Travel chaos in summer 2022: has your flight been cancelled?

These are your rights

Created: 06/14/2022, 13:42

By: Franziska Kaindl

Staff shortages at the airport are currently causing masses of flights to be canceled - and that's during the peak travel season in summer.

What to do about a canceled flight.

After almost two years of the pandemic and numerous relaxed measures in holiday countries, the desire to travel is great again.

But the high demand, which almost reaches the pre-Corona level, is encountering an aviation industry that has recently lost masses of staff.

Especially in the airports at the security checkpoints, but also at the airlines themselves there is a lack of employees who can handle the numerous passengers.

The result: long queues in the airport halls, stranded passengers and a large number of flights that are now being cancelled.

Lufthansa alone canceled 900 flights within Germany and Europe for the travel month of July, as reported by the German Press Agency (dpa).

But what can holidaymakers do if their flight is canceled without further ado?

During the Whitsun holidays there were long waiting times at various airports in Germany.

© Ying Tang/Imago

Flight canceled: What rights do affected passengers have?

Within the EU, the passenger rights regulation regulates how to proceed in the case of canceled flights.

In the event of a cancellation, passengers are initially

services .

In this way, the passenger can request

transportation at the earliest possible date or at a later date.

However, a rebooking on the same day is not always possible - so if you are not satisfied with the replacement flight, you can also request a refund of the

.

"The airline should at least be given the opportunity to organize replacement transport itself, or then given the opportunity to reimburse the additional costs," travel law expert Roosbeh Karimi told ZDF Morgenmagazin.

If air passengers have to rebook their flight themselves because the airline does not fulfill their obligation on time, they can

for the additional costs , explains Sabine Cofalla, managing director of the arbitration board for public transport (söp) of the

.

“Travellers who book alternative transportation independently must do so as economically as possible in order not to be left with additional costs in the end.

You have a duty to mitigate damage.”

Airline cancels your flight: when you are entitled to compensation

In addition to a refund of the ticket price, affected flight passengers may also be entitled to lump-sum compensation.

The so-called

payment is due if the notification of the cancellation of the flight is made less than 7 days before departure and the offered replacement flight can arrive at the destination more than one hour before or more than two hours after the scheduled arrival time.

If you are informed between 7 and 14 days before departure and the replacement flight arrives at your destination more than two hours before or more than four hours after the scheduled arrival time, you are also entitled to compensation.

How high these are depends on the length of the flight route and is staggered as follows:

• Flights up to 1,500 kilometers: 250 euros per person

• Flights between 1,500 and 3,500 kilometers: 400 euros per person

• Flights over 3,500 kilometers: 600 euros per person

There is no right to compensation if the flight is canceled due to "

" such as adverse weather conditions, security risks or political instability.

However, a staff shortage does not count as an exceptional circumstance, as Claudia Brosche, flight passenger rights expert from Flightright, reports to the

reporter .

If you are also confronted with longer waiting times at the airport, according to the EU Air Passenger Rights Regulation you are entitled to meals.

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If the flight is canceled more than 14 days before departure, passengers get their money back.

However, there is no entitlement to a replacement flight or other compensation.

You should urgently avoid these mistakes in travel cancellation insurance

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Package tour booked: Who takes care of new flights?

Is your canceled flight part of a package holiday?

Then the tour operator has to look for an alternative, as Julia Rehberg from the Hamburg Consumer Center explains, according to

.

"The travel price must not increase as a result of the new flight connection, even if the tour operator has to buy more expensive flights at short notice due to the cancellation." However, if the new flights lead to an impairment of the trip, those affected may have the right to assert claims against the tour operator close.

According to Rehberg, a withdrawal from the travel contract is only possible in the event of an “unreasonable change in service”.