EU Regulation 261 – How To Claim Compensation For Flight Delays Or Cancellations
So you’ve heard of EU Regulation 261/2004, but do you really understand what it’s all about? Read our comprehensive guide to understand more.
Learn about your legal rights and EU Regulation 261 with our in depth guides below.
Written by our legal team, they are regularly updated to reflect changes in law, and provide comprehensive legal advice to help you understand your legal rights when you’ve experienced a flight delay or cancellation.
Find out more about flight delay compensation, read our FAQs, or get an instant decision on your flight.
So you’ve heard of EU Regulation 261/2004, but do you really understand what it’s all about? Read our comprehensive guide to understand more.
If your flight has been cancelled by the airline then you may be able to claim flight cancellation compensation of up to £520, depending on the circumstances and how much notice the airline gave you of the cancellation.
EU law mean you can claim compensation up to £520 per passenger for flight delays of more than 3 hours. However, claiming compensation isn’t quite as simple as some make out.
Our guide will explain when you may be eligible to claim compensation for a flight delay and how to claim. Read on to start your journey to claiming your compensation.
European Regulation 261/2004 was established to protect the rights of air passengers, giving consumers the right to compensation for delayed or cancelled flights. We look into the rights of passengers when they are affected by strikes.
If your flight has been cancelled or delayed as a result of bad weather, then read on. You could be entitled to up to £520 in flight compensation.
Extraordinary circumstances are defined in EU Regulation 261/2004 – the law surrounding delayed flights, denied boarding, downgrading and flight cancellations.
The short answer is: Yes, you can, but you’ll probably have to take your claim to court. Airlines often tell passengers they can’t claim for flight delays caused by crew sickness, arguing that staff illness is an extraordinary circumstance. Read our guide below for further information.
If the airline has told you your flight delay was due to a technical defect or a hidden manufacturing defect and refuses to pay you flight compensation then don’t despair!
We’re often contacted by clients who were on a delayed flight and want to make a flight compensation claim but they don’t have some – or any – of their flight details. What happens if you find yourself in this situation?
The highest Court in Europe ruled on the 4th September 2014 that the arrival time must be calculated from the time the first aircraft door is opened.
A recent article on TravelMole looked at the airlines trying to ‘head off compensation claims’ by voluntarily issuing passengers with travel vouchers instead of the money they are entitled to under Regulation EU261.
Whilst EU Regulation 261/2004 states that you cannot claim financial compensation for a long flight delay due to an extraordinary circumstance, the airline is still obliged to offer its passengers care and assistance.
To help passengers understand their rights better, Bott and Co have created a downloadable flash card for passengers to take to the airport to use in cases of delay.
When it comes to claiming flight compensation, some prefer the “do it yourself” approach. Representing yourself in court, or acting as a ‘litigant in person’ to give it its official title, is certainly an option when it comes to making a flight delay claim; but is not without its potential pitfalls.
Whilst awareness is increasing about your basic flight rights, what’s less known is where you stand for claims that are a little more complex.
In the past we have seen airlines turn down flight compensation claims that were over two years old. Airlines often argued that The Montreal Convention 1999 meant passengers had just two years to bring an EU261 flight delay claim in England and Wales.
Bott and Co’s flight delay compensation lawyers are shaping the very laws on which consumers rely. We played a central role in the landmark Huzar V Jet2 case.
We’re the law firm that took the case of Dawson v Thomson Airways all the way to the Supreme Court and won – unlocking nearly £4billion in flight delay compensation for millions of passengers.
An ECJ ruling in the case of van der Lans v KLM has today confirmed that airlines are required to pay compensation when flights are delayed due to unforeseen technical problems.