What to do if your flight is cancelled. What should a traveler do if a flight is cancelled? Why were the flights cancelled?

Traveling by plane simplifies people's lives and makes it more comfortable. Instead of spending two days by train, a person spends only a few hours on the road. People plan their vacation or business negotiations taking into account the exact flight schedule. If a flight is delayed or canceled altogether, tourists are late for connecting flights and work trips are disrupted.

This happens often. Therefore, you need to know what to do when a flight is canceled and where to apply for compensation for ticket costs.

Airlines do everything possible to ensure that flights are not delayed or canceled without good reason. Sometimes a person finds out about the cancellation of a flight right at the airport. Then you need to contact a representative of the air carrier.

On the day of departure

If a flight is canceled on the day of departure the company is obliged to explain the reason for the cancellation and, if possible, select another flight.

In a situation where a passenger has been checked in, but the flight is delayed from 2 to 4 hours, you can take advantage of some benefits:

• Make 2 phone calls and send 2 emails at the airline's expense.
• Get free soft drinks.
• If the client has children under 7 years old, they can use the children's room for free.
• If the delay is more than 4 hours, they must provide a free lunch.
• When a flight is delayed for a long time, passengers must be fed every 6 hours.
• If the flight is delayed for more than 8 hours during the day and longer than 6 hours at night, the passenger must be provided with a hotel free of charge.

In advance

Airplane tickets are much more expensive than other types of transport, so compensation for an unfulfilled flight is important here. If a flight is canceled 14 days or more in advance and the passenger does not do anything during this time, the ticket price is not refunded. If the carrier notified the client 13 days or less before departure, the amount of compensation depends on the duration of the flight.

When the airline informs about the cancellation of a trip several days before the flight, the passenger can choose one of two types of compensation:

• Receive full money spent on the ticket. In the case of a flight with transfers, only the company responsible for canceling the flight will reimburse the cost;
• the air carrier can send the tourist on another flight, not necessarily of its own company. The main thing is that the final destination coincides.

Causes

A flight cancellation or delay is a serious disruption to the operation of the entire airport. Therefore, any change in the flight schedule is not always the fault of the airline; it is often influenced by a number of unfavorable factors.

Airline wines

What can cause a flight to be canceled due to the fault of the airline:

• scheduling errors;
• the inability to register and take on board all passengers due to overbooking, that is, more tickets have been sold than there are available seats on the plane;
• the employees did not have time to put the aircraft in order before the next flight;
• not all places have been purchased and it is not financially profitable;
• the carrier cannot voice compelling reasons for failure to fulfill its obligations to customers.

Other circumstances

There are a number of circumstances in which a flight cannot be operated, but the company is not responsible for this. The air carrier is not to blame if the flight is interfered with:

• Unsafe weather conditions: thunderstorm, heavy snow, etc.
• Natural disasters: flood, hurricane, volcanic eruption.
• Introduction of martial law in the country.
• Restriction of cargo transportation in certain directions, introduction of sanctions.
• Strike of airline workers responsible for preparing and dispatching aircraft.
• Identified aircraft defects affecting flight safety.

Cancellation of charter

They organize charter flights travel companies. The flight is possible when enough tickets have been sold to make it profitable for the organizer. Charter flights are often delayed or even postponed indefinitely. This happens because the charter flight is a non-priority flight in the flight schedule.

And if the plane has technical problems, then tourists will have to sit and wait for them to be fixed; there is no provision for replacing the aircraft.

When canceling a charter, all claims must be made only to the travel agencies that organized it. The contract for the provision of travel agency services must specify the amount of compensation in the event of a postponement or cancellation of a flight.

Actions

Canceling a planned flight ruins both personal and business plans of the passenger. But knowing the algorithm of actions in such a situation, you can reduce problems to a minimum.

When a company employee calls in advance and informs about the cancellation, the tourist can choose to fly on another flight or receive a refund for the ticket.

If the news about the flight cancellation caught the air passenger already at the airport, then you need to ask the company employee at the check-in counter about the reason for the postponement or cancellation of the flight. The airline must explain itself. If the carrier’s guilt is confirmed, the tourist will be offered to fly on another flight or receive money for a return ticket.

When flying on another aircraft, you cannot change your original destination.

