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Cascade flight cancellations this summer: how to get a refund for your ticket?

2022-06-18T04:10:12.035Z


PRACTICAL - Between the strikes and the lack of staff, many flights could be canceled this summer. A question arises: can passengers be reimbursed? Most of the time, yes.


Strike at Paris airports on July 1, Lufthansa flights canceled for lack of staff, Ryanair staff strike in Spain at the end of June, reduction in the number of flights at Gatwick airport, increase in Covid-19 cases… After a quarter of flights were canceled on June 9 at Paris-Charles de Gaulle due to a strike by airport staff, uncertainty weighs on departures on summer holidays.

In the event of a flight canceled by the company, is reimbursement guaranteed?

Most of the time yes, but it depends on the cause of the cancellation.

We take stock.

To discover

  • Find all the results of the legislative elections

Read alsoOn Air France, you will no longer be able to get your tickets refunded so easily

My flight is canceled by the company, can I be reimbursed?

In France, as in all EU countries, it is article 8 of European regulation n°261/2004, which defines the rights of air passengers.

It provides that in the event of cancellation at the initiative of the airlines, the latter are required to give the passenger the choice between

a refund of the ticket

within 7 days or

another flight

to the final destination under comparable transport conditions. .

The company must, in addition, pay the passenger

compensation

of €250 for flights of less than 1,500 km, €400 for flights between 1,500 and 3,500 km, and €600 beyond, provided that be at least 4 hours late.

Passengers are also entitled to meals and drinks, two telephone calls, faxes or e-mails and accommodation if the substitute flight does not depart until the following day.

Please note that this compensation is not due if the passengers have been informed of the cancellation at least two weeks before departure, if the departure of the proposed replacement flight is advanced by less than 2 hours or if its arrival is delayed by less from 4 a.m.

No compensation either if the cancellation is caused by exceptional circumstances, such as a natural disaster or a war.

According to the European Consumer Center (CEC), some reasons for cancellation can be debated, such

as strikes by company staff

.

But more often than not, these are followed by compensation.

The

strike of airport staff

, air traffic controllers or security agents, on the other hand, is a fact outside the airline that it does not control

.

The resulting flight cancellations will therefore, in principle, not be compensated”

, specifies the CEC in a press release.

In all cases, even if the compensation is not paid, the companies are required to reimburse the ticket.

If the flight is maintained

, the company is not required to reimburse the passengers, except in the case of a cancellable and refundable ticket: it is then necessary to request the cancellation of the ticket before the plane takes off.

What to do to get a refund?

The airline may offer reimbursement on its own initiative.

If this is not the case, it is best to use the

complaint form

available on its website.

The CEC lists the links leading to the forms of European airlines.

This applies to disputes concerning companies based in an EU country, Iceland or Norway.

Many companies have also been created in recent years (AirHelp, Air indemnity, Flightright, etc.) to deal with requests for reimbursement or even compensation on behalf of the traveler, subject of course to a commission.

Finally, it is possible to contact a mediator via the Tourism and Travel Mediation.

What about reservations on online platforms?

As mere intermediaries, reservation platforms are not obliged to take charge of the rerouting or reimbursement of the price of the plane ticket.

However, they must inform their customers of the cancellation of the flight and of any proposals from the airline.

They are also required to communicate your requests to the air carrier.

And in the case of a package trip (flight + accommodation)?

If the travel agency (or the booking site) cancels a package holiday, i.e. combining at least two different types of services in the same trip (transport, accommodation, car rental, visits, etc.) , it has an obligation to refund all payments to you within 14 days.

If you wish to cancel your trip of your own free will, you will not pay any fees and will be reimbursed within 14 days under two conditions provided for by the Tourism Code: if “exceptional and unavoidable” circumstances (bad weather, epidemic, attacks, etc.) occur on site or near your place of destination and if these have consequences for the performance of the contract provided for.

Source: lefigaro

All news articles on 2022-06-18

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