Flight delay compensation

If your flight is delayed, you should know the following basic rights and actions:

1. Passengers of charter and regular flights have the same rights. The carrier is equally responsible to the passenger for the delay of both charter and scheduled flights.

2. You have the right to true and accurate information. Contact the representative of the airline operating the flight (most carriers have representative offices or name desks at almost all major Russian airports) or, if you are flying from a small airport where there is no official representation of the airline, the employee at the airport information desk. In any case, you must explain why and how much the flight is delayed.

If a responsible persons carrier or airport refuse to understand you, you can remind them that, in accordance with the requirements of clause 72 of the Federal Aviation Rules, “ General rules air transportation of passengers, baggage, cargo and requirements for servicing passengers, consignors, consignees ”, approved by order of the Ministry of Transport of Russia dated June 28, 2007 No. 82 (hereinafter referred to as FAP), regular flights are operated in accordance with the traffic schedule aircraft formed by the carrier and published in the computer data bank of the aircraft schedule, and charter flights - in accordance with the plan (schedule) of charter flights.

At the same time, paragraph 73 of the FAR defines the requirements for information on each scheduled flight to be met by the published aircraft schedule. In the event of a change in the timetable for the movement of aircraft, the carrier must take all possible measures to inform the passengers with whom the contract has been concluded air transportation, on changing the timetable for the movement of aircraft in any way possible (paragraph 74 of the FAP).

Information about the delay or cancellation of a flight, as well as the reasons for the delay or cancellation of a flight, is communicated to passengers by the carrier or the organization carrying out airport activities (service organization) directly at the airport in visual and / or acoustic form (clause 92 of the FAR).

3. You have the right to require a representative of the airline or employees of the airport of departure/destination to put a note on the ticket about the flight delay. It is necessary if you later write a claim to the carrier or sue him in court. Exact time of a real departure, ask to enter by hand a representative of the airline / airport and certify with a stamp (this can be done when boarding or re-registration - it is carried out in cases where tourists were accommodated in a hotel during the flight delay).

4. In case of any delay in the departure of the flight, the air carrier, in accordance with the requirements of paragraph 99. FAP, is obliged to organize the following services for passengers free of charge:

1) provide a mother and child room to a passenger with a child under the age of 7 years;

2) organize luggage storage.

4.1. If the flight delay is more than two hours:

1) 2 phone calls or 2 emails;

2) soft drinks.

4.2. If the flight delay is more than four hours:

1) hot meals; at the same time, they should be fed hot every 6 hours during the day and every 8 hours at night.

4.3. If the flight delay is more than six hours:

1) accommodation in a hotel (when waiting for departure more than 6 hours at night and more than 8 hours a day);

2) organize transportation from the airport to the hotel and back in cases where the hotel is provided without charging an additional fee.

It is customary to accommodate passengers in the hotels closest to the airport. You have no right to be accommodated in a double room with strangers. If the conditions are not at all satisfactory, you have the right to choose a hotel yourself and wait for departure there, after agreeing with the airport representatives that you will be warned about the departure time. In this case, pay for the room yourself. And after returning home (or arriving at the resort), you will need to write an official request to the main office of the airline demanding a refund of part of the amount spent.

5. If the airline, in order to reduce the delay time to a minimum, and the likely claims to zero, sends you by another route or flight of another company, then this should be carried out exclusively at the expense of the airline or airport, there can be no talk of any additional payments in this case .

6. If due to a flight delay your trip has become shorter, you have the right to demand a refund from the tour operator for all paid, but unused services: for a night in a hotel, a missed excursion, etc. As a rule, claims are made after returning from vacation. At the same time, it must be borne in mind that tour operators are willing to offer compensation right on the spot: an additional excursion, full board instead of breakfast, etc.

7. In accordance with the provisions of Article 120 of the Air Code of the Russian Federation, for delay in delivering a passenger to the destination, the carrier must pay a fine in the amount of twenty-five percent of the minimum wage established by federal law for each hour of delay, but not more than fifty percent of the carriage charge.

Tourists should take into account that a fine cannot be collected if the change in the departure time of the flight occurred due to force majeure, the elimination of an aircraft malfunction that threatens the life or health of the aircraft's passengers, or other circumstances beyond the control of the carrier.

