6 Things To Do When Your Flight Is Cancelled
Flight cancellation is never a pleasant experience. But even if you do experience a flight disruption of such kind, there is some good news for you: as long as the airline cancelled your flight and informed you about it less than 14 days before the scheduled departure date, you could be entitled to compensation from the airline. The amount of compensation can be up to €600.
by Skycop team
- 2020-01-13
- 8:32 AM GMT
But let’s get to the basics. So basically – what should you do if your flight was cancelled? And what actions to avoid?
1. Replacement flight or a refund – it’s up to you
If your flight is announced as cancelled earlier than on the day of departure, the airline should contact you to offer another flight or a full refund – it is totally up to you to decide which option you should take. If you are informed about the flight cancellation just before departure, a local airline representative should be waiting for you either at check-in or, if you already reached the boarding area, next to the gate.
When deciding between taking another flight or getting a refund, it is worth remembering that you won’t keep the right to care (more about this below) you’ll choose the latter option. That’s because of your relationship with the airline ends at the moment you make this decision.
2. Ask for care – or take care of yourself
And even if you agree to take another flight – which could be hours or even days later – you immediately gain the right to airline’s care. The care includes all the basics specified in Regulation (EC) 261/2004, which should make the whole situation a little more bearable. By that, we mean your right to:
Although, you may be directed to a hotel if your next flight is not about to depart in the next few hours and you’ll have to wait overnight.
Usually, a representative of the airline should wait to take care of you at the check-in counter or next to the gate – and is legally obliged to state you all the rights you have in the event of a flight cancellation. In such a situation, it is really not that usual to provide food vouchers and other coupons.
We should remind you that you should take the hotel provided by the airline. And if the air carrier does not provide you with any, you are free to choose the most reasonable option. It means that the airline will be obliged to cover your accommodation, transportation, food and communication expenses as long as they are made with common sense.
Your transportation to and from the airport is also refundable.
3. Get it right: is it a cancellation or a delay?
So your flight is not about to leave as planned this morning. You were informed that instead you will have to leave just before midnight after a prolonged period of uncertainty and you couldn’t even see the plane through the airport window. So… even if you are about to board totally different aircraft after the whole day of hopeful – or not so hopeful – waiting and even if you can swear that you did see a ‘cancelled’ sign next to your destination… it still doesn’t mean that it’s the flight cancellation you were dealing with.
It’s worth mentioning that this technicality applies to disrupted flights not only in the European Union but also in the majority of other countries worldwide.
In that situation everything we told you before about delayed flights and claiming compensation applies.
4. Do not forget to consider every option
It is not unusual that in the event of a flight cancellation bigger carriers operating busy routes can offer you an alternative flight which departs earlier than your initial one. And even though this way your flight disruption does not seem like a major inconvenience, you can still claim cancelled flight compensation.
5. How much compensation for a cancelled flight?
The original amount of cancelled flight compensation specified in Regulation (EC) 261/2004 depends on your flight distance.
6. How to get compensation for a cancelled flight?
So your flight was cancelled, you got an alternative flight, refund or decided to choose another option. Still, after your journey is over, you are still asking yourself: “How can I claim compensation for a cancelled flight?” Well, we have a perfect solution for you: just claim your compensation via Skycop. If your flight is eligible for flight compensation, we will get it for you. Up to €600 in compensation for your cancelled flight could be waiting for you – just fill in our claim form and we’ll take care of the rest!
Related articles:
7 Things To Do When Your Flight Is Delayed
5 things to do when your flight is overbooked
Flight delay compensation calculator