In the event of a long delay in departure, a company employee must put a mark on the ticket indicating that the flight is delayed. It will make it easier to receive compensation in the future.

When people cannot fly due to overbooking, the carrier is obliged to return money to the “extra” passengers. Additional compensation is also possible, which depends on the flight range.

It is important to know that the deadline for filing a complaint for flight disruption on domestic routes is 60 days, on international routes - 7 days. The claim can be submitted by email.

For a complaint to work, lawyers advise:

• keep the ticket and boarding pass with a note about the delay or cancellation of the flight;
• checks for unexpected expenses - taxi to the hotel or lunch;
• take a photo of the line on the board at the airport with information about the cancellation or delay of the flight;
• invite neighbors on the flight to unite and submit documents together.

Refund

The traveler has the right to receive compensation for flight cancellation only due to the fault of the company. According to Russian laws, a tourist can receive a refund in the amount of 25% of the minimum wage (minimum wage), but not more than half the cost of the ticket. In November 2018, the minimum wage is 11,163 rubles.

Not long ago, Russia began to support the Montreal Convention, which helps passengers resolve conflict situations with air carriers. Under this convention, a tourist can receive compensation for waiting or disrupting a flight at a special SDR rate. It is summed up at the rates of five major world currencies and today amounts to 93 rubles. Based on this, the maximum compensation on an international flight is 4694 SDR, which when translated into rubles exceeds 430 thousand rubles.

Compensation in this amount can only be achieved through the courts.

Upon learning of a flight cancellation or delay, immediately contact a carrier representative. Due to the fact that airlines try to maintain their reputation, they try to deliver the tourist to his destination on another flight as quickly as possible or negotiate a refund of the ticket price.

You may also be interested

Many travelers encounter various kinds of difficulties during their travels around Russia and other countries. Often, passengers who are already mentally walking along an exotic beach or taking photos against the backdrop of attractions will be disappointed due to the cancellation of the flight.

A flight can be canceled for various reasons. And today we have to figure out what to do if a flight is cancelled, what compensation a passenger can expect and where to file their claims.

Reasons for cancellation

An airline may cancel its flight for various reasons. Sometimes such a decision is made for the safety of the passengers themselves, the aircraft and the crew. The main reasons for canceling a flight are as follows:

• failure of individual aircraft components;
• inability to perform their duties on the part of the crew;
• unprofitability of the flight;
• impact of force majeure.

As you can see, there are quite a few reasons why you never leave the airport. And you need to know what behavior to choose in each case so as not to lose the money paid for the ticket and still end up at your destination. Let's look at each situation in more detail.

Flight cancellation a few days in advance

Of course, when your flight is canceled several days before your departure date, you have a better opportunity to respond appropriately and even promptly find a replacement for the airline that let you down. As a rule, when making such a decision several days before departure, the carrier offers passengers alternative solutions to the problem. First of all, you should be offered to use the services of both the same company and another, flying on board a different aircraft. In this case, the final destination cannot be changed, but the time and date of departure will most likely be offered differently.

The second solution to the problem that you will be offered is to pay the full cost of the ticket, which you were never able to use. But those tourists whose route includes a transfer should be careful: if you have one ticket in hand, the price of which includes a flight along the entire length of the route (with a transfer), then you will be reimbursed for the full cost of the ticket. And if you purchased a separate document for each period, then you can only count on reimbursement of the price of one ticket.

You can also receive a full refund of the ticket price if it was purchased for a two-way trip.

Cancellation of flight after arrival at the airport

Sometimes the flight is canceled just before landing. In this case, the carrier is obliged to explain the reason for such a decision. And for clarifications and complaints, you can contact a company representative.

For example, a company may offer tourists to fly on a different plane or use the services of an alternative carrier. If the company itself is to blame for the cancellation, then all material costs are borne by it.

Where to file a claim?

The first thing you need to understand is that all complaints and claims against air carriers will be considered in accordance with the current legislation of the country from whose airport you were unable to fly. You can submit a complaint directly to a representative of the carrier company or by filling out a special form on the official website. By the way, those passengers who personally contacted a company representative have a greater chance of receiving an intelligible answer and proper compensation. But emails can often simply be ignored, and you risk losing the money you spent forever.

If there is no company representative at the airport, you can report your complaint by sending an application and all Required documents(for example, a copy of a ticket) by registered mail, indicating on the envelope the legal address of the carrier company. Be sure to keep a copy of the complaint, as it may be useful if you have to assert your rights in court.

