International flights are opening up again. Slowly but steadily. And in the coming months hopefully more travelers would look forward to soaring high in the air for a holiday. It’s time to feel happy. But with happiness also comes the worry at times. What if any flight in my itinerary gets cancelled or delayed? It’s a lot of hassle, loss of valuable time and money. But that’s not in our control. Therefore if it does happen, here is how to get paid for flight sufferings.
Our Own Story
Our SAS direct flight was from Turku Airport in Finland to Stockholm departing at 8.30 AM local time. And the 50 min flight was scheduled to land at Stockholm Arlanda at 8.20 AM local Swedish time. The ticket cost was € 250 for the two of us booked through OneTravel including a travel insurance for € 19. We had woken up early and took a cab to the airport and reached by 6.30 AM.
The trauma started soon thereafter when we were informed that the flight had been cancelled. But what is the alternate arrangement that you are making, I inquired with the girl at the airlines counter. “Sir we are issuing you three boarding passes right now and you would be taking 3 connecting flights to reach Stockholm. Turku-Helsinki, Helsinki-Tallinn & Tallinn to Stockholm. The flight from here leaves at 10.45 AM. And here are your refreshment vouchers for “Turku Cafe” which is right there on your left’.
Hate to leave Turku? The board on the left flashed. We had loved Turku a lot but really hated the prospect of a 4 hour long wait at the airport for our 10.45 AM flight. Had our refreshment and then dozed off to kill some time before finally boarding our flight at 10.15 AM.
Flight cancellations & delays – Air Passenger Rights
Although millions of air passengers travel each year, many are not aware that there are air passenger rights to protect them when they avail these flights.
EC 261/2004 a regulation in EU law that favors the passenger and holds airlines financially accountable for flight delays and cancellations. And this rule is not applicable only for European travelers. In fact all passengers departing from a European airport are covered under EC 261. Also, passengers flying into Europe from other worldwide destinations may be covered as well under certain circumstances.
However, US laws regarding passenger rights when flights are delayed or canceled are not as extensive as European or international laws. US laws are however beneficial to individuals who are denied boarding, passengers experiencing tarmac delays or for travelers facing luggage problems. If boarding is denied due to overbooking in the US, one could be entitled to up to $1,350 compensation.
The 2003 Montreal Convention specifies passenger rights for several types of flight disruption: delays, flight cancellations or boarding denials. All expenses incurred due to such air travel problems, can get reimbursed. But in such cases it is necessary to provide documentation of the incident and proof of added expenses. Hence you must hold onto your receipts.
How to get paid for flight sufferings – Buy Flight Insurance
It’s advisable to buy a flight insurance cover, but at approximate 8% of ticket cost you may feel it is avoidable. However that is completely at your discretion. But do ensure that you buy the cover for flights originating from smaller airports where the number of flight connections are limited.
For our 20 day Scandinavia holiday this was the only flight insurance I had purchased. Rest of the flights were from Gothenburg, Bergen and Copenhagen, all larger airports. And as it turned out, this was the only flight of ours which got cancelled and subsequently rescheduled. We received $100 from OneTravel for our flight disruption as per terms of agreement. Hence do remember to keep all documents with you without misplacing them.
How to get paid for flight sufferings – Air Help
Two years after our cancelled flight and our receipt of flight insurance benefits, I received a mail from AirHelp. It’s a claims management company that enforces passenger rights against airlines in cases of flight disruptions. AirHelp is also known for publishing annual rankings of airports and airlines.
They had tracked my SAS Turku-Stockholm flight disruption and requested me to scan and forward all relevant documents. Would you believe it? I received € 325 after deduction of their charges within a span of 15 days.
Check out AirHelp Essential & Complete annual subscription plans as well where no charges are deducted and you receive the complete compensation amount. Plus many other benefits including Real Time Advice, Airport Lounge Access, Online Doctor’s Appointment and more.
So if you have a delayed or cancelled flight, get up to $700 per passenger for flights from the last 3 years and celebrate.
This post is a recommendation based on our excellent personal experience with AirHelp. However ‘Travels With Passion’ takes no responsibility for any services rendered to you by AirHelp, as your own circumstances and documentation may determine the outcome.
Did I understand you correctly? You received more compensation for your disrupted flight two years after the fact? That is incredible I don’t think that would happen in the US!
Yes Tami exactly. European laws are more traveler friendly. And Air help is absolutely a great organization. They tracked my cancelled flight and got me the compensation. They earned too by doing so. For US too they will get you some amount which otherwise you can’t get on your own.
Definitely always a good idea to have travel insurance. I was on a flight once when the airline went bankrupt whilst we in the air, meaning our return flight wasn’t going to happen. Nobody even informed us of the bankruptcy – we just found out by charge. We did incur additional expenses as a result, but luckily had travel insurance which – eventually – re-imbursed us.
Yes Paul. It’s always a win win situation if there is a cancellation. At least the trouble is to some extent compensated for.
We had similar situations several times. We had good experiences with flightright. But good to know that airhelp is also reliable. Flying from Europe it pays to use an European Airline for sure in order to be covered under the compensation regulations.
Good to know about Flightright Natascha.
We always travel with health insurance but I must admit we have not always paid for travel insurance or refundable tickets. That has all changed since the pandemic. Even with a refundable ticket it took us almost 18 months to get our money back for cancelled travel last year. Sadly we had no laws that really helped us with a South American airline. But then we did not have insurance to help us! I will have to check out AirHelp when we start to resume our regular travels.
Thanks Linda. Happy you’ll be able to use this information to secure your future trips.
Your title had me intrigued. I didn’t know about these compensations. I guess one should carefully read all the terms and conditions. My baggage once came broken and I didn’t see at the airport. I wish I had seen that and it would have helped to get my money. Now, going to read more about insurances and flight laws within India also.
Thanks Ambica. Even I didn’t know till Airhelp got in touch with me.
A very informative post on flight cancellation and delays and how to get compensation from the airlines company.
Also how travel insurance comes to your rescue in the need of the hour.
Stockholm is such a beautiful place to explore and I liked the way you ended the post with Einsteins quotation.
Thanks Puloma. Happy you found the information useful.
This is really great. You even got a compensation two years after the date of your flight cancelation. I have to make sure I will have a copy of EC 261/2004 law before I go to Europe.
Thanks Umiko. Happy you found it useful.
I have been paid by airlines before because of cancelled flights but this is another extreme and so amazing. Its wonderful to know that European laws are so friendly and help the travelers in distress. So cool. Yes I agree taking a flight cancellation insurance is worth it.
Yes Raksha it’s a good relief for travelers to Europe.
Oh yes, it can really be traumatic as it’s hard to have a sense of control when we experience these flight sufferings. I learned it the hard way. It’s wise to secure yourself an insurance. It’s a lovely relief you got compensated. Thanks for sharing about AirHelp!
My pleasure Trisha. Thought it would be helpful for all travelers.