According to the provisions of paragraph 3 of Article 401 of the Civil Code, force majeure circumstances do not include violation of obligations by the debtor's counterparties, lack of goods on the market necessary for execution, lack of the necessary Money(for example, to pay for fuel), and the carrier has the right to cancel, delay the flight indicated on the ticket, change the type of aircraft, change the route of transportation only if it is required by flight safety and / or aviation security, as well as at the request of state authorities in according to their competence.

To receive compensation, you need to file a claim with the airline, attaching copies of documents confirming your right to compensation. According to the provisions of Article 126 of the Air Code, the passenger has the right to make claims against the carrier (the application can be submitted in person or sent by registered mail) within 6 months from the date of arrival - at the airline's representative office at the airport of destination or departure. The carrier company is obliged to consider your claim within 30 days.

If the appeal was ignored or the perpetrators refused to compensate your expenses, you have the right to sue them. Claims against the carrier under the relevant exclusive jurisdiction rule contained in Article 30(3) of the Code of Civil Procedure Russian Federation are presented to the court at the location of the carrier against which the claim was filed in accordance with the established procedure.

The statement of claim to the court will need to be accompanied by copies of the air ticket with a note about the flight delay (its cancellation), invoices for the expenses incurred by you (for example, for a hotel, food, telephone calls), as well as your written claim to the carrier and the answer of its representatives.

8. The fact of cancellation or delay of the flight due to the fault of the carrier, as well as the failure to fulfill the obligations assigned to him in accordance with clause 99. FAR for the appropriate passenger service may, in the event of a guilty interruption in transportation, be grounds for the passengers to present a claim to the carrier for compensation for moral damage due to the infliction of the relevant physical and moral suffering (the basis is Article 15 of the Law of the Russian Federation of February 7, 1992 No. 2300-1 “On Protection of Consumer Rights”). The amount of compensation for moral damage is determined by the court and does not depend on the amount of compensation for property damage.

Air transportation problems often affect the quality of our tourists' rest. Increasingly, you can hear about egregious cases of delays or cancellations of flights, it would seem, rather large and well-known airlines. For example, the recent problem that caused a lot of noise that arose among tourists with VIM-Avia. Of course, one can argue a lot about who is to blame for this, speaking on lengthy topics, but it is worth remembering that living people who have planned their vacation or are forced to fly to another city or country due to some family circumstances suffer first of all. . And these people may be hoping that they will get on another connecting flight to continue their onward journey. But suddenly they find out that their flight is canceled or delayed, and it doesn’t matter if it is direct or charter. What should they do in this case, what steps should they take? How to get compensation for ruined vacation?

It is difficult not to get confused in such a situation, especially if it happened to you for the first time, or your flight was a connecting flight, or you were tied to the time of your arrival. But it is worth remembering that your plane ticket is nothing more than an agreement with this airline, which has undertaken to deliver you, as a passenger, to the point of the planet you need and at the time you need, otherwise, it undertakes to take care of its passenger, if things didn't go according to plan.

Each passenger should know that the Civil Code of the Russian Federation stipulates cases when an air carrier is not liable for flight cancellation or delay, these are: various natural phenomena - fires, snow drifts, hurricanes, floods; non-flying weather; sudden hostilities; complete cessation or regime of restriction of cargo transportation in a number of directions; in some cases, during a strike of airline or airport personnel, in the presence of malfunctions that threaten the life and health of air passengers. In all other cases, the fault lies with the airline that violated its obligations under the contract.

First, let's take a closer look at what happens when a direct or charter flight is canceled by an airline.

- The flight can be canceled a few days before the plane's departure to the destination.

In this case, the airline traditionally offers passengers several ways to solve the problem of a flight cancellation: an alternative to flying on a different route of the same carrier or a flight from another company, but the destination remains the same.

The passenger has the right to demand full refund the cost of his air ticket. For example, if you bought one ticket for a flight with transfers, then you are required to return the amount for the entire route. If a passenger bought two tickets, for example, Moscow-Barcelona and separately Barcelona-Valencia, and the first flight to Barcelona was canceled, then you will be refunded only the amount spent on the ticket from Moscow to Barcelona, ​​and you will need to return the ticket from Barcelona to Valencia at the normal rate. If the cancellation of the flight affected the second part of the flight - Barcelona-Valencia, and you were not provided with alternative options, but the trip has lost its meaning, then the air carrier is obliged by law not only to refund the money for the ticket to Valencia, but also to deliver you back to Moscow free of charge . Regarding the refund of the cost of round trip tickets, you will be able to refund their full cost if the flight is canceled and if you did not purchase them separately, but in the form of a “round trip”, that is, two tickets on a single form.

