Flying in Europe? Know your rights and when you are entitled to compensation!

There’s nothing worse than coming to the airport full of hype about your trip, only to have it canceled or delayed right in front of your eyes. Not only that you’ll have no way to fix this issue, but you’ll also be forced to accept a huge loss of money and time that comes with it. Is there anything you can do about it?

As it turns out, there are a couple of things that will help ease the tension, and put some of that lost money back in your pockets. Today, we will be looking at regulations for passengers flying in Europe. Let us begin!

In case that your flight gets delayed suddenly

Ah, the very thought of it is enough to make most passengers nauseated. Can you imagine the scenario where you already have your entire trip planned out ahead of time, but you immediately figure out that you’ll have to rearrange all the details because of the delayed flight? Most people aren’t familiar with the law under the name of EC 261, but these regulations are especially conceived to help individuals in these difficult situations.

In the case that your flight gets delayed for more than 3 hours, passengers have the full rights to receive compensations which go all the way up to 600 Euros! Naturally, these compensations do not happen instantly, and you’ll have to wait a bit in order to receive your money, but if you’re patient enough, it will happen sooner or later. Just stick to your guns, and hope for the best.

But what about flight cancellations?

These unfortunate events bring a note of despair with them, that’s not easy to shake off. You've worked so long and hard to earn enough money for your vacation, and when the time finally arrives for takeoff, you get stuck in an airport, with no hope of ever reaching your destination. Soul crushing, we know.

Not that any compensation can truly erase those awful feelings, but it can help at least a bit. In case that your airline fails to notice you about flight cancellations 14 or less days ahead of your trip, you’re entitled to receive as much as 600 Euros for your troubles. Unfortunately, there are some additional complications with it that might ruin your eligibility, but we won’t go into the details now. If this ever happens to you, just know that there is some chance that you’ll get a decent buck for your troubles. It’s not much, but it’s better than nothing!

In case that you get denied boarding the plane

If you’re not a seasoned traveler, we would not wish to alarm you, but know that there’s always a possibility that you won’t be allowed to board on the plane because of the lack of space. We know, in modern times, these things aren't really supposed to happen all that often, but as it turns out, they do.

If there’s anything positive that we can say regarding this topic, it’s that most European airlines will compensate you for it, under the EU 361 policy. There might be some back and forth action before you receive your compensation, but in most cases, passengers get what they hoped for.

In case your flight gets delayed, causing you to miss your connection

You’re also eligible to receive some sort of compensation, under the same regulations that we mentioned above. To refresh your memory, we’re talking about the situation when one flight is more than 3 hours late. However, it’s not as easy as it seems, as there are more than a few exceptions to the rule. Depending on the airline, you might encounter some troubles getting your money back, as this law is interpreted differently in some countries. Ultimately, while it can be a long shot, there is a ton of online services that will do everything that could be done for just a small percentage of your compensation. It’s worth trying your luck.