Compensation boost for air passengers
Travellers whose flights are cancelled or held up for commercial reasons will soon be entitled to compensation under new European legislation.
At present, carriers who shelve or delay flights because they do not have enough passengers to make them viable are not obliged to pay compensation.
But the new Euro law, coming in from February 17, will force airlines to pay compensation as well as refunds, The Guardian reports.
When a flight is overbooked, airlines will be able to ask passengers if they wish to volunteer to be “bumped off” in return for a payment. Passengers who do not volunteer but still get bumped off will be entitled to compensation ranging from £250 to £600, the paper says.
Where flights are delayed, passengers affected will be entitled to meals, phone calls and hotel accommodation if the hold-up is more than two hours long.
Report by News From Abroad
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