EC Regulation 261/2004 Do you know your rights?

What’s the goal of European Regulation on air passenger rights?

The European regulation protects travelers from issues related to extended waiting, cancellation and denied boarding.
The European Parliament and his Council have set up common rules on compensation and assistance to passengers in case of denied boarding, flight cancellation or extended delay.

This Regulation has also established a compensation system as a basic protection for air passengers, with the purpose of incentivizing airlines to avoid such inconveniences.
The Regulation applies in the following cases:

• Flights with departure from EU airport and arrival to EU airport
• Flights with departure from EU airport and arrival to non-EU airport
• Flights with departure from non-EU airport and arrival to EU airport operated by EU airlines.

Issues related to the flights that allow to be entitled to a compensation can be summarized as follow:

• Delays of more than 3 hours
• Cancellations notified less than 14 days before the departure date

The amount of compensation does not depend on the price of the ticket, but only on the flight’s itinerary in terms of km, as follows:

• 250 euros for flight’s itineraries lower 1500 km
• 400 euros for flight’s itineraries included between 1500 km and 3500 km
• 600 euros for flight’s itineraries higher than 3500 km