The purpose of Regulation 261/2004 is to define the rights of air passengers and the obligations of carriers in cases of problematic flights – canceled or delayed flight, missed connections, denied boarding, downgrading.

In this topic, I briefly present the scope of the Regulation, what our rights stemming from it actually are, and in which cases we can take advantage of them.

Which flights does the regulation cover?

What are our rights as passengers?

1. Refund of ticket costs, rerouting, or rebooking in the event of denied boarding or cancellation

The air carrier must offer you a one-time choice between:

• refund of the cost of your ticket and, if you have a connecting flight, return to the airport of departure at the earliest opportunity
• rerouting to your final destination at the earliest opportunity, or
• rerouting at a later date of your choice under comparable transport conditions, subject to the availability of seats.

Once you choose one of these three options, you no longer have rights regarding the other two. Nevertheless, the air carrier may be obliged to provide compensation.

• If the air carrier fails to fulfill its obligation to offer rerouting or return under comparable transport conditions at the earliest opportunity, it must reimburse your ticket costs.
• If the air carrier does not offer you a choice between reimbursement and rerouting, but unilaterally decides to refund the amount paid for the original tickets, you are entitled to additional reimbursement of the price difference of the new tickets (under comparable transport conditions).
• If you have booked a separate outbound flight and return flight with different air carriers and the outbound flight is cancelled, then reimbursement of the amount is due only for the cancelled flight.

But if the outbound flight and the return flight are operated by different air carriers, but are part of a single reservation, in the event that the outbound flight is canceled, you have the following rights:

• Compensation
• Choice between i) reimbursement of the cost of the entire ticket (outbound and return flight) or ii) rerouting to another flight for the outbound flight

2. Right to assistance and care in the event of denied boarding, cancellation, or delay upon departure

Airlines must offer and provide assistance free of charge while you wait. In case of travel problems, you should contact the air carrier to avoid situations where you have to arrange alternative options yourself. Air carriers should also ensure, where applicable, that people with disabilities and their guide dogs have access to accommodation. The assistance to be provided includes:

• drinks
• food
• accommodation (if your booking is changed so that you travel the next day)
• transport to the accommodation and back to the airport
• 2 telephone calls, telex, fax messages, or emails

If you are not provided with assistance and you have paid for food, drinks, etc., the air carrier must reimburse your expenses provided they were necessary, reasonable, and appropriate. For this purpose, you must keep all cash receipts. You are entitled to assistance only while waiting for rerouting under comparable transport conditions to your final destination at the earliest opportunity or a return flight.

In exceptional circumstances, the airline may decide to limit or refuse assistance if it would cause further delay for passengers waiting for an alternative or delayed flight.

3. Compensation in the event of denied boarding, cancellation, or delay upon arrival

Right to financial compensation* for the inconvenience caused to passengers in the amount of:

• €250 – up to 1500 km
• €400 – over 1500 km within the EU; from 1500 to 3500 km outside the EU
• €600 – over 3500 km outside the EU
• The compensation is reduced by 50% if the air carrier can offer rerouting to the final destination that does not exceed:
  • two hours for flights shorter than 1500 km;
  • three hours for flights between 1500 km and 3500 km; and
  • four hours for flights over 3500 km

When do we not have the right to financial compensation?

According to the Regulation and established case law, the airline is exempt from paying financial compensation if the flight problem is caused by adverse weather conditions, terrorist acts, and strikes.

If your flight is cancelled, you are not entitled to compensation:

• if you are notified more than 14 days before the flight
• if you are informed between 2 weeks and 7 days before the flight and you were offered rerouting, which would allow you:
  • to depart no more than 2 hours before the originally scheduled departure time and
  • to reach your final destination less than 4 hours after the originally scheduled arrival time

• if you are informed less than 7 days before the flight and you were offered rerouting, which would allow you:
  • to depart no more than 1 hour before the originally scheduled departure time and
  • to reach your final destination less than 2 hours after originally scheduled arrival time.

You are not entitled to compensation in the event of extraordinary circumstances which could not have been avoided even if all reasonable measures had been taken.

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HERE IS MORE SPECIFICALLY WHAT YOU ARE ENTITLED TO IN VARIOUS SITUATIONS:

CANCELLED FLIGHT: A flight is considered cancelled when it does not take place.

Cancellation occurs when:

• your original flight is cancelled and you are transferred to another scheduled flight
• the aircraft took off, but was forced to return to the airport and you were transferred to another flight
• your flight arrives at an airport that is not your final destination indicated on the ticket, unless:
  • you have accepted rerouting (under comparable transport conditions at the earliest opportunity) to your original final destination or to another destination agreed with you. This case is considered a delay, not a cancellation.
  • The arrival airport and the airport of the original final destination serve the same city or region. This case is considered a delay, not a cancellation.

If your flight is cancelled, you are entitled to:

• reimbursement of the amount paid, rerouting or return
• right to assistance
• right to compensation.

The airline is not liable for compensation when it has notified the passenger:

• more than 14 days before the date of the cancelled flight
• from 7 to 14 days and has offered rerouting with a departure time up to 2 hours before the scheduled time of the cancellation and an arrival time up to 4 hours after the scheduled time of the cancellation
• under 7 days and an alternative flight is offered departing no later than 1 hour and arriving up to 2 hours after the cancellation schedule

But no compensation is due if the carrier can prove that the cancellation is due to extraordinary circumstances which could not have been avoided even if all reasonable measures had been taken.

DELAYED FLIGHT: A delayed flight is any flight that has not departed according to the preliminary schedule. In this case, the airline owes:

1. Financial compensation if the flight delay is more than 3 hours
2. Assistance

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MISSED CONNECTIONS: The regulation may also apply in cases where you miss a connecting flight due to a delay or cancellation of the previous flight. A mandatory condition, however, is that the flights are booked under a single reservation. In this situation, passengers' rights are as follows:

1. Right to compensation
2. Right to care
3. Right to reimbursement of the ticket cost for the unused part of the route / rerouting

DOWNGRADING: In the event of being seated in a lower class than originally booked, the airline owes you a partial refund of the ticket cost:

1. 30% – for flights up to 1500 km
2. 50% – for flights from 1500 to 3500 km
3. 76% – for flights over 3500 km

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