[attach id=257662 size="medium"]If we find ourselves stranded at the airport and the airline refuses to give us compensation, claiming the delay or cancellation has been caused by ‘exceptional circumstances’, we should ask for a more detailed explanation.[/attach]

If we’re at the airport waiting to board our booked flight and are informed that our flight has been delayed for more than three hours or has been cancelled, the airline has to offer us financial compensation.

This could range from €125 to €600, depending on the length of our flight and the delay we experience to arrive at our final destination.

The only situations whereby this compensation does not have to be paid by the airline is when the delay or cancellation is the result of extraordinary circumstances that could not have been avoided even if all reasonable steps had been taken.

However, the Denied Boarding Compensation Regulations do not provide a definition of ‘exceptional circumstances’. The only indication of what the law considers as exceptional circumstances is found in the narrative preamble introducing the regulations but does not actually form part of the law.

In this introduction, it is suggested that ‘extraordinary circumstances’ are events such as extreme adverse weather, civil unrest, riots or uprising, security risks and terror threats, strikes and industrial action.

If we happen to find ourselves stranded at the airport and the airline refuses to give us compensation, claiming the delay or cancellation has been caused by ‘exceptional circumstances’, we should ask for a more detailed explanation.

If the airline then talks about a technical fault, we should insist on our claim for compensation, as technical faults are not usually considered as ‘extraordinary circumstances’ unless they arise from an exceptional event beyond the airline’s control

In March 2012, the European Parliament approved a motion that clearly sets out that routine, technical faults do not constitute ‘exceptional circumstances’ as they are considered to be a regular occurrence, and that airlines are therefore at fault if they do not have contingency plans in place.

Furthermore, we should keep in mind that it is up to the airline to prove that the facts of the case amounted to ‘extraordinary circumstances’.

If the situation we find ourselves in is actually an ‘extraordinary circumstance’ and we are not entitled to financial compensation, the airline must still offer us a refund of the ticket or alternative transport to our final destination at the earliest opportunity, or re-booking at a later date of our choice, subject to seat availability.

The airline must also provide help while we are waiting for alternative transport.

We may not only experience flight problems but also problems with our booked holiday.

Even before going away, we may be informed that the original holiday or part of it is significantly changed. If this happens, we are entitled to one of the following solutions:

• a substitute package of equivalent or superior quality if such possibility is offered; or

• a substitute package of lower quality if this is offered, and to be refunded by the holiday organiser the difference in price between the package purchased and the replacement package;

• or to be refunded, as soon as possible, all the money paid for the cancelled package holiday.

We may also be entitled to financial compensation for not being given the holiday promised and paid for.

This compensation, however, does not apply if the package holiday is cancelled due to unusual and unforeseeable circumstances beyond the control of the organiser, retailer or supplier of services.

Significant changes to our holiday may also be made while we are abroad. If this happens, the law provides that the organiser makes suitable alternative arrangements at no extra cost and, where appropriate, should compensate us for the difference in price of the services booked and those supplied.

If alternative arrangements are not possible or we find them unacceptable, we are entitled to compensation. The organiser is also liable for any damage caused due to the changed package or holiday cancellation.

The only exemption for such compensation are unforeseeable circumstances that are beyond the organiser’s control.

odette.vella@mccaa.org.mt

Odette Vella is senior information officer, Office for Consumer Affairs, Malta Competition and Consumer Affairs Authority.