Remember that passengers have a six-month period to file claims against the Russian carrier, which begins to count from the date of flight cancellation. But in European countries this period is even longer. For example, in the EU, passengers can expect compensation within two years, but passengers who are dissatisfied with the work of British carriers have the right to make a claim within six years. If your complaint remains unsuccessful, you have the right to assert your rights in court. A dissatisfied client retains the right to file a claim for three years.

To the claim, and subsequently (if necessary) to the statement of claim, you must attach copies of the ticket with a note about the cancellation of the flight, checks and receipts that confirm the passenger’s expenses, as well as all other documents that confirm the losses you have incurred in connection with the canceled flight (cost of excursions, broken contract, etc.).

We hope that our information has given you a complete answer to the question of what to do if your flight is cancelled. Protect your rights correctly!

Almost all airlines delay or cancel flights for various reasons. Only in March of this year, flying out of Russia. Among them " North wind», « Ural Airlines", Red Wings and other popular carriers. If the flight was changed due to the fault of the airline, it must send passengers on a different board or compensate for the damage.

What to do if you receive a notification from the airline about the postponement or cancellation of your flight

Find out the reason for the changes

Call the airline's call center or, if you are already at the airport, go to the check-in counter or representative office.

Important: if the call center operator cannot fully guide you, call other support services or the airline’s press service.

• Rosaviatsia. Tel.: (499) 231–50–09, 231–56–56. Email: [email protected]. 24-hour service telephone - hotline for emergency situations on international passenger flights outside of the schedule ( charter flights): (499) 231–53–73, e-mail: [email protected].
• Hotline for tourism in Yekaterinburg. Tel.: (343) 268–46–86.
• Ural Transport Prosecutor's Office. Tel.: 8–922–120–60–50; 8–922–118–01–40.

Request written notice of changes from the carrier

Let them send it to you by mail. Or ask to put a note on the itinerary receipt about what happened and when: the flight was canceled, delayed at check-in or after landing, the arrival airport was changed, and so on. You must have written proof of what happened.

By the way, the written notice should spell out your rights, including your rights to compensation for flight cancellation and what exactly you will need to do to receive it.

If you are waiting for a flight at the airport, ask for free services: food, water, hotel accommodation

If the flight is delayed for more than two hours Russian airline must provide passengers with free drinks and, if the delay is more than four hours, hot meals. Next, you should be given hot meals every six hours during the day and every eight hours at night. If your flight is delayed by six hours at night and eight hours during the day, you must be accommodated in a hotel and transported back and forth to the airport. We wrote in detail about what to do if your flight is delayed.

You can demand financial compensation for waiting for departure. If the reason was not force majeure, then the carrier is obliged to pay you a fine - 25% of the minimum wage for each hour of delay, but not more than 50% of the ticket price.

Take a different flight if the airline offers one.

No need to wait monetary compensation, if you have been offered another flight that does not interfere with your future plans (if you have time for connecting flight and don’t lose vacation days).

What should I do if the airline did not provide me with an alternative and did not compensate for the damage?

If a flight is delayed or canceled due to the fault of the airline, it is obliged to offer other flight options or issue an involuntary refund of the ticket (that is, return the full cost). As a rule, these issues are resolved as usual. If the situation is not resolved in your favor, contact the airline representative or email the support service.

If it was not possible to resolve the situation peacefully, you need to send a free-form claim to the airline demanding a refund. It must be answered within 30 days. If there is no answer, contact the court at your place of residence.

Here are the documents needed to sue an air carrier.

• Statement of claim.
• A photocopy of the document with a note about the delay or cancellation of the flight (it needs to be certified, you can write on it “Copy is correct” and put your signature with the date, and bring the original to the court).
• All evidence of your expenses (checks and receipts for meals, hotel accommodations, telephone conversations, etc.).
• Claim to the carrier (you must provide evidence that it was sent and, if possible, received).
• Response to the complaint, if any.

Text: Alexandra Kunitsyna, Alexandra Morozova

IN Lately Cases of flight cancellations have become more frequent. And whether the cancellation is due to the fault of the airline, the airport, or natural disasters, it is in any case unpleasant and can lead to being late for a connecting flight and unnecessary expenses, which naturally no one wants. So what to do if your flight is cancelled?

