EC Regulation 261/2004 provides air passengers with specific rights when their booked and confirmed flight is delayed or cancelled.
Besides appropriate care and assistance, when air passengers are informed that their flight has been delayed for more than three hours or has been cancelled, the airline has a legal obligation to give them financial compensation. This ranges from €125 to €600, depending on the length of their flight and the delay they experienced before arriving at their final destination.
This obligation does not apply when the cause of the delay or cancellation is deemed to be outside the airline’s control. The European Commission’s guidelines stipulate that in order for circumstances to be considered extraordinary, they have to meet three criteria: unpredictable, unavoidable and external.
Extraordinary circumstances include events like extreme weather conditions, disruption arising from war and political instability of any kind where travel is not recommended, security risks and terror threats such as a bomb discovery or bomb scare, and strikes and industrial actions.
Technical issues which are a result of the air carrier’s failure to maintain its aircraft are not considered extraordinary circumstances. In March 2012, the European Parliament approved a motion which clearly sets out that routine technical faults did not constitute ‘exceptional circumstance’ as they are a regular occurrence for airlines, and that the airlines were therefore at fault for not having contingency plans in place.
If the airline insists that the technical problem could not have been prevented, in case of a dispute, it is the responsibility of the airline to demonstrate that the facts of the case amounted to an extraordinary situation.
If the situation where air passengers find themselves in is actually an extraordinary circumstance and they are not entitled to financial compensation, the airline must still offer a refund of the flight ticket or alternative transport to their final destination at the earliest opportunity, or re-booking at a later date of their choice and subject to seat availability.
The airline must also provide assistance when necessary while air passengers are waiting for alternative transport.
When there is the need to lodge a complaint because an airline failed to provide the required care or compensation air passengers are legally entitled to, they first need to make their complaint with the air carrier that operated the flight. If complaining to the airline is not sufficient, then air passengers should contact the national enforcement body in the country where the incident took place. The role of these bodies is to verify that transport operators are treating all passengers in accordance with their rights. When a flight is delayed in Malta, air passenger complaints may be addressed to the Malta Competition and Consumer Affairs Authority.
odette.vella@mccaa.org.mt
Odette Vella is director, Information, Education and Research Directorate, Office for Consumer Affairs, Malta Competition and Consumer Affairs Authority.