- The flight can be canceled or delayed when the tourist is already at the airport.

The airline is obliged to give you clear information about the reason and time for which the flight was delayed. You have the right to demand this information from an employee of your airline, and he is obliged to offer tourists options for their further actions. Often, an airline employee makes a proposal to transport tourists to their destination by another aircraft or a flight of another carrier. And subject to the fault of the air carrier, this flight will be free for the tourist.

Not all passengers who have suffered moral and material problems due to the cancellation or delay of flights are aware of their rights to receive compensation. This compensation varies, depending on the timing of the transfer and cancellation of the flight, as well as the distance to the desired point. If the airline is at fault, it is legally obliged to give the passenger three percent of the cost of his air ticket for every hour he spent waiting, as compensation for the flight delay. This is stipulated in Article 28, paragraph 5 of the Law "On Protection of Consumer Rights". In addition, to give in the form of a fine twenty-five percent of the minimum wage for each hour of waiting, but this amount cannot exceed half the price of the air ticket. Other additional compensations for canceled passengers are not issued when flights are canceled, but every tourist has the right to receive a refund of the amount for tickets or exchange them for a similar flight.

The rights of a tourist-passenger with a flight delay of more than two hours:

Making two phone calls or sending two emails; - you are required to provide free drinks; - if you have children under the age of seven with you, you must be given free access to the mother and child room.

The rights of a tourist with a flight delay of more than four hours:

The passenger must be fed hot meals free of charge, and fed every six hours - during the day and after eight hours - at night.

The rights of tourist-passengers when the flight is postponed for more than eight hours during the day and more than six hours at night:

The airline must bring and check you into the hotel at its own expense, and provide you with a free transfer there and back. According to the legislation, tourists do not have the right to settle in the same room with strangers. If the passenger did not like the provided room or the proposed hotel, then he can find a suitable option for himself, and the airline must pay an amount that will be equal to the price of the original accommodation option offered to it. The tourist can pay the price difference for the more expensive room he has chosen or pay for his stay in full, but we recommend that you keep the payment receipt in this case in order to return part of the money spent if there are objective reasons for refusing to stay according to the option offered by the air carrier . But, you should know that if you refuse the number offered by the airline, you lose the right to a free round-trip transfer, but the air carrier must store your luggage at its own expense.

Where can tourist passengers complain to get compensation for a canceled or delayed flight?

If there was a cancellation or delay of an internal direct or charter flight of a Russian company, then claims are considered in accordance with the legislation of the Russian Federation. Passengers' complaints against foreign airlines that have not fulfilled their obligations to them on the territory of the Russian Federation are also considered in Russia. But when an airline postpones or cancels a flight abroad, litigation is conducted in the country and according to the laws where it happened, and the place where the air carrier is registered will not play a role here.

Claims are submitted by the passenger personally at the airport of his departure or upon arrival at the place. When there is no representative office of your airline at the airport, there are no employees on site, then the claim is submitted through the airline's website. Although e-mails can often be ignored, it is best to send your claim by registered mail to the airline, making a detailed inventory of the attached documents and keeping a copy of your statement, sending confirmation, as this can be used in legal proceedings if the air carrier ignores you or refuses to compensation. According to our Russian legislation, the passenger has the right to present his claims to the air carrier within six months from the date of cancellation, delay of the flight.

I would like to touch upon one more important point for tourists, a very topical one for Moscow airports. Very often, passengers are taken to an airport other than the one indicated on their ticket. In this case, the airline is obliged to deliver the tourist-passenger to the desired destination on free transport. And this rule applies to all airports in the Russian Federation.

https://www.site/2017-06-08/eksperty_obyasnili_s_chem_svyazany_zaderzhki_charternyh_reysov

“Neither tour operators nor air carriers were ready for such a demand”

Experts explain why charter flight delays are connected

Igor Grom

In recent weeks, information about delays in charter flights has appeared almost daily. The problem has already affected several thousand tourists: people wait for hours at airports for flights to resorts, mainly to Turkey and Greece. The charter program of the VIM-Avia airline was actually disrupted, and there were also delays, for example, at Pegas Fly, Rossiya, NordStar. Experts note that tour operators and airlines were not ready for the explosive demand for foreign destinations. The Federal Air Transport Agency instructed airlines to solve the problem with massive flight delays until June 20.

