Even if you haven't faced such a situation yourself, you will have surely heard of these stories from family members or friends. So what happens to the loss of both time and money that the passengers faced? The EU has a list of conditions and rules that point out the rights of passengers and the responsibilities of airlines when it comes to flight delays. The rules are applicable to all EU flights, airlines flying into an EU airport and EU airline operators flying out of the EU.
Filing flight delay compensation claims
When your flight is delayed for over three hours in case of a short haul flight (within 3500 km) or four hours in a long haul flight (over 3500 km), and it is the airline's fault, you are entitled to make airline compensation claims. The airline will have to pay you for the inconvenience. The only issue here is that a very small percentage of those who are liable to receive the money – 2% in the last ten years – have filed in for airline compensation claims. That has left 3.2 billion, unclaimed. Even those who do know their rights, most often are rejected by airlines – 98% of all claims are rejected in the UK.
Whom can you contact for assistance in flight delay compensation claims?
The airline company should be the first level of contact. Each operator has its own grievance redressal body which should take you through the process. However, it cannot be expected to be very helpful since it works for the airline. For the most part, it will respond with a statement that comes with fine print and is stooped deep in legal jargon. In which case, you are unlikely to understand what is written. The next step is to file flight delay compensation claim with the national enforcement body. While it looks and sounds like a good option on the outset, trying to get something done through an apex government organisation can be likened to throwing a wet sock at a brick wall, expecting it to bounce back.
Professional agencies and flight delay compensation claims
A viable alternative to getting your airline compensation claims passed with a higher rate of success is hiring an agency to do it for you. Large airline operators have, at their disposal experienced legal teams with top notch lawyers who are trained through experience in these kind of cases. When you speak to an airline compensation claims agency, all you have to do is give a few details about the flight you were on and they will tell you right away if you are entitled to a claim or not. If you can, then they will handle all the ground work and make sure you are compensated.
Martin Wynn
