Passengers facing serious plane delays, what should they do?
Imagine the following situation: you end your stay in New York in joy and good humor, while you arrive at the airport, the flight is delayed by 6 hours. In addition to the simple inconvenience, a delay or cancellation of a flight (operated by KLM) can have more serious consequences, financial or other. You have to warn the grandparents, take a taxi to find their dear suburb since there will no longer be a RER, eat at the airport, or even sleep at the hotel.
Find out what remedies are available to enforce your rights if this occurs.
Flight canceled or suffered a long delay: Victims have rights to defend:
A flight cancellation entails a lump sum compensation, the amount of which depends on the distance of the canceled flight. The lump sum compensation is € 250 for flights less than or equal to 1500km, € 400 for flights between 1500 and 3500km and € 600 for flights with a distance greater than 3500km.
Passengers can request to depart on another flight or receive reimbursement for their ticket if they decide not to depart. And their care while waiting (accommodation, catering, transfer to a place of accommodation) is the responsibility of the Dutch carrier.
Passengers informed of the cancellation in advance (at least 2 weeks before departure) are not compensated. If the passengers have not been informed, the carrier may offer another flight with a departure and arrival time close to that of the original flight. On the other hand, passengers refusing to board this new flight are not compensated, it is necessary to have to adapt.
When the delay is considered to be a significant loss
In the event of a flight delay of more than 3 hours, the passenger may request the application of the CJEU judgment of 19 November 2009 concerning delay, flight cancellation and the right to compensation in the event of a delay significant delay.
The victim receives compensation if the delay in the flight leads to direct damage: hotel room paid in advance and not occupied, missed work day, etc.
Catering, accommodation and transfer to the hotel is provided by the carrier in certain cases:
– Delay of 2 hours or more for a 1500km flight
– Delay of 3h or more for a flight between 1500 and 3500km
– 4h delay or more on flights over 3500km
Reimbursement of the plane ticket is possible for delays of more than 5 hours provided that the passenger cancels his flight.
Unpleasantly suffered, who to contact to succeed?
Air carriers are the main point of contact to be contacted in the event of flight delays or cancellations. However, millions of passengers turning to their carriers to assert their rights, they get disappointing answers. Whether KLM or any other European, American, African or Asian airline operator, they know how to escape their responsibility. If they don’t refuse to compensate their customers, they overwhelm them by demanding lengthy and very complex procedures.
For information about compensation procedures and other services, specialist services are launched by online law firms. These can take care of you. Just send them your flight data.
These are startups specializing in litigation. Injured passengers can call upon its services if the complaints do not lead to satisfactory solutions or as soon as they suffer the inconvenience.
The job of legal experts is to find an amicable solution between the two parties. However, they are always ready to take the matter to court if he finds it necessary to defend you.
It is important to remember that:
– These conditions apply to flights departing from the airports of the European Union and Switzerland, Iceland and
Norway. Outside these geographic areas, flights operated by a community airline are affected except in the event of regulations different from the country of departure.
– Compensation does not apply if the carrier proves that the cancellation or delay is not his responsibility: strike, weather, safety risks, etc.
– Airlines are legally obliged to inform passengers of their rights in the event of cancellation, delay or overbooking.
– Customers must be kept informed (by a written notice, distributed by the carrier) of the conditions of compensation and reimbursement while they are still in the boarding area.
– Compensation and reimbursement concerns only passengers with a reservation and who have complied with the boarding conditions.
In short, it is imperative to know your rights well to deal with a delay or cancellation of a flight served by KLM or any other airline. Depending on the case, you may therefore need to contact a travel agency or customer service of an airline. But be careful, respect the check-in times and other conditions related to the flight to be compensated in the event of a problem. The conditions are slightly different when denied boarding or overbooking.