PASSENGER RIGHTS IN CASES OF DELAYS, CANCELLATIONS OF FLIGHTS AND MISSING CONNECTION FLIGHTS

Approaching the end of the year and the festive seasons, the number of passengers traveling by plane increases exponentially. There are numerous cases of flight delays, cancellations and missed connecting flights, and passengers need to know their rights.

To this end, it is important to analyze in these matters Regulation (CE) No. 261/2004, of the European Parliament and of the Council, of 11.02.2004 and the Convention for the Unification of Certain Rules Relating to International Carriage by Air.

Flight cancellations

In case of cancellation of a flight, passengers are entitled to (cfr. article 5 of the Regulation):

a) Receive assistance from the air carrier (cf. article 8 of the Regulation)

Refund of the total purchase price of the ticket within seven days, for the part or parts of the journey not made, for the part or parts of the journey already made, if the flight is no longer justified in relation to the travel plan, cumulatively , in cases where justified, even in situations of organized travel;
Flight back to the first point of departure;
Re-routing to the final destination at the earliest opportunity, or at a later date at the passenger’s convenience, subject to availability of seats.

Whenever the destination has several airports, and the airline offers a flight to an alternative airport to the one for which the reservation was made, the carrier bears the cost of travel from the alternative airport to the airport in which the reservation was made.

b) Meals and drinks, two telephone calls, telexes, messages, fax or electronically (cf. article 9.º, no. 1 a) and no. 2 of the Regulation) and when the scheduled time of the new flight is , at least the day after departure, accommodation in a hotel and transport between the airport and the place of accommodation (cf. article 9, paragraph 1, a) and b) of the Regulation).

c) Receipt of compensation (cf. article 7 of the Regulation):

250 euros for all flights up to 1500 kilometers;
400 euros for all intra-community flights over 1500 kilometers and for all other flights between 1500 and 3500 kilometers;
600 euros for other flights.

In determining the distance to be considered, reference should be made to the last destination at which the passenger will arrive late in relation to the scheduled time due to denied boarding or cancellation.

When passengers are offered re-routing to their final destination on an alternative flight whose arrival time does not exceed the scheduled arrival time of the originally booked flight:

a) In two hours, in the case of any flights of up to 1500 kilometres; or

b) In three hours, in the case of any intra-community flights of more than 1500 kilometers and in the case of any other flights between 1500 and 3500 kilometers; or

c) Within four hours, in all other cases, the air carrier may reduce the fixed compensation by 50%,

Passengers are entitled to compensation, unless they were informed of the cancellation two weeks in advance or if they were informed of the cancellation between two weeks and seven days before departure and re-routing was offered allowing departure two hours before the scheduled time and arrive at your final destination within four hours of your scheduled arrival time; or if they were informed of the cancellation less than seven days before the scheduled time of departure and were offered re-routing that would allow them to depart within one hour before the scheduled time of departure and arrive at their final destination within two hours of the scheduled time.

In either situation, passengers are entitled to receive clarification on alternative flights.

The right to compensation does not exist if the air carrier proves that the cancellation was due to extraordinary circumstances which could not have been avoided.

Delays and missed connecting flights

The air carrier is liable for damage resulting from delay in the carriage of passengers by air, only if it proves that all the measures that could reasonably be required to avoid the damage were adopted or that it was impossible to adopt such measures (cf. article 19. of the Convention)

When a flight is delayed (cf. article 6 of the Regulation):

a) Two hours or more, in the case of any flights of up to 1500 kilometres; or

b) Three hours or more, in the case of any intra-community flights with more than 1500 kilometers and in the case of any other flights between 1500 and 3500 kilometers; or

c) Four hours or more, in all other cases.

The operating air carrier must offer passengers:

i) Meals and drinks in reasonable proportion to the waiting time, two telephone calls, telexes, messages via fax or messages by email (cfr. article 9, paragraph 1 a) and paragraph 2 of the Regulation), and

ii) when the reasonably foreseen departure time is, at least, the day after the previously announced departure time, hotel accommodation and transport between the airport and the place of accommodation (cf. paragraphs b) and c) of paragraph 1 of article 9 of the Regulation), and

iii) when the delay is at least four hours, reimbursement within seven days of the total purchase price of the ticket, for the part or parts of the trip not made, and for the part or part of the trips already made if the flight is no longer justified in relation to the initial travel plan, cumulatively, in cases where it is justified (cfr. paragraph a) of paragraph 1 of article 8 of the Regulation)

Compensation amounts due in situations of flight delays (cfr. article 7 of the Regulation):

a) €250 for all flights up to 1500 kilometres;

b) €400 for all intra-community flights over 1500 kilometers and for all other flights between 1500 and 3500 kilometers;

c) €600 for other flights.

In determining the distance to be considered, the last destination to which the passenger will arrive late in relation to the scheduled time due to denied boarding or cancellation must be taken as a basis.

When passengers are offered re-routing to their final destination on an alternative flight whose arrival time does not exceed the scheduled arrival time of the originally booked flight:

a) In two hours, in the case of any flights of up to 1500 kilometres; or

b) In three hours, in the case of any intra-community flights of more than 1500 kilometers and in the case of any other flights between 1500 and 3500 kilometers; or

c) Within four hours, in the case of other flights, the operating air carrier may reduce the fixed compensation by 50%.

Regardless of the right to compensation, passengers are entitled to reimbursement of expenses incurred as a result of flight delays and missed connecting flights.

In any of the situations described, it is necessary to file an online complaint with the respective airline and request the amounts due, attaching the documentation on the flights. If there is no response, a complaint must be made to the ANAC- National Civil Aviation Authority, without prejudice to, if necessary, bringing an action to the competent courts, being certain that the limitation period of 02 years must be respected (see Article 35 of the Convention).