Airport terminus
If your business trip ends at the airport, you are often entitled to compensation. But to receive it, you need to know your rights. By Michael Krampf, lawyer and editor at the Beobachter Advisory Center.
The rights of airline passengers in the event of long delays, overbooking or cancellation are governed by EU Regulation No. 261/2004, which has also applied to Switzerland since December 2006. It applies to all airlines departing from an airport in Switzerland or the EU and all flights operated by a Swiss or EU airline to Switzerland or EU countries. The type of flight and the price are irrelevant.
Compensation in the following three cases requires a confirmed booking and that you are at the check-in counter at the specified time or - if no time has been specified - at least 45 minutes before departure.
- In the event of a long delay: A long delay is defined as two hours for flights up to 1500 kilometers, three hours for flights up to 3500 kilometers and four hours for even longer distances. In these cases, you are entitled to meals, two telephone calls or e-mails and an overnight stay in a hotel if the flight is operated the next day. If the flight is delayed by five hours or more, you are entitled to skip the flight; the ticket costs must be reimbursed.
- In the event of overbooking: you are immediately entitled to meals, two telephone calls or emails and, if necessary, hotel accommodation. You can voluntarily waive the booking - the conditions must be negotiated with the airline. You also have the choice of flying on a different aircraft or giving up the flight and having the ticket costs refunded. If you do not forgo the booked flight, you are also entitled to compensation: 250 euros for routes up to 1500 kilometers, 400 or 600 euros for distances up to or over 3500 kilometers. If the journey is delayed by less than two, three or four hours, you will only receive half the compensation.
- Cancellation: The same applies as for overbooking. However, there is no compensation if the cancellation was announced at least 14 days in advance, if the alternative flight offered - in the event of a short-term cancellation - is within the agreed flight times or if the airline can prove that the flight was canceled due to extraordinary, unavoidable circumstances.
If you are entitled to compensation, you must claim this from the airline. If the airline does not pay, you can lodge a complaint with the Federal Office of Civil Aviation (Bazl) (www.bazl.admin.ch). The Bazl is not a court and therefore cannot force the airline to pay compensation. However, as a supervisory authority, it has the option of fining the offending airline up to CHF 20,000. This sanction option appears to be impressive, as to date all airlines have paid up if the Bazl has come to the conclusion that the compensation is justified.
Compensation in the following three cases requires a confirmed booking and that you are at the check-in counter at the specified time or - if no time has been specified - at least 45 minutes before departure.
- In the event of a long delay: A long delay is defined as two hours for flights up to 1500 kilometers, three hours for flights up to 3500 kilometers and four hours for even longer distances. In these cases, you are entitled to meals, two telephone calls or e-mails and an overnight stay in a hotel if the flight is operated the next day. If the flight is delayed by five hours or more, you are entitled to skip the flight; the ticket costs must be reimbursed.
- In the event of overbooking: you are immediately entitled to meals, two telephone calls or emails and, if necessary, hotel accommodation. You can voluntarily waive the booking - the conditions must be negotiated with the airline. You also have the choice of flying on a different aircraft or giving up the flight and having the ticket costs refunded. If you do not forgo the booked flight, you are also entitled to compensation: 250 euros for routes up to 1500 kilometers, 400 or 600 euros for distances up to or over 3500 kilometers. If the journey is delayed by less than two, three or four hours, you will only receive half the compensation.
- Cancellation: The same applies as for overbooking. However, there is no compensation if the cancellation was announced at least 14 days in advance, if the alternative flight offered - in the event of a short-term cancellation - is within the agreed flight times or if the airline can prove that the flight was canceled due to extraordinary, unavoidable circumstances.
If you are entitled to compensation, you must claim this from the airline. If the airline does not pay, you can lodge a complaint with the Federal Office of Civil Aviation (Bazl) (www.bazl.admin.ch). The Bazl is not a court and therefore cannot force the airline to pay compensation. However, as a supervisory authority, it has the option of fining the offending airline up to CHF 20,000. This sanction option appears to be impressive, as to date all airlines have paid up if the Bazl has come to the conclusion that the compensation is justified.
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