Flight cancellation

Flight cancellation may not necessarily be the fault of the carrier, and it is important, in order to receive compensation, to know which reasons for the delay are the fault of the airline and which are not.

The airline is to blame for the cancellation if:

• the airline cannot provide evidence as to why the flight did not depart;
• the flight is unprofitable for the airline;
• there are inconsistencies in the schedule;
• there were no passengers registered due to overbooking (when more tickets have been sold for a flight than there are seats on the plane).

In all these cases, the airline is to blame and you have the right to demand compensation from it.

Let us now consider 2 special cases of flight cancellation:

1. Flight cancellation a few days before departure. In this case, the passenger contacts an official representative of the airline and there they must provide him with an alternative flight option or return the money spent on the purchase of the ticket.
2. Flight cancellation on the day of departure. In this case, the carrier must rebook you onto another flight free of charge if the cancellation was due to its fault. If the fault lies not with the carrier, it will be possible to reissue the ticket, but with an additional payment from your own funds.

If we start from the Russian legislation, then for every hour of waiting re-registered flight, the airline must pay compensation in the amount of 3% of the price of your ticket and 25% of the minimum wage. You should also know that the fine cannot be more than half the ticket price, no matter how long you wait.
A transfer or transit passenger who has purchased a ticket with a transfer has the right to receive compensation both for an individual flight and for the entire flight segment.
IMPORTANT ! If the ticket was purchased through a travel agency, then it must pay compensation. This often happens on charter flights.

If you want to return the money, then first of all you need to write a claim and attach the following documents to it.

• copies of tickets
• copies of boarding pass documents, if you registered and you have them
• copies of hotel reservation

Regarding Russian legislation, the carrier is obliged to return money for the canceled flight within 30 days If the money is not returned within this period, you have the right to sue.
Remember that flight cancellation is not always the fault of the airline, no one is immune from force majeure circumstances, but remember if the carrier violates the rights of the passenger, you can always go to court. Have a nice flight!

We'll tell you what you can and should demand from the airline if you find yourself in a situation where your flight is delayed or canceled in Russia, the EU, Turkey, or the USA.

When an airline is released from liability

It is necessary to immediately determine that the airline carrier is exempt from liability to passengers in the following cases (Civil Code of the Russian Federation, Art. 794):

1. Natural disasters occurred (earthquakes, floods, fires, typhoons, etc.). Moreover, this rule applies to natural phenomena both at the point of departure and at the point of arrival.
2. The conditions of public life have changed (military operations, epidemics), affecting flight safety.
3. National or sectoral strikes began.
4. At the state level, a quarantine was declared or restrictions on transportation were introduced in certain directions.
5. If the flight delay or cancellation is due to troubleshooting vehicle, which could threaten the life and health of passengers.

What to do if your flight is canceled or rescheduled

First of all, the airline, along with the flight cancellation message, must offer you an alternative flight, and it can be operated by either your original carrier or a third party, and the flight dates may differ from the date of your flight or involve a transfer.

In addition to an alternative flight, the airline may offer you a full refund of the cost of the air ticket due to an involuntary cancellation. Such rules are established by paragraph 227 of the order of the Ministry of Transport Russian Federation dated June 28, 2007 No. 82 “On approval of the Federal Aviation Regulations” General rules air transport passengers, baggage, cargo and requirements for servicing passengers, shippers, consignees” (hereinafter referred to as “Federal Aviation Rules”).

Remember: If you purchased one ticket for a connecting flight, you can expect a refund for the entire route. If there were two tickets, and only the first flight was cancelled/replaced, you will only be able to refund the amount for the canceled flight. The ticket for the second flight will have to be returned according to the fare. If the cancellation or replacement affected the second part of the flight, and the airline did not provide alternative options, the carrier is obliged to refund you the money for the specified ticket and provide a free return to Russia.

As for round-trip tickets, you can get a full refund if you cancel/change a flight only if they were purchased at the same time (both tickets on the same form).

You can also request a refund for your ticket in cases where you are not satisfied with the alternative flight option offered by the air carrier.

