No luck: what to do in case of flight cancellation or postponement
With the advent of the holiday season, airport passenger traffic is also increasing. According to the experience of previous years, queues are possible at the entrances to the terminals and in the screening areas. Along with this, there may be delays in the arrival and departure of aircraft. In which cases a passenger will receive compensation for the delay of a domestic and international flight, how much money can be counted on, how to buy tickets for a family on a day-to-day basis if the flight was canceled and whether it is possible to receive payment from the airline and the insurance company immediately — in the Izvestia article.
What payments are due for delayed domestic flights?
A passenger can receive compensation if the flight is postponed due to the fault of the airline, for example, due to an on-board malfunction. If the plane was delayed due to bad weather or a threat to the life and health of passengers during flights, then it will not be possible to collect a fine from the airline.
According to the Air Code of the Russian Federation, for each hour of delay, the carrier must pay the passenger compensation in 100 rubles. However, the amount cannot exceed 50% of the freight charge. The same payment is provided for delayed baggage delivery. Until April 1, 2024, compensation was paid in 25 rubles for each hour.
In addition, a person may require the carrier to reimburse losses incurred due to flight delays. "The claim can, for example, include losses related to being late for a connecting flight or a cruise ship, missing a paid dinner at the hotel, a concert for which a ticket was purchased, or due to shortening the length of stay at the hotel," he explained. TourDom.ru Founder of the Persona Grata law agency Georgy Mokhov.
To receive payments, the passenger must send a claim to the carrier's address. This can be done through a form on the website, by paper or by e-mail. The document templates must be posted on the airline's website. When requesting compensation for losses, carriers usually request original receipts, receipts, and tickets. The claim is considered within 30 days. If no response has been received or the company has refused to pay, the tourist can sue the carrier within three years from the date of the flight delay.
Lawyers confirm that many airlines pay compensation at the claim stage. However, some carriers refuse to pay, even if they are really to blame for the flight delay. The airlines hope that the passenger will not go to court, Pravo explained to the resource.<url>" lawyer of the A2 Law Office Dmitry Kulikov.
To increase the chances of compensation, experts recommend specifying as much information as possible in the claim: contact details, ticket purchase dates, flight number, dates and time of departure (scheduled and actual), amount to be compensated, account details. It is also important to attach to the claim a ticket with a note about the flight delay, boarding passes with the time of departure and arrival of the flight, and documents confirming additional expenses.
According to the Law on Consumer Protection, passengers are also entitled to receive 3% of the ticket price for each hour of flight delay.
It is important to remember that if the flight is postponed for any reason, including due to circumstances beyond the control of the airline, the passenger can cancel the flight and refund the full cost of the ticket, even if it is non-refundable. In this case, some airlines allow you to exchange your ticket for another flight.
What compensation can I get for the delay of an international flight?
Those who fly to another country on a foreign airline are eligible for other payments.
The amount of compensation for the delay of an international flight is regulated by the Montreal Convention. Flights to the European Union have their own regulations.
If the flight is connecting, suggest returning to the departure airport as soon as possible. If the flight is delayed by three hours, the passenger is entitled to compensation, provided that the delay is not caused by extraordinary circumstances. The amount of compensation depends on the flight distance. At a distance of up to 1,500 km, the carrier must pay €250, up to 3,500 km — €400, more than 3,500 km — €600.
Compensation on other international flights will be up to 4,15 thousand. SDR (Special drawing rights). This is almost 460 thousand rubles.
To receive compensation, the passenger must put a note on the ticket about the delay and then apply to the airline, the Association of Tour Operators of Russia (ATOR) told Izvestia. Lawyers point out that the carrier may ask to make a claim in the airline's national language.
When can I get food and drinks?
In some cases, passengers on delayed flights are provided with drinks and food, and the airline must provide people with food and drink, regardless of whether the flight was postponed due to the carrier's fault or not. Bad weather conditions are one of the situations where you can qualify for dinner.
Soft drinks are provided when waiting for a flight for more than two hours.
Hot meals must be provided if the flight is delayed for more than four hours, and then food must be served every six hours. At night, the interval increases to eight hours.
At the same time, if a person does not like the quality of food, he can refuse the food offered and buy something for himself on his own, and then demand compensation from the carrier, ATOR notes.
In addition to providing food and drinks when rescheduling a flight, airlines must arrange baggage storage, and provide mother and child rooms for passengers with children under the age of seven.
When do airlines accommodate passengers in hotels?
According to Russian rules, check-in at the hotel occurs when the flight is delayed for any reason. They are provided free of charge in hotels if passengers wait more than eight hours during the day and more than six hours at night for the departure of the plane. The company also pays for the transfer to the hotel and back to the airport.
