Did you know that if your flight is delayed the Airline should be providing you with free food and drinks?

Or that if you cancel your ticket or miss your flight, the airline should be reimbursing you with up to 70% of your ticket price?

If not, stay tuned for more laws that airlines don't want you to know!


1. It's illegal to charge for hand luggage.
By law, hand luggage is considered "Necessary items" and not "Baggage"; therefore, an Airline cannot legally charge you for bringing it aboard.
Airlines that still charge their passengers for hand luggage do so because the money they receive from doing this greatly outweighs what they have to pay out to the very few passengers who actually claim compensation and the fines they have to pay for breaking the law in the first place.

2. Ticket Refund.
Whether you cancel your ticket in advance or just moments before your flight, (even if it's entirely your own fault) you are in fact entitled to at least a partial refund.
Ticket prices can be broken down into three parts:
The base fare, fees, and taxes.
If you cancel just before the flight you are entitled to a refund on the fees and taxes which in some cases can be up to 70% of the ticket price.
If you notify the airline before you cancel and they are able to resell your ticket, you could be entitled to up to 95% of your ticket price.

3. Delays
If your flight arrives at its final destination over 3 hours late and the delay wasn't due to "Extraordinary circumstances" such as extreme weather, you are entitled to compensation.
On flights up to 1500 km, the amount is 250 euros,
on flights between 1500 and 3500 km, it's 400 euros,
and on flights over 3500 km, it's 600 euros.
If your flight is delayed by 2 hours the Airline is obliged to supply you with free meals and refreshments, if this delay should exceed 5 hours, you are no longer obliged to take the flight and the airline must provide you with either a full refund, a ticket for a later flight under comparable conditions, or an alternative form of transport, and, independent of the option you choose, you are also entitled to the compensation of up to 600 euros depending on the distance of your flight.


4. Cancellations
If your airline cancels your flight over 14 days beforehand, they are not obliged to pay you compensation.
If they cancel between 8 and 14 days before, they must offer an alternative flight with a departure time variation of no more than 2 hours and an arrival time no greater than 4, or they must pay you compensation.
If they cancel less the 7 days before they must offer an alternative with variations of less than an hour in departure and 2 in arrival.
However should the airline offer you an alternative that falls outside of this timeframe, or should they offer you coupons or vouchers, or fail to offer an alternative at all, they are obliged to compensate you in the same manner as if your flight were delayed, 250 for 1500km, 400 for between 1500 and 3500km, and 600 for over 3500km.
Should you opt for an alternative flight outside the compensation-free timeframe they are also obliged to pay you 50% of the compensation due.

5. Boarding Denied.
There are various reasons why boarding can be denied, but the most common are overbooking, errors inspecting travel documents, or traveling with a different credit card than the one used to book the flight, and these reasons are all considered the airline's responsibility, and therefore, deserve compensation.
The quantity of that compensation is the same as if the flight were delayed or canceled,
600 for 3500km, 250 for 1500km, and 400 for anywhere in between.
Should you be offered and accept an alternative flight within the stipulated timeframe this compensation is reduced to half that amount.


6. Lost or Damaged Luggage.
From the moment your luggage has been correctly checked in, it is entirely the airline's responsibility.
Therefore, should your luggage get lost, be delayed, or get damaged you are also entitled to compensation.
This compensation should cover the costs of replacing any broken items, reimburse you the cost of any emergency purchases you made due to its delay, and replace any of the articles that have been lost, and could be as much as 1500 euros.
However, should your luggage go astray you must claim compensation in a timely manner and be sure to fill in a Property Irregularity Report form before you leave the airport.

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