What to do if you learned about the schedule change at the airport

This situation is uncomfortable for all passengers, but especially for parents with children. The first thing you need to do in this case is not to panic and contact the air carrier employees to clarify:

• why and how much your flight will be delayed (clauses 73-74 of the Federal Aviation Regulations);
• Is it possible to provide you with an alternative flight?

If you are offered an alternative, you need to decide quickly, as this option will be offered to all passengers who were going to board your flight. If you agree to wait for the next flight, you will be able to take advantage of all the benefits that passengers have when their flight is delayed.

You also need to obtain from a representative of the air carrier a certificate or a note on your ticket about the cancellation/delay of the flight (clause 228 of the Federal Aviation Rules).

Compensation for flight delays for flights within the Russian Federation

If your flight is cancelled/delayed, you have the right to claim compensation, if the airline cannot prove its non-involvement in this event.

In accordance with the Law of the Russian Federation dated 02/07/1992 No. 2300-1 “On the Protection of Consumer Rights” (clause 5 of Article 28), if the airline is at fault for canceling/delaying a flight, you have the right to demand payment of 3% of the cost of the air ticket for each hour, and according to the Air Code of the Russian Federation (Article 120 of the Air Code of the Russian Federation) - 25% of the minimum wage for each hour of delay, but not more than 50% of the ticket price.

In addition, according to the same law “On the Protection of Consumer Rights” (clause 2 of article 13, article 15), if the air carrier is at fault for the cancellation/delay of the flight, you will be able to claim compensation for losses and compensation for moral damages if due to with a canceled/delayed flight, you were forced to incur additional expenses or your child suffered physical and mental suffering.

To receive compensation, you must submit a written application to the airline. Most likely, you will be denied compensation and will have to go to court.

Compensation for flight delays from the Russian Federation to other countries

In April 2017, Russia joined and ratified the Montreal Convention on passenger transportation. And on August 21, 2017, this convention came into force.

All passenger compensation payments under the Montreal Convention are now tied to Special Drawing Rights (SDRs). This is an artificial means of payment, the rate of which is formed on the basis of a basket of five currencies - the dollar, euro, Japanese yen, Chinese yuan and pound sterling. The SDR rate is published daily. Thus, on August 26, 2017, 1 SDR was equal to 83.41 rubles.

Compared to the Warsaw Convention, the Montreal Convention establishes four times higher compensation in the event of death or bodily injury of a passenger - 113,100 SDR (about 8.7 million rubles). Until now - no more than two million rubles. In case of destruction, loss, damage or delay in the transportation of baggage, compensation is established in the amount of 1031 SDR, or 80 thousand rubles. Compensation for flight delays has also increased significantly: the maximum amount is 4,694 SDR (about 364 thousand rubles).

However, the airline still does not pay these compensations on a voluntary basis and to obtain them it is necessary to go to court.

Your rights if your flight is delayed or canceled in the EU and Turkey

It is worth remembering that compensation is in addition to basic airline services, which are due to passengers of delayed flights. Such services should include the following:

• refreshing drinks
• accommodation (if your flight was rescheduled for the next day)
• transport to your place of residence
• 2 phone calls

You are not entitled to compensation in the following cases:

• you were notified of the flight cancellation at least 14 days before the scheduled flight date;
• the airline has offered you another flight on the same route.

In case of flight cancellation due to circumstances beyond the airline's control, the airline must offer passengers the following:

• refund of payment for the ticket (in full or for the unused part of the route);
• alternative transport to your destination in the fastest way;
• rebooking for a later date that will be convenient for the passenger.

According to Regulation (EC) No. 261/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council and the Turkish Air Passenger Rights Regulation, .

For each passenger, compensation for delays, flight cancellations or denial of boarding ranges from €250 to €600. The amount varies depending on the distance of your flight and the duration of the delay. Receiving compensation is possible if the following conditions are met:

One of the following happened to you:

• Your flight was delayed for at least 3 hours
• Your flight has been canceled
• Your flight was delayed by less than 3 hours, but because of this you missed your next connecting flight, and as a result arrived at your final destination more than 3 hours late
• You were denied boarding due to lack of available seats (overbooking)

Also if:

• The flight delay/cancellation is not caused by unfavorable weather conditions, strike of aviation personnel or other force majeure circumstances
• No more than 6 years have passed since the flight

The route/airline must also comply with the requirements of EU Regulation No. 261/2004 or comply with the requirements of Turkish legislation.