EU regulations on delays and cancellations step into force in February

Airline Industry Information, Jan 25, 2005

AIRLINE INDUSTRY INFORMATION-(C)1997-2005 M2 COMMUNICATIONS LTD

From 17 February air travellers who experience delays, cancellations and over-booking will get extended rights under European Union regulations.

From that date, travellers will be able to choose if they want the ticket money back or if they want to take another flight and they will also be able to eat and drink, courtesy of the airline. It will also be possible to get the costs for telephone calls and overnight stays at a hotel covered. According to Stavanger Avisen, a Norwegian newspaper, the new thing is that these rights will be there even if the airline is not responsible for the delay. Travellers will also have the right to standard compensation irrespective of the real loss, but if the loss is greater than the standard compensation, it has to be documented as before.

The new rules will be valid for the European Economic Area, which means that non-EU EEA countries like Norway will also implement the regulations and the rules will apply to passengers travelling from an airport in the EEA.

There are however also conditions to the compensation: it will be EUR250 for flights up to 1,500km, and EUR400 for flights outside the EEA which are longer than 1,500km and for all other flights between 1,500 and 3,500km. The compensation will be EUR600 for all other flights where the regulations are valid. However, if the airline announces the cancellation more than 14 days in advance it will not be liable to pay compensation.

The details of the new regulations can be found at the consumer portal http://forbrukerportalen.no.

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