EC Regulation 261/2004 - Flight Delay Compensation

Many people do not know how to claim for flight delays and so leave rightful money in the hands of the wealthy airlines that repeatedly leave passengers feeling let down. A flight delay can be an extremely distressing experience as it can completely destroy one’s travel plans. Nobody wants to be delayed whilst travelling abroad, especially as for some people the occasion only comes around once or twice a year. This is why on 23rd October 2012 the Court of Justice of the European Union passed an official judgment to outline passenger rights when it comes to EU flight delay compensation in order to increase the level of protection to passengers. The judgment is otherwise known as EC Regulation 261/2004 and it clearly outlines that if a passenger is delayed for 3 hours or more they are entitled to claim compensation for this. Not only for the passenger’s loss of time but also for the inconvenience that the delay may have caused. However, in order to qualify for compensation certain criteria have to be met.

Firstly, the regulation only applies to EU-regulated flights meaning that the flight would have had to be travelling between two member states of the European Union to qualify for compensation. Although if a flight was travelling from a country outside of the EU to an airport situated within the EU then the flight would have to be operated by a European airline to qualify for compensation. For example, a Virgin Atlantic flight from Tokyo to London would qualify for compensation, as Virgin Atlantic is a European airline. However, a Malaysian Airlines flight from Kuala Lumpur to London would unfortunately not qualify for compensation, as Malaysian Airlines is not European.

Secondly, the delay has to be a minimum of 3 hours. Any delay less than 3 hours would be disregarded and deemed as an invalid claim. Passengers also have a statue of limitation period that exists which means that in England, Wales and Northern Ireland a passenger has six years to submit their compensation before it is too late. UK courts will not accept any claims that date back over six years. In Scotland a passenger only has five years to submit their compensation claim.

The amount of compensation that a passenger can receive depends on two variables the length of the flight (in kilometres) and the length of the delay (in hours). The compensation is fixed and is calculated based on these two parameters. It is not affected by the cost of the flight and so each compensation claim is unique. According to EC Regulation 261/2004 a passenger can receive 250, 300, 400 or a maximum 600 Euros worth of compensation. If you want to make a compensation claim for a flight delay that occurred within the past six years then contact a flight delay refunds company that can help you reclaim this money. Blueway Limited (www.flightdelayrefunds.com) is a flight delay compensation company based in the UK that has represented passengers from all across the globe. By seeking the assistance of a flight delay refunds company it will give you the best chance of success and will be the quickest route to reclaiming your money.

Stephen Godden, am the author of this article for Flight Delay Refunds and Blueway Limited is the main resources of Flight Delay Refunds company provide a full service of delayed or cancelled flights.