HOW TO CLAIM A FLIGHT LATE OR CANCELED? KNOW YOUR RIGHTS

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Exaggerated delays, cancellations without apparent cause, lost luggage, mistreatment of passengers, retention on the plane without leaving for hours ... Lately these problems happen daily at each airport in the world and passengers often feel unprotected. Well, know that we have rights to fight for and the law protects us with compensation if these situations happen. But you have to claim! In this article we tell you how to claim a delayed or canceled flight and the rights we have as passengers.

We can say, although with the small mouth and touching wood, that we have been lucky with most flights on our trips. We have never suffered a cancellation too traumatic, and we have not had to suck endless queues in front of the counter of a company to claim.

Although we remember a great snowfall a Christmas in Madrid that left us sleeping one night at the airport (the only consequence was to have one more day of vacation) and a couple of driver strikes ... Oh, and a fire at the airport in Rome that He forced me to spend all night lying in a corridor waiting to be relocated ... And that time we stayed 3 hours on the plane without leaving on the way to Warsaw ... If in the end if we had our aventurillas!

But the truth, we were never clear when, what, how and where to claim in these cases and similar ones.What rights does the passenger have when they cancel their flight? How much delay is subject to compensation? How to claim when I lose a suitcase? These are things that we would need to know before embarking on a trip, so that the damn drivers strike doesn't surprise us!

These are, broadly speaking, the rights that passengers have and that airlines should comply:

In these cases, the company and / or travel agencies have gone out of line and have sold more seats than there are (I don't know if waiting for the traffic on the day of the flight to be terrible and make many people lose it). If, after the request of volunteers to give up your ticket in exchange for certain benefits, they still deny you boarding, you know you have these rights:

Compensation for amounts between 125 and 600 euros depending on the distance traveled by the flight.
Attention During the waiting time, with food, drinks, phone calls and even stay in hotels if it is necessary to spend the night while waiting for your alternative flight.

It is important to know that compensation may cut in half When the alternative transportation offered allows you to reach your destination with a difference of 2 to 4 hours from the original flight, depending on the distance traveled by the flight.

Solution: refund of the amount of the ticket or alternative transport. Plus compensation.

What are the causes outside the company? They are usually causes weather conditions such as heavy snow or wind, political causes such as the strike of the controllers, and things like that, "force majeure" say. The company will have to offer you any of the following solutions:

Refund of the amount of the ticket and, if applicable, the free return to your initial starting point.
To delay the trip until a date that suits you (subject to the availability of places).

There are times offered to board the next flight, which takes place the next day. Only in the case where one night passes between the canceled and the alternative flight, the airline must offer a free hotel night and transfers from / to the airport.

In addition, you will have right to attention, with meals, drinks, calls, etc., free.

Solution: transport to your final destination by alternative media or refund.

You will have the equal rights that in the case of “Overbooking”(Reimbursement or alternative transportation + assistance + compensation). However, the company can not complying with compensation if any of these occurs cases:

Cancellation due to outside causes, in any of the cases already mentioned.
You have been informed of the cancellation 14 days in advance.
You have been informed between 14 and 7 days in advance and they offer you an alternative transport that does not leave 2 hours before or arrive 4 hours after the original reservation.
You have been informed less than 7 days in advance and they propose another flight that does not leave 1 hour before or arrive 2 hours after the original reservation.

Solution: refund of the amount of the ticket oralternative transport. Pluscompensation.

The rights that we will have passengers in case our flight has been delayed will be:

Assistance, with food, drink, calls, etc. and accommodation and transport until this in case you have to spend the night during the delay. This right is given when the delay is:
- 2 hours or more on flights of 1,500 kilometers or less.
- 3 hours or more on intra-community flights of more than 1,500 kilometers and all other flights between 1,500 and 3,500 kilometers.
- 4 hours or more on flights not included in the previous sections.
Refund of the amount of the ticket, for delays exceeding 5 hours.
Compensation, in cases where there is a delay of more than 3 hours. Although the amounts are not contemplated in the current regulations, this right is recognized.

Solution: refund of the amount of the ticket and in some cases compensation.

What tension when we are waiting for our suitcase on the tape and see that all but yours appear. You fear the worst ... this time it has touched me! And in the end, after half an hour of waiting, there you can see its little head ... But if it does not and your suitcase is flying at that time to the other part of the world, you know that you have the right to a compensation of up to € 1,220. The final amount is calculated based on the international agreement signed by each country, but come on something has to fall fixed!

You can also make a special declaration of luggage value before boarding, paying a supplement, but in that case if it is lost or damaged, the amount of compensation will be higher.

If you are in any of the above situations, you must submit a claim to the airline. If after a while you do not receive an answer or the proposed solution does not satisfy you, you can submit the complaint to the State air safety agency (see their website), from the Ministry of Development. On the website you can find the forms you will have to send, along with a copy of the claim to the company.

You also have the possibility to go to some specialized company which is dedicated to fighting for your rights, more accustomed to dealing with these bulls.

Most travel insurance includes coverage for flight delays and cancellations, and also for lost luggage. For example, IATI (the insurance that we have) has a service called "Airhelp" that can be hired for a supplement of € 5 and includes all the procedures for making timely claims. Here we tell you how to choose the best travel insurance.

There are some bank cards that carry certain insurance that can be very interesting. The conditions usually come in the card contract, so you are already looking for it (now you are thinking that where the hell you would put it) and checking what it is that covers you. Among these insurances there are some travel with which you can charge a compensation for delays, cancellations, lost luggage, etc.. Keep in mind that you will have to have bought the ticket with that card.