Posts Tagged ‘Air’
What the heck is EC261/2004? – Your rights as an EU airline passenger
Travelling by air nowadays can be a bit of a nightmare. It’s not so much the flight itself, as the ‘pre-boarding drama’ at the airport. Just exactly how early should you arrive at the terminal? how many ‘carry on’ luggage items are acceptable? is taking liquids on-board still prohibited? and what are your rights if your flights are cancelled, overbooked, or delayed?
In the case of delayed or cancelled flights, some airlines don’t tend to be too proactive when it comes to explaining what you may be entitled to (at best, they may try and ‘palm you off’ with an upgrade on your next flight, at worst they might offer nothing at all).
At some time or other, most of us experience delays or cancellations. We recently experienced a cancelled flight ourselves… so we thought we’d do a bit of research. We were surprised to discover an organisation called the ‘Airport Transport Users Council’ (AUC). The AUC is affiliated to the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA). It is the ‘UK’s consumer watchdog for the aviation industry‘ and offers tips and guidance for passengers. The AUC site also highlights a European directive (EC261/2004) which (unlike rulings on bendy bananas) would actually appear to be quite useful. By answering a number of questions, you can quickly and easily establish your rights, and whether you are entitled to any compensation.
AUC – Home page
AUC – Your rights if your flight is cancelled
AUC – Your rights as a passenger under EC261/2004
So whether you’ve never flown before, or you’ve stacked up thousands of frequent flyer miles, we recommend that you take a quick look at the site. If you’re really organised, you might want to print a copy of the directive keep it with your travel documents! That way, if your next flight doesn’t go to plan, you will be in a much stronger position… possibly even saving yourself from being ‘bumped’ off the flight by another passenger. At the very least, you can be reassured that the ‘know it all’ check-in counter assistant isn’t ‘getting one over on you.’
Happy travels!