“This year, the demand for foreign tourism has grown significantly, and we expect it to reach the pre-crisis level. Neither tour operators nor air carriers were ready for such a demand.

That is, everyone implied that there would be growth, but, to be honest, they hardly believed in it, because there were no economic prerequisites.

However early booking went very well. But now we see the reverse side of this coin,” Mikhail Maltsev, Executive Director of the Ural Tourism Association, told the website.

Natalia Khanina

According to Yekaterinburg Koltsovo Airport, the number of passengers per international flights in January-May 2017 increased by 70% compared to the same period last year. If you look at the indicators only in May, the increase is even more significant - 81.5%. For comparison: the number of passengers per domestic flights increased in January-May only by 10%.

Headquarters in Rostourism headed by Mutko will solve problems with VIM-Avia charters

The most serious problems arose with the VIM-Avia airline, which explained the disruption of the charter program by a banal lack of boards and a sharp increase in passenger traffic. Thus, three aircraft of the airline failed to return from maintenance in time, which eventually led to the rolling nature of delays and transfers of the company's flights, and the company decided to cancel part of the charters. Transport prosecutor's offices in the regions announced an inspection of the airline. Yesterday, the Rostourism hosted the first meeting of the operational headquarters under the leadership of the Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation Vitaly Mutko regarding the problems of VIM-Avia. Following the meeting, the department made a statement that, first of all, attention will be paid to sending tourists to southern resorts Russia. For those tourists who were going to fly to Turkey, Bulgaria or Cyprus, the Federal Tourism Agency is considering the option of adjusting the flight program in the direction of China, the Federal Tourism Agency explained.

In addition to VIM-Avia, tonight, for example, a flight from Yekaterinburg to Vietnam was delayed for 16 hours. Prior to this, many hours of delay were, in particular, at Rossiya and NordStar.

As Mikhail Maltsev explained, in recent years, almost every major tour operator from the TOP-10 has either acquired its own airline or signed a contract with an airline engaged in charter flights. “This is very costly, and due to significant lease payments, they simply do not have the opportunity to have reserve aircraft, unlike large air carriers like Aeroflot or Ural Airlines“, which mainly operate regular flights. And in the event of some technical difficulty with the aircraft, even if the backup aircraft is not at the point of departure, it can quickly arrive at the required airport, pick up people, and thus the problem will be solved in a short time with minimal costs, ”says Maltsev .

According to the expert, massive delays in charter flights may ultimately have a negative impact on the economy of the industry. On the one hand, demand may decrease again, and on the other hand, prices for tourism programs may increase in those areas where competition will decrease, Maltsev notes.

Meanwhile, today, June 8, Rosaviatsia issued an official announcement that until June 20, charter airlines must adjust their transportation program to address problems with delays and flight cancellations. The head of the Federal Air Transport Agency, Alexander Neradko, pointed to the discrepancy between the programs of charter airlines and their real capabilities. “Over the past five months of 2017, there has been a significant increase in the volume passenger traffic, which account for 22% of the volumes of the same period last year. At the same time, charter airlines increased their performance by one and a half to two times. Such an increase in traffic volumes was not supported by the availability of an appropriate fleet of aircraft and aviation personnel, ”concluded the Federal Air Transport Agency.

My flight from Antalya was delayed for 13 hours. Six months later, the tour operator paid me 36,500 R for this. Despite the fact that it was a charter and sort of like "no guarantees."

Sergei Boldin

received compensation from the tour operator

Last fall, I bought a package tour and flew with my family to Turkey. While we were resting, our airline went bust. Our charter flew home with a delay, so I wrote to the tour operator and asked to compensate for the lost time. The operator replied that the airline should do this.

The tour operator did not take into account that I am a lawyer and I know my rights. I did not make a fuss, but collected evidence and sued him.

Inquiries, checks, details of calls

The problems with our airline began even before we flew to rest. The day before departure, the travel agent sent us tickets for chartered flight. The departure time was known, the flight appeared in the airport schedule. But when we arrived at the airport, it turned out that the flight was delayed.

