The cancellation or delay of a flight causes many inconveniences.
Losses
in the reservation of other tourist services, not arriving on time for work commitments and
extra
expenses that were not planned in the budget.
Furthermore, in those moments of tension and stress, several questions arise: Do I have to
buy another ticket
?
Does the airline take care of my expenses at the airport?
Who pays for accommodation if the next plane leaves the next day?
All these doubts are resolved in the General Conditions of the Air Transport Contract, where the
rights
of passengers are established.
What to do if your flight is canceled or delayed
When a flight is cancelled, you should always go to the airline, either at an airport counter or through other means of communication, to make the necessary claim.
Depending on the
reasons
for the cancellation, the passenger will be compensated or not.
Since 2013, in Argentina, airlines are not required to make compensation if flights cannot depart due to
weather
conditions .
Airlines are not always obligated to always compensate the passenger.
Photo Shutterstock,
The same happens in the
case of strikes
, since the national regulations say nothing about it.
There are rulings for and against airlines regarding claims for this reason.
Now, in what situations can the passenger
claim
and request compensation for a cancellation?
According to resolution 1532/98, modified by 203/13, when operational,
technical
or commercial circumstances occur, the carrier cancels or delays a flight or the delivery of luggage for more than four hours, or denies previously confirmed boarding ( overbooking), or cannot make a stopover at the stop-stay or destination point, the passenger has the following rights:
Passengers must know their rights to be able to complain.
Photo Shutterstock.
the mandatory inclusion on the
immediately subsequent flight
of the same carrier for its destination,
to the endorsement of your
contract of carriage
, including connections with confirmed space, when acceptable to the passenger,
or to be rerouted by
another route
to the destination indicated in the contract, by the services of the carrier or in the services of another carrier, or by another means of transportation, in the latter cases subject to space availability.
If the passenger does not agree with the rescheduling, they can opt for a
refund
of the ticket.
An Aerolíneas Argentinas plane.
Photo Fernando De la Orden.
Important
: if the fare of the new route is greater than the value of the purchased ticket, the passenger must not pay any additional charge, but if the price of the rescheduled trip is lower, the carrier must
refund the difference
.
For those who do accept the reprogramming, the company must also provide,
free of charge
, telephone or cable communication to the destination point and local communications;
meals and snacks in accordance with the waiting time;
accommodation in a hotel, at the airport or in the city, when the delay of a flight exceeds four hours;
ground transportation to and from the airport.
On the other hand, if the airline does not comply with its obligations, passengers always have the
legal jurisdiction
to continue with the claim.
"Without a doubt ,
the current regulations must be updated
. It is from 1998 and is old in several aspects. For example, the right to telephone calls for incidental services (today it would be providing an internet signal or battery charging," says Santiago Aramburu, lawyer specialized in Tourism Law.
And he adds that if the rescheduling does not serve the traveler, there is always the possibility of
claiming through administrative or judicial means
.
"As these are, in general, low (or small) amount consumer contracts, the
administrative procedures
, which are usually quick and free, are of utmost importance and necessary for correct and due protection of the traveler," he explains.