The only airport in Budapest, the capital of Hungary, is called Budapest Liszt Ferenc International Airport. It is Hungary’s largest and busiest airport, handling over 12 million passengers in 2023. Unfortunately, airlines can sometimes run late or even cancel their flights. So what are your rights to compensation?
European Regulation 261/2004 protects air passengers in the event of cancellation or delay of your flight under certain conditions.
This European regulation applies to passengers taking a flight departing from a European Union country and Norway, Iceland and Switzerland.
For flights departing from the UK, the British authorities have announced that they are maintaining the same compensation conditions as before brexit. For the time being, therefore, “UK rights reflect current EU rights”, says the European Consumers’ Organisation.
My flight is delayed. What compensation can I claim?
Your flight is delayed if you arrive at your final destination at least 3 hours later than the initial scheduled time. You will then be entitled to compensation.
The calculation of the compensation due in the event of delay depends on the distance of your flight. The longer the distance, the greater the compensation.
The amount of compensation for delay is :
– 250€ for flights of up to 1,500 kilometres.
– 400€ for flights between 1500 and 3500 kilometres.
– 600€ for flights over 3,500 kilometres, provided they are at least 4 hours late (the amount is reduced to 300€ for a delay of between 3 and 4 hours).
However, you will not receive any compensation for such delays if you were informed of the delay to your flight at least 2 weeks before departure or if the airline can prove that the cancellation of the flight was due to exceptional circumstances (extraordinary events such as a volcanic eruption, flooding, earthquake, etc.).
Do you need help? Contact Airhelp to help you deal with flight delays and compensation.
My flight is cancelled, what compensation can I claim?
If your flight is cancelled, you are entitled to meals and drinks, accommodation if your flight does not take off the same day, and also two telephone calls, two faxes or two e-mails.
You also have the right to choose between reimbursement of your ticket or another flight to your final destination under comparable transport conditions.
For your loss, you are also entitled to compensation of :
- 250€ for flights of up to 1500 kilometres.
Be careful, for an UK flight cancellation, the flight distance can be under 1500 km or above 1500 km according to your starting point. - 400€ for flights between 1500 and 3500 kilometres, UK flight cancellation
- 600€ for flights over 3,500 kilometres, provided you are at least 4 hours late (300€ for a delay of between 3 and 4 hours).
You will not receive compensation in the following cases:
– If you were informed of the cancellation of your flight at least 2 weeks before departure.
– If the departure of the proposed replacement flight is brought forward by less than 2 hours or the arrival is delayed by less than 4 hours.
– If the airline proves that the cancellation is due to exceptional circumstances (extraordinary events such as volcanic eruption, flooding, civil war, earthquake, etc.).
Airline rebooking or cancellation problems: what should you do immediately?
If you are the victim of a flight cancellation or delay, here are the steps you need to take quickly to assert your rights:
– Keep your boarding pass, which will serve as proof when you claim your compensation.
– At the airport, demand written confirmation of the flight cancellation or delay from the ground staff of the airline responsible, if possible specifying the circumstances. If the employee refuses to issue this document, take photos of the notice board showing the situation of your flight and ask other passengers for testimonials in writing.
– Keep all your payment receipts (hotel, taxi, meals, etc.) while you were waiting for your flight.
– Contact the airline that was actually going to operate the flight. Note: it may be a different airline from the one that sold the flight. On your booking, check which airline has the words “operated by”.
– If you travel with several successive airlines, you will have to take action against the airline that operated the flight during which the incident (delay, cancellation, etc.) occurred, unless one of the airlines has contacted you to declare itself responsible for the entire journey.
– Use your airline’s online form to claim your compensation, and don’t hesitate to take a screenshot to keep proof of your claim.
Nevertheless, we wish you a great flight to Budapest !