By law, if a flight is delayed for more than two hours, the carrier is obliged to provide passengers with soft drinks free of charge and organize communication: two phone calls or two e-mails. If the flight is delayed for more than four hours, he is obliged to feed everyone with a hot meal. If longer than six at night or eight during the day - place in a hotel.

Our flight was delayed more than four hours, but no one offered us food or drinks. We bought them with our own money, I kept the receipts.

While we were vacationing in Turkey, the airline's problems worsened. Compatriots on the beach discussed the news: someone could not fly away on vacation on a package tour, others could not return home. The day before departure, I asked the hotel guide for insurance to extend our stay. The guide replied that the flight would be on schedule and there was no need to pay for housing.

On the morning of departure, it became obvious that the plane would not arrive on time for us: our flight was not on the airport schedule. We did not want to wait outside, so we had to arrange a late check-out so that we would not be evicted from the room. The representative of the tour operator was not there, so I paid for everything myself - and asked to issue a check.

The rest of the day we sat on our suitcases and waited for the representative of the tour operator to pick us up at the airport. Departure was postponed several times. After the late check-out time from the hotel expired, the tour operator nevertheless extended our stay - but did not provide two required phone calls. I called at my own expense and after returning I ordered the details of these calls from the telecom operator.

They came for us only in the morning. We were supposed to take off from Antalya at 8 pm, but instead took off at 9 am the next day - with a delay of 13 hours.

Upon arrival at the Moscow airport, I turned to the information desk and asked to put a mark on the delay of both flights. These marks are usually placed on reverse side boarding pass or printed itinerary receipt.

Then I collected all the documents about violations of our rights and turned to the tour operator for compensation.

The tour operator answers

What is special about a charter

Roughly speaking, the tour operator says to the airline: "I want to rent a plane from you to take 200 people to Antalya on September 9, and return them back on September 23." The airline replies: "Okay, on the 9th and 23rd for three hours the plane is yours, along with the pilots and stewardesses."

While the plane is leased by the tour operator, flight delays are on his conscience, which is why he pays compensation. The only exception: if the flight is delayed for safety reasons, for example, if the plane has broken down and it is dangerous to fly on it. Judicial practice shows that in this case it will not be possible to receive compensation.

The reason for the delay of our flight at the airport was not announced, but it was found on the delay stamps, which were put upon arrival home. The marks "PPS" and "U05" mean "late arrival of the vessel" and "change in departure time by decision of the dispatch service." Not a word about safety.

How to make a claim

The claim must be submitted to the tour operator within 20 days from the end of the trip. The tour operator has 10 days to check everything and answer something.

In my claim, I described the situation and demanded that I reimburse all expenses, as well as compensate for non-pecuniary damage for the flight delay. In addition, I indicated the details of the account to which I expect to receive the money.

I attached copies of checks and certificates to the claim and sent all this to the legal address of the tour operator by registered mail. Postal receipts for sending later came in handy in court.

Which court to sue

While the tour operator was thinking about how to respond to my claim, I studied the jurisprudence on similar disputes. I had to decide in which court to file a claim if my claim was denied.

As a general rule, an action must be filed in the court at the location of the defendant. But the law protects the consumer as the weak side of legal relations, therefore it gives him a choice: to sue where the defendant is located or where he lives.

If the defendant is a large company, most likely it has already been sued. To find out how it all ended, it is useful to study the jurisprudence on the website of the court that has jurisdiction over the legal address of the company. If decisions are often made not in favor of consumers, it makes sense to sue the court in your place of residence. And if you find a court decision in a similar case in favor of the consumer, you can use it to draw up your claim.

Another option is to search through the official websites of city courts of general jurisdiction and magistrates' courts. For example, on the Moscow website there is a section “Territorial jurisdiction”, where you can determine the defendant's court by the address of the defendant. Decisions on claims are usually published in the "Courtwork" section.

In my case, decisions were more often made in favor of tourists, so I did not use the right to choose a court. I waited until the tour operator ignored my claim, and filed a lawsuit in the court at his location.

Statement of claim

In the statement of claim, you need to write in which court you are filing it, who the plaintiff and defendant are, at what address they can be found, the price of the claim, what is the violation of rights and what you want to achieve. Also, list documents that support your position. All this is mandatory information - without them the claim will not be accepted. When drawing up a claim, it is worth checking with the Civil Procedure Code of the Russian Federation.

