Expert Affordable Advice

Call a name you can trust 01992 822 828

Flight Rights

What should you do if you arrive at the airport and find your flight has been delayed or cancelled?

If you do encounter problems you have legal rights and protection from the Denied Boarding Regulations if you meet the following conditions:

• Your booking is confirmed

• You checked in on time

• You're departing from an EU airport, or from a non-EU airport and flying into an EU airport on a 'community carrier' - an airline with its headquarters and main place of business within the EU. That includes all European discount and 'no-frills' airlines.

Your rights 
If your flight is delayed or cancelled the Denied Boarding Regulation won't enable you to receive compensation, but the airline does have to offer assistance to you.

What you're entitled to:

• Two free phone calls, faxes or e-mails; and

• free meals and refreshments appropriate to the delay.

If the delay lasts for five hours or more, you can choose not to travel and get a refund of your ticket cost.

Should your flight be cancelled you are entitled to the same help that you would get for a delayed flight. You should also be offered the choice of a refund of the full cost, re-routing to your destination. You may also be entitled to financial compensation which is calculated according to the length of the flight and the alternative the airline is able to offer you.

Overbooked flights are a common problem but the situation only occurs when everyone who booked a seat turns up. If a flight is overbooked the airline can deny you the right to board the flight if not enough people give up their seats.

If you volunteer to give up your seat you're entitled to a refund or re-routing and also "benefits" which you have to negotiate with the airline; there are no parameters as to what benefits the airline should offer.

If you don't volunteer or can't agree benefits with the airline and you are denied boarding you have the same entitlement to assistance and compensation as you'd have if your flight was cancelled. The only difference is that you are entitled to the compensation straight away.