Am I Entitled to Compensation After a Cancelled Flight?

The short answer is yes. The long answer is – it depends. 

Imagine planning a trip for months and on the day of take off, the flight gets cancelled, delaying you by hours. While this can be frustrating, you don’t need to endure this stress without compensation if you are flying within or outside, and into the European Union.

The EU has laws regarding flight cancellation which entitles you to compensation if such happens. This ranges from care in the form of food and drinks, to monetary compensation. 

3 Situations where you can get compensated for a cancelled flight

Many situations can lead to a flight being cancelled. While some may be out of the airline’s control, such as bad weather, strikes, etc, some are within their control. And those are the situations when you are liable for compensation for a cancelled flight. 

• You are entitled to full compensation if your flight was cancelled due to reasons within the airline’s control, such as technical issues or overbooking a flight.
• Also, if you were not informed at least 14 days before the take-off date, you can claim compensation.
• If the alternative flight provided departs more than 2 hours earlier and/or arrives at the destination more than 4 hours later, you are to be compensated. But this depends on if you checked in early for your flight.

Compensation to Claim

Here are some compensations you are entitled to if your flight gets cancelled as provided by EU regulations:

• A ticket refund or flight replacement.
• Monetary compensation is between £220 to £520, depending on the length of the flight and the period of notification about the cancellation.
• Provision of care such as food, drinks, and accommodation, if the cancellation exceeds one day.
• Transportation to and from your home/accommodation, if you can return there.
• A means to communicate via phone calls, emails, and fax (usually by refunding the costs of the calls).

How to Get Compensated After a Cancelled Flight

Follow these simple steps to claim your compensation: 

• Find out the reason for the flight cancellation. This is what determines if you are entitled to compensation or not.
• Get all the necessary documents needed to claim your compensation. This includes flight tickets, booking confirmations, receipts, and other relevant travel documents.
• File a complaint at the airport or through the airline’s website by filling out the form for compensation on cancelled flights.
• Get the necessary help you need from an attorney or travel agency to work out the compensation process, making it as easy as possible.

Conclusion

Travelling by flight can be stressful, and cancelled flights only add to that stress. So, if your flight within the EU ever gets cancelled, and you meet the criteria stated above for compensation, then you should claim your right by all means. You can however save yourself the stress and hire an attorney or employ services like Flightright for a more seamless process.