It would not be superfluous to bring judicial practice in favor of consumers in similar cases. Consumers do not need to pay state duty.

Before drawing up a claim, you need to calculate the amount of compensation and the price of the claim. These are different things. Simply put, the amount of compensation is all the money that you want to receive from the defendant through the court. The price of the claim is only the money that you lost because of his actions and the penalty provided for by law. The price of the claim does not include compensation for non-pecuniary damage and a fine for the fact that the defendant did not pay you without a trial.

For example, in my case, the price of the claim includes the cost of the hotel, food, drinks and phone calls. In addition, it includes a penalty for violation of the terms of travel. In total, I demanded almost 130 thousand rubles from the tour operator, and the price of my claim was 5123 rubles.

The amount of the claim determines which court will hear your case. If it is less than 50 thousand rubles, then the world one, if more - the regional one. It does not affect anything else in disputes involving service consumers.

In my statement of claim, I demanded from the tour operator:

1. Compensate for everything that a passenger is entitled to in case of a flight delay: drinks, food, two phone calls and accommodation.
2. Compensate for non-pecuniary damage to all family members, including two children.
3. Pay penalties for violation of the terms of the service - 3% of the cost of the tour package for one day of delay in departure.
4. Pay a fine for refusing to voluntarily satisfy my claim - 50% of the amount of compensation awarded.

I attached two copies of it to the claim - for the tour operator and the travel agency that sold me his ticket. The tour operator is responsible for paying compensation, so it makes no sense to involve the agency as another defendant. But he can be involved as a third party - if the judge approves. A representative of the agency will come to the meeting, and if questions arise, he will be able to answer them immediately.

So that the court would not be postponed if I could not come, I asked to consider the claim without me.

Here's what my statement looked like:

I attached certificates of flight delays, copies of checks for food and a hotel, call details that I took from the telecom operator, a copy of the claim against the tour operator, and a press release from Rospotrebnadzor that an administrative case was opened against the tour operator due to flight delays.

Complaint to Rospotrebnadzor

Before going to court, you can complain to Rospotrebnadzor. This will not help to obtain compensation without a trial: Rospotrebnadzor has no right to oblige the tour operator to pay you money. But he can fine him on your complaint, and this will strengthen your position in court. In addition, Rospotrebnadzor specialists will advise you on how to file a claim and, possibly, help protect your interests in court.

But all this is in theory. In my practice, the quality of assistance from Rospotrebnadzor depends on the case, and it is dangerous to completely trust him with your business.

So I made my own claim.

The court's decision

The court decided that the charter flight is included in the tour package, so the tour operator is responsible for its delay. In December, three months after returning from vacation, the court partially satisfied my requirements and exacted from the tour operator:

1. The cost of living in the hotel - 1153 R.
2. Penalty for violation of the terms of travel - 3215 R.
3. Moral damage - 20,000 R, 5,000 R for each family member.
4. The penalty for refusing to satisfy the claim is 12,184 R.

The court refused to compensate for the cost of food at the airport and reduced the compensation for non-pecuniary damage. But even taking this into account, the amount of compensation amounted to 36,552 R - this is 34% of the cost of the tour.

Getting compensation

In February, two months after the court decision, I received the writ of execution. Now I had to get money. To do this, it was necessary to send the sheets to the bailiffs, and then wait until they initiate enforcement proceedings and forcibly recover compensation from the tour operator. The law allocates two months for this, but the period can be extended. In practice, receiving money is highly dependent on the quickness of the bailiffs and the perseverance of the claimant.

Another option is to receive compensation yourself through the defendant's bank, but for this you need to know what kind of bank it is. Sometimes the details of the tour operator's account can be found on his website or in the contract for the sale of tours.

My tour operator did not publish his details in the public domain, but I was lucky. Already when the claim was in court, he answered my claim and transferred compensation for phone calls to my account. He rejected the rest of the demands and stated that the carrier was responsible for the flight delay, but it didn’t matter anymore: having transferred the money to my bank account, he exposed his own, and when I received the writ of execution, I didn’t send them to the bailiffs, but simply took them to his bank.

A day after receiving the writ of execution, the bank transferred the money to me.