The passenger can choose the hotel himself if he is dissatisfied with the proposed option. In this case, you need to apply for compensation at the airline's office.
"It should be noted that when choosing accommodation, one should nevertheless proceed from the principles of reasonableness and understand that the airline will most likely refuse to compensate for a night in the presidential suite of a five-star hotel," the ATOR website says.
However, not all carriers have been accommodating passengers in hotels lately.
ATOR Vice President Artur Muradian recommends that you clearly defend your rights, since the responsibility for ensuring comfort lies not with tour operators, but with airlines, which must provide services in accordance with Federal Aviation Regulations.
How many hours are allowed to sit on an airplane during an unscheduled landing?
The time spent on board during an unscheduled landing is not limited and depends on the situation.
"We do not consider regulatory restrictions on the duration of passengers' stay on board an aircraft in the event of its landing at an alternate airfield. Based on the situation, the aircraft commander decides whether to disembark passengers and, if so, when," Dmitry Yadrov, head of the Federal Air Transport Agency, previously explained to TASS.
Passengers can also be offered another flight, if there is one, or refund the money for the ticket if the passenger's person refuses to fly further.
If passengers are waiting for the departure of the aircraft for a long time, then the airline must provide food and drinks to the people on board. When an overnight stay is required, arrange accommodation and transportation to the accommodation location. Passengers can also be offered another flight, if there is one, or refund the money for the ticket if the person refuses to fly further.
— Airlines take passengers to their destination on alternative flights whenever possible. If the landing in another city was the fault of the carrier and the tourist cannot wait for a further flight on general terms, he can get to the desired point on his own, and then file a claim for compensation with the airline," ATOR explained to Izvestia.
What should I do if my flight is cancelled?
If the flight was cancelled more than 24 hours before departure, the carrier may offer to rebook the ticket for another flight and refund the funds. If the flight was cancelled in less than 24 hours, the airline is obliged to refund the money in full.
However, the funds are not always refunded automatically — the details must be clarified at the airline's desk or at the ticket office. Most often, to receive money, you need to write an application for a refund and submit it to the place where the ticket was purchased — at the ticket office, on the carrier's website or an intermediary. The company must provide a response within 30 days.
If a person has bought a tour, but his flight has been canceled, you need to contact the tour operator. He will offer alternative flights or refund the funds.
Artur Muradian says that although in theory you can buy a plane ticket even an hour before departure, in reality there are difficulties with this, especially during the holiday season.
— Buying tickets for the whole family at the height of the season is not an easy task, and it is better to solve it in advance. After all, our international transportation is quite limited, there are no such volumes, for example, low-cost airlines, which would allow us to create a route quickly and cheaply. There may be no physical seats, and then you will need to invent something on the spot, for example, to separate a family and send it on different flights," the expert told Izvestia.
According to him, the cost of a day-to-day ticket is difficult to predict. All airlines have implemented dynamic pricing that takes into account availability, demand dynamics, competitor prices, flight frequency, and even the day of the week. Many have come across a situation where ticket prices increased 10-fold on peak dates, while there are cases when a day-to-day flight costs the same or uncritically more expensive than a ticket purchased in advance, Artur Muradyan notes.
If a passenger has suffered material or moral damage due to the cancellation of a flight, a claim can be filed with the air carrier within six months from the date of cancellation.
What will insurance provide?
If you have insurance for flight delays or cancellations, you can receive an additional payment from the insurance company. However, this will only happen if the policy contains a condition that excludes payment if there is compensation from a third party, such as an airline. Otherwise, the policyholder may be legally refused, Ekaterina Tyutyunnikova, a lawyer at the Moscow Bar Association, told Izvestia.
— Clause 2 of Article 964 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation explicitly states: if the damage was compensated by the guilty party, the insurer has the right to reduce the amount of payment or refuse compensation altogether — but again only if this is reflected in the policy. Thus, if the insurance contract does not contain restrictions on the duplication of compensation, the insurance company is obliged to make a payment upon the occurrence of an insured event, regardless of the actions of the air carrier, the lawyer explains.
According to her, the policyholder receives the money without having to prove the actual damage. This makes insurance coverage especially valuable in situations where the airline has not formally violated its obligations, but the passenger has incurred additional costs. Many Russian insurers meet customers halfway and either track information about the status of flights themselves, or request a minimum of supporting documents about the delay.
Another advantage of insurance is a quick payment and a large amount of compensation. It is calculated in accordance with the contract and the company's rules. According to ATOR's calculations, from May 8 to May 11, the average payment of a client in one of the insurance companies was about 4 thousand rubles.
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