips at the last moment);
few tickets have been sold and the flight is not profitable (often happens with charter flights);
in all other cases, if it is not proven that it is force majeure.

If the flight was delayed due to the fault of the airline, then the situation can be resolved as follows:

sending passengers to their destination on other flights;
monetary compensation for losses and losses.

Important! The passenger should remember that if the airline sends him on another flight, even to another airline, then he should not take any additional money from him, even if the route becomes longer and the ticket is more expensive.

Monetary compensation for damage

In Russian federation

If the flight is delayed, then the passengers are entitled to monetary compensation. According to the laws of Russia, the calculation of the amount of compensation for damage caused by a delayed departure is calculated according to the minimum wage: for an hour of delay in departure, 3% of the ticket price is charged (Law "On Protection of Consumer Rights"), and 0.25% of the minimum wage per hour of waiting, if the maximum possible amount of compensation is 50% of the ticket price ("Air Code" of the Russian Federation).

In the EU countries

Otherwise, compensation for a delayed flight in the European Union is calculated. A special decree of the European Parliament regulates the obligations of air carriers and the procedure for calculating the amount of compensation payments.

These rules are obliged to obey:

all air carriers, the starting point of the route is an airport in an EU country (even, for example, Aeroflot or any other Russian air carrier company departing from Europe);
airlines registered as an air carrier in any of the countries of the Eurozone, if the final destination of the route is an airport located in the European Union.

According to this document, the amount of compensation to be paid to the passenger is determined based on the waiting time of the delayed flight and the flight distance.

Calculation of the amount of compensation

Attention: The internal data of table “45” is corrupted!

Important!When waiting for departure for more than 5 hours, the passenger, upon his request, must be reimbursed the entire cost of the air ticket, even if it is necessary to return it to the starting point of travel.

Compensation payment is due to the passenger in the event that the flight was canceled, but he was notified about it less than 13 days before the travel date. The amount is calculated based on the duration of waiting for an alternative flight, its length.

IN THE USA

In the States, the situation with delayed and canceled flights is somewhat different. The legislation practically does not provide for compensation for damage from cancellations or long waiting times for departure, except in cases where the passenger does not board the aircraft due to overbooking.

In practice, airlines try to send customers on the next flights, but if the ticket costs more, the passenger pays extra himself. There are no preferences in the form of free phone calls, emails, or meals, unlike the rules of the Russian Federation and the European Union.

Documents for reimbursement of costs

What should a passenger whose flight is delayed do? First of all, you need to contact the airline's check-in counter and find out why the flight was delayed, ask to put a mark on the ticket that the flight is delayed. In this case, a company representative must put a seal or a corporate stamp on the ticket. Then, when boarding the plane, you need to put a stamp on the departure time, also certified by a stamp. Thus, when filing a claim with the central office of the air carrier, the flight delay will be officially confirmed.

Important! In the event that there is no representative office of the air carrier at the airport, representatives of the airport can put a stamp at the information desk. But even if there is no mark about the delay, it is confirmed by many documents drawn up both in the relevant airport services and in the airline itself.

After accommodation at the hotel at your own expense, you need to save all payment documents for the room and transfer between the airport and the hotel.

Upon returning, you need to draw up and submit to the central office of the company a claim with a claim for compensation, attaching all supporting documents to it (air ticket with marks, documents for additional unforeseen expenses, etc.).

Important! It should be remembered that a complaint letter must be submitted before the expiration of 3 months from the date of the incident. The airline must respond within 1 month from the date of receipt of the claim.
Important! When submitting a letter of claim, it must be issued in 2 copies and receive a mark from the company representatives with the incoming number and date of receipt on the second copy of the letter left to yourself.

When considering a passenger's complaint, the case is examined according to the laws of the country where the incident occurred, regardless of which country the air carrier is registered in. So, if an incident occurred at a Russian airport with Lufthansa, then the proceedings will take place in Russia, if the defendant is a Russian air carrier on the occasion in the European Union, then the case will be considered in the corresponding country of the Eurozone and according to the laws and regulations in force there.

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If the flight is delayed, if the route is difficult, there is too little time between connecting flights, and the trip is in danger of disruption, do not panic. Knowing your rights and obligations of the airline to its customers, you can not only successfully reach your destination, but also receive material compensation for the inconvenience caused.