How to get compensation from the tour operator

1. Keep all receipts, bills and call details. All requests and refusals - only in writing. If the flight is delayed, ask the airport to put a note about it.
2. Demand compensation from the tour operator - for this you have 20 days after the end of the trip. In 10 days he must answer something.
3. If the tour operator is silent or refuses to pay, sue him or complain to Rospotrebnadzor.
4. Look for the account details of the tour operator on his website or in the contract. If the court is on your side, they will help you get the money faster.

June 22, 2017, 12:36

The peak of charter delays occurs in the summer, when the masses of vacationers move to warmer climes. Sitting on suitcases at the airport is one of the nightmares of our tourists. PROturizm has collected a minimum of advice on the correct perception of this problem.

When the unpleasant inscription “flight delayed” appears on the scoreboard, the main thing is not to panic. It's always a good idea to have a representative (airline or airport) come out to meet you and explain what's going on.

Reasons for charter flight delays

There are various reasons for flight delays. Sometimes the airport and the airline have different data. To determine the exact cause, the courts make inquiries to the weather and other airport services.

• Non-arrival of the aircraft
• Aircraft breakdown
• Weather (weather) conditions

If the flight is delayed for reasons beyond the control of the airline, you will not be able to receive material compensation. But in any case, the airline is obliged to provide you with certain amenities while waiting for the flight.

This is where the first difficulties come - it is not profitable for airlines to admit, and passengers do not know their rights. So - the flag is in our hands, more precisely FAP - federal aviation rules.

Obligations of the airline in case of flight delay

The first thing an air carrier (or airport) has to do is to inform passengers about the change in the schedule and the reasons for the change. This is evidenced by paragraph 92 of the FAP (Federal Aviation Rules).

If the airline does not notify passengers and a representative cannot be found, you can complain about charter carriers to the Federal Air Transport Agency and tour operators. The first, as they are the parent organization of the airline. The second - as having concluded a contract for charter transportation, now they are responsible to passengers for the services provided.

What should I do if my charter flight is delayed?

If you intend to make a claim, you will receive a certificate of flight delay (cancellation). On the boarding pass the present time of departure must be indicated (by hand) and stamped.

If, while waiting for a flight, you are not provided with mandatory services, buy them yourself, save your receipts and present the costs for reimbursement to your tour operator, and he will deal with the charter carrier. Take into account that monetary compensation can only be obtained if the carrier's fault in the flight delay is proven. In Russia, the amount of compensation for a flight delay is set at 25% of the minimum wage for each hour of delay, but not more than 50% of the ticket price.

Passenger rights in case of flight delay

According to paragraph 99 of the above air rules, in case of a flight delay, passengers with children under 7 years of age are required to provide a room for mother and child, and for the rest, organize luggage storage.

After two hours of waiting, air passengers at the expense of the airline are entitled to soft drinks and 2 phone calls or the ability to send two e-mails.

So, in case of a flight delay, the airline must provide:

• after 2 hours - soft drinks and 2 phone or email messages,
• after 4 hours - hot meals, and then every 6 hours during the day (or 8 hours at night),
• every 6 hours at night (8 hours during the day) - free hotel accommodation (and delivery to and from it).

Unfortunately, for charters, rescheduling flights for up to 10 hours is acceptable. If the airline delays the flight for a longer period, the Consumer Rights Protection Law comes into force. Such a flight delay is a significant change in the terms of the contract between the tourist and the tour operator. In case of “loss of a day” of rest, Rospotrebnadzor comes to the defense of the Consumer and you can receive compensation.

What you need to know about charter flight delays

Different types of liability are shared by carriers of scheduled and charter flights. In the latter case, the tour operator who chartered the aircraft is responsible for the transportation, and not the carrier itself.

For any reason for a flight delay, the air carrier is obliged to provide the passenger with the opportunity to call, refreshments, hot meals, and hotel accommodation within a certain period of time.

The first thing you need to do is get a flight delay stamp at the check-in desk. Then, if you are not provided with the necessary “amenities” in due time, you can, as a last resort, order them yourself and then present checks for payment to the airline or tour operator. Here, disassembly can bring you to court, but often it doesn’t come to that, and claims are considered by the offending party in a pre-trial order.

You can file a claim within six months from the date of the flight, and the airline (tour operator) must consider it within 30 days.

The consequences of flight delays

Since the beginning of the season, the tourist community has been solving problems with the transfer and cancellation of VIM-Avia flights. In the case of charters, the responsibility for transporting vacationers to the place of rest passes to the customer of the transportation, that is, the tour operator.