Flight to Thailand delayed? What now?
It has only happened to me twice in recent years: your flight to or from Thailand has been delayed. What should you do and what are your rights? Flight ticket search engine Skyscanner gives a number of useful tips.
Has your flight been delayed?
If the delay is less than two hours and there is no urgency to get to your destination, it is best to wait quietly so as not to ruin your holiday.
If the plane is very late and the airport or airline staff do not have full information about the reasons for the delay, you will be directed to the Passenger Bill of Rights. This states that passengers are entitled to the following compensation:
- meals and refreshments;
- Hotel accommodation in the event of multiple transfers for the flight;
- Transfer from airport to hotel and so on;
- Two telephone calls or messages via telex, fax or e-mail;
- Reimbursement of the ticket and a flight back to the original place of departure if the delay exceeds five hours and the passenger decides not to continue the flight.
Reduced mobility and unaccompanied children
Persons with reduced mobility and any accompanying persons, as well as unaccompanied children, are entitled to priority in receiving assistance. This type of aid is applicable in case of delays of:
- Two hours or more for all flights of 1500 km or less;
- Three hours or more for all intra-Community flights of more than 1500 km and all other flights between 1500 and 3500 km;
- Of four hours or more for flights of more than 3500 km outside the European Union.
Compensation
The airline is obliged to pay a financial compensation to the passenger. The amount of compensation is determined by the distance of the flight. This corresponds to:
- € 250,00 for all flights of 1500 km or less;
- € 400.00 for all intra-Community flights of more than 1500 km and for all other flights between 1500 and 3500 km;
- € 600,00 for all flights that do not fall under a) or b).
The compensation is reduced by half if the passenger chooses to travel to their final destination on another flight. This applies when the arrival time is approximately equal to the estimated time of the original booked flight:
- flights of less than or equal to 1500 km: 2 hours difference;
- intra-Community flights of more than 1500 km: 3 hours difference;
- all other flights between 1500 and 3500 km and which do not fall under a) or b): 4 hours difference.
This financial compensation is not applied to passengers who travel for free or at a reduced fare and which is not directly or indirectly accessible to the public. If you want to submit such a compensation, you can do so by, for example, filling in a form. If you have printed it out and filled it in, this request must first be sent to the airline with which the traveler has concluded a contract of carriage. The airline may refuse to pay compensation if they can prove that the cause of the delay was not their fault and that all necessary and possible measures were taken to avoid the delay and that it was impossible to take any further such measures.
If you do not receive a response within six months or if the request is considered unsatisfactory, you can submit a complaint to:
- the Civil Aviation Authority offices of the national airport where the event occurred or if the flight landed before problems occurred outside the European Union, such as Norway, Iceland and Switzerland.
- The leaders of the relevant European Union authorities in Norway, Iceland and Switzerland for flights departing and arriving in those countries.
Of course, any passenger who thinks they can independently submit a request for compensation.
Outside the European Union
If the problem of the delay occurs at an airport outside the EU, but by a European organization, you can send the complaint to the competent national authority of this EU country.
How to use your time during delays
Shop. Nowadays all airports have shops where you can buy local and international duty free products with tempting offers. You normally buy these local products for double the amount. It is especially possible to make good deals with alcohol and spirits, but also with perfumes, souvenirs and trinkets. If you are traveling with Ryanair, please note that all purchases must be stored in your hand luggage.
- Listen to music. If you have a mobile device such as an iPod or an MP3 player, you can relax and listen to music. Then you forget a bit about the stress of the delay.
- Watch a movie. Have you brought your laptop or a tablet with some movies on the hard drive? Then this is the perfect opportunity to sit down and watch a movie. Use headphones if necessary
- work. For those on a business trip, the waiting time can be used to get some work done.
- Food. In accordance with the rules of the passenger's Bill of Rights, you are entitled to meals and refreshments in proportion to the waiting time.
- Play games. Perhaps you have a nice portable game console with you or a mobile device with games. This could be the saving grace of the long wait.
- Networking. Exchange a few words with other passengers who are also waiting. This can be very useful and fun. Perhaps you are going on holiday to the same destination, in which case you can exchange contact details and meet up.
