How much is EU delayed flight compensation ?

Everyone travels from time to time, whatever the reason might be. It can be for business, a family trip or simply for new cultures discovery. And having to travel somewhere else, especially when the destination is new to us, makes organizing the trip days before a necessity.

Yet even when we organize everything meticulously, we find ourselves in front of obstacles that are out of reach. For example, flight delays.Sometimes the delay can escalate quickly into a harder problem : flight cancellations. 

So are the main reasons that might delay flights, what to do if we find ourselves in such a situation and can we get compensated ? And if there is compensation, what are the conditions to consider for a delay compensation and how much is it ?

Delays are a normal and happen usually

Whether you travel within the same city with a taxi or traveling somewhere very far, delays are a very normal process. Not only group and public transportation have delays, even personal anc custom transportation services face delays usually, as the reasons that cause delays are generally the same.

Some delays like weather difficulties and natural disasters in general are well known to the public. For security reasons, the latter elements cause delays that go up even to days. Airport operations management team who are responsible for alerting such flight cancellations and delays do not give their green light until the weather becomes stable enough for travel.

Others might be related to security and emergency situations such as security teams suspecting a passenger is a threat to the flight or delicate medical problem.

Delays might also be caused by traffic situations, especially in peak seasons when flights become too many to handle and become too crowded. Traffic within the city in those seasons can also cause some passengers to be delayed themselves, and force the flight team to hold up the flight for everybody.

How to find out your flight is delayed

With all the new connected technologies we have today, finding out about flight delays is very easy, because you don’t have to be at the airport in the first place. 

You can check your chosen flight company’s website or mobile app, their social media posts or they will themselves send you a notice on your email or cell phone that the flight is delayed. And of course you can go the usual way by calling the company or going to the airport hours before the flight.

What to do when delays happen and you are in the airport

So what to do you find yourself delayed and with a load of luggage in your hands ? Simply go for a mini-trip in the airport and discover all those beautiful special spots you never took the time to discover. You can also go take a nap or a snack, surf on the internet as WIFI is widely available in airports or take a time reading that book you needed to read last time but didn’t have time to.

Is there a compensation for delays

Yes, the European council states clearly that compensation is obligatory in case of flight delays. And that the amount of the compensation depends mainly on the delay conditions such as the duration and flight distance, no matter what the company.

In their main website, the European Union Council states that « If your flight is delayed at departure, you have the right to assistance, to reimbursement and a return flight, depending on the duration of the delay and the distance of the flight. » europa.eu

What are compensation criterias and conditions then

Conditions to fulfill and consider that your delay worthy of compensation can be listed as following : 

• The delay is above 3 hours
• You are a traveling from a EU country to another EU country
• You are traveling from a EU country to a non-EU country, but the flight company is EU based
• You haven’t received a delay compensation already for that particular flight

For more detailed information, check the official documentation by clicking this link.

Conclusion
Finally, delays are indeed inevitable, but the European Council care about consumer rights made it possible for travelers to be reimbursed in such cases. If you have any questions in general, please reach out to us. Don’t forget to discover our taxi airport transfer booking service offer, and check our homepage for taxi transfer destinations and quotes.