When you buy a flight ticket, there are a series of passenger rights that protect you in the event of unforeseen events or problems. However, the bulk of the population is unaware of these rights and their application.
For this reason, and for you to have all the necessary information when you travel in this article, we will talk about and explain these rights.
Rights of the passenger
When you buy a flight ticket on any airline, it has to offer you a minimum in terms of the service you have hired. As when purchasing any other product, the air transport company has to give you some guarantees.
And all these guarantees are included in Regulation (EC) 261/2004, where you can see what rights you have when you travel. Thus, depending on the circumstances, the company must guarantee your arrival at the destination point or ensure a stay if they cancel the flight without prior notices.
However, understanding these rights is much easier if they are explained through the possible inconveniences that may occur when traveling. For that reason we are going to structure the article based on these.
Denied boarding
Denied boarding is one of the problems you may suffer when you have to catch a plane. Depending on the reason, you can claim your rights or not. In this way, if you are denied access to the plane for health or safety reasons or because you do not have the identification required to embark, you will not have the right to claim.
However, this is not usually the case, since the denial is usually due to overbooking. In this case, since it would be a problem of organization of the company, as a passenger you would have the right to:
- To be informed: That is, that the company gives you a form where you indicate the steps you must follow.
- Be attended by sufficient food, make two calls or access the email and accommodation and transport to it if necessary.
- The refund of the ticket or an alternative transport. There are three possible options among which you must choose one. Either your ticket is refunded within a maximum period of one week, or you are offered a new transport method as quickly as possible or the transport is made to the corresponding destination at a later date that satisfies you.
- Right to be compensated with a sum of between 250 and 600 euro depending on the distance of the flight. This compensation will be reduced to 50% if alternative transportation is offered and a delay greater than the maximum established by law is not caused.
Flight cancellation
In case of cancellation of the flight that you booked, you will have, first of all, the same rights as in the case of denied boarding.
But in addition to this, you will be entitled to be compensated with the same amounts as in the case explained above. The greater or lesser indemnity will depend on the distance of the flight.
However, all rights are voided if this cancellation is due to extraordinary circumstances such as:
- Political instability.
- Adverse weather conditions that do not allow the departure of the flight.
- Security risks.
- Unexpected deficiencies in flight safety.
- Strikes that affect the operations of the air carriers responsible for the flight.
Delays in departures
That is, when the flight you have booked is delayed several hours you will have a series of rights that will protect you to avoid added discomfort to the postponement of your departure.
So, as in the previous cases you will have the right to information and also to assistance. However, the latter will be subject to the following precepts:
- Distance of 1500 kilometers: You will be entitled to assistance when the delay exceeds two hours.
- Intra-community flights of more than 1500 kilometers and any flight between this distance and 3500 kilometers: You will be entitled to assistance if delay more than 3 hours.
- More than 3500 kilometers: They will have to assure you of the assistance if it is delayed more than 4 hours.
Finally, you will also be entitled to a refund if the flight is delayed more than five hours and you decide not to travel. This will be equivalent to the full cost of the ticket or tickets that make up the transfer to the final destination.
Delays in arrivals
Another circumstance that can occur is that you arrive late to the final destination. If this delay exceeds three hours, you will have the same rights as in cancellation cases, provided that the airline does not show that this delay was due to an extraordinary circumstance.
Class changes
If, due to organizational problems, you are assigned a lower class from which you paid, you will be entitled to a refund of part of the ticket.
So, now that you know the rights of the passenger, do not let them be violated. And if for any reason the airline does not fulfill its obligations, do not hesitate to report and claim.