- Going downtown. If the waiting time is longer than four hours, it might be a good idea to go into town. Here you can go see things or go shopping.
- If you are traveling with children. There is little children can do at airports. That's why it's nice to let the kids play in the specific children's area at the airport.
- Relax and take a break for yourself. In daily life we are already so busy with everything. So take a break for yourself and sit somewhere in a quiet environment where you can enjoy and relax.
- Sleep. Often people at the airport or on group travel get sleepy while waiting for their flight. In countries and cities with a high crime rate, we recommend storing your belongings safely when you need to get some sleep.
European law provides for this flight delay regarding regulations.
However, the airlines try to get out of this in every possible way.
The random number of companies that can help you to obtain this compensation have recently indicated that the number of payments is not in proportion to the claims submitted.
Experienced a delay in September 2010 of about 14 hours.
A European airline jetairfly.
Made the claim as they have taken very bad care of the passengers.
First 4 hours on the plane under tropical temperatures. Just a glass of water and a Brussels waffle. Then off the plane and back through immigration. Here you have to hand in your passport because you are back on Thai territory without the 30-day stamp and white accompanying paper. You are therefore at the mercy of the stay in the arranged hotel. If you leave the hotel and something happens, you will not have a passport.
Society has not shown itself further.
Maaltijd was geregeld. Geen info over bellen etc.
De rest was voor eigen rekening. De meeste hadden dus hun thaise bathjes opgemaakt.
Finally left 15 hours later.
The submitted claim was settled with the comment that motor problems fall under the exceptions, which are therefore not eligible for compensation.
In view of the rulings of the European Court, this is therefore not correct and I have engaged the legal assistance insurance.
Now a year later, it is before the Belgian court for a judgment.
I'm curious how this one looks.
Het principe is dat bijna elke claim afgewezen wordt. Doorzetten voor eigen rekening is lastig gezien de kosten etc.
For me it is a matter of principle because there was simply no action according to the law.
So my advantage was a European company. If you fly with airlines outside Europe, there is no possibility for a claim.
My booked hotel and train journey have therefore also been submitted in terms of claim.
So I couldn't use this.
With delays you can also contact: http://www.euclaim.nl/
We once engaged this company after a four-hour delay from Prague to Amsterdam, where we had to figure out everything ourselves in terms of converting tickets to a later flight. No information made us decide to file a claim. Naturally, the airline refused to pay at all times. The entire procedure took two years, with every request for payment being refused. The judge eventually ruled and the airline had to pay.
With compensation you will receive slightly more than 70% of the compensation. But if EUclaim does not succeed in obtaining compensation, you will not pay anything.
Always worth a try and it saves you a lot of bureaucratic annoyance!
Greetings,
Ingrid
I too have ever experienced a delay of 7 hours from Schiphol directly to Bangkok with Eva Air. I have used EU claim and everything has been reimbursed according to the guidelines within six months. Reimbursement of 600 Euro, telephone costs, meals. Within 3 months I received a message from Eva Air with a proposal of a 300 Euro discount on my next flight within a year. I did not agree with this and sent another letter via the ministry. And in the end everything was handled well and booked into my account! EU Claim's mediation cost me 20 euros, but it was more than worth it and you can save the forms you receive and use them again if necessary.
Euclaim does not work for free; They themselves (EUclaim) say this on their site: “If you have chosen to submit the claim on the basis of no cure / no pay, this means that from EUclaim you will receive 71% of the allocated amount minus our administration costs (€ 26). per claimant) will receive if the airline proceeds to pay the claim. If we are not successful, i.e. have not been able to collect your compensation, you pay nothing.”
Nevertheless, it is advisable to use EUclaim. Airlines like to blame everything on force majeure (not to pay). It is true that at EUclaim you pay a lot for their services, but they do get things done that are difficult or with a lot of effort and frustration.
Dit ook eens een keer gehad met KLM op een BKK-Ams vlucht in 2009 6 uur vertraging en afgescheept met een couponnen boekje voor korting op de inflight winkel. Euclaim ingeschakeld heeft 3 jaar ! geduurd voor KLM betaalde. Pas voor de rechter in 2012 haalden we ons recht.