Passenger Rights During Airport Disruptions. What Do Passengers Need to Know?
The Lithuanian Transport Safety Administration (LTSA) is receiving passenger complaints related to flight disruptions caused by smuggling balloon activities. To help passengers understand their rights, LTSA provides the following information on what travelers need to know when flights are delayed or cancelled, or when airport operations are otherwise disrupted. Airlines are exempt from paying compensation under Article 7 of Regulation 261/2004 if the flight irregularities were caused by extraordinary circumstances.
LTSA Civil Aviation Division Advisor Gediminas Kisielis notes that, in case law regarding extraordinary circumstances, an event is defined as one which, by its nature or cause of occurrence, is not inherent in the air carrier’s normal operations and which the carrier cannot actually control. Such events as smuggling balloons, which disrupt airport operations, meteorological conditions that prevent the safe execution of a flight, and air traffic control restrictions are beyond the air carriers’ control and should be considered extraordinary circumstances.
Caring for passengers is mandatory
In cases where airport operations are suspended and flights are not carried out (i.e., they are cancelled or rescheduled for another day), passengers must be offered re-routing under comparable transport conditions. The responsibility for the passengers lies with the air carrier that was supposed to perform the flights or their representative (usually ground handling companies contracted by the air carriers).
If the flight is delayed and the passenger has to wait for re-routing at the same airport, the passenger must be provided with meals, considering the waiting time and the distance of the planned journey. In cases where the new flight is postponed until the following day, passengers must be provided with accommodation and transportation between the airport and the place of accommodation.
What to do if your flight is diverted to a different airport due to the planned airport's closure?
In such cases, the air carrier or the air carrier's representative (e.g., ground handling service provider) must organize passenger transportation back to the planned airport. The journey can be planned to use the same aircraft or other appropriate means, such as flights by different aircraft, buses, or trains.
If the waiting time for the journey to the originally planned airport exceeds two hours, the air carrier must ensure catering for the passengers. If the journey is rescheduled for the following day, the air carrier is obliged to provide accommodation and transportation between the airport and the place of accommodation (both ways).
In cases where the air carrier does not provide care for passengers or refuses to do so.
If the air carrier fails or refuses to provide care for passengers as stipulated in Regulation 261/2004, passengers may arrange for the services themselves. This means they can find the fastest possible re-routing option, arrange for food and refreshments, and secure accommodation along with transportation between the airport and the place of accommodation (and back).
The passenger can later request reimbursement for these expenses from the air carrier. It is important to save all proof of payment, including receipts and invoices, which must later be submitted to the air carrier as evidence of the expenses incurred.
The air carrier is obliged to inform passengers of their rights.
In all cases of flight disruptions (refusal to carry, flight cancellation, flight delays of at least two hours, or flight diversion to another airport), the air carrier must immediately inform passengers of their rights. Communication with passengers can be conducted through electronic or written means (e.g., a leaflet).
Reimbursement of expenses and submission of complaints
For expenses incurred, passengers must first contact the air carrier that performed the flight. The air carrier must provide a response within 2 months. If the air carrier fails to provide a response after this deadline or if the response received is unsatisfactory to the passenger, only then can a complaint be submitted to the national enforcement body—the Lithuanian Transport Safety Administration (LTSA).
It is important to know that LTSA reviews passenger complaints in cases where the flight was planned to be operated / was operated from an airport located in the Republic of Lithuania, or if the flight was operated from an airport located in a third country to the Republic of Lithuania, and the flight was carried out by an EU air carrier.
If the flight was operated from an EU Member State and was diverted to another airport, the complaint must be submitted to the national enforcement body of the country of departure.
If passengers travelled from a third country to an EU Member State and the flight was operated by a non-EU air carrier, Regulation 261/2004 does not apply. In this case, passengers must contact the Civil Aviation Authority of the country of departure for possible redress of their rights.