Cancellation of European flights (Covid-19) - Your questions, our answers - Advice - UFC-Que Choisir

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Your questions, our answers

The health crisis has led to the cancellation of many so-called "European" flights. Airlines sometimes refund, but most passengers end up with no refund or with unusable credits. You bought a plane ticket without any other travel service (car rental, accommodation, etc.) and you want to know your rights. Our answers to your main questions.

Good to know

You can take advantage of EC regulation no. 261/2004:

I bought a ticket for a flight via an intermediary on the Internet (Expedia, Lastminute, Travel2be, etc.). My flight was canceled due to Covid. Who should refund me the price of my ticket: the airline or the intermediary?

The airline should refund you. In practice, it is true that the air carrier may have difficulty identifying you since the payments come from the intermediary. Nevertheless, at the time of confirmation of your reservation, references were communicated to you. To do this, provide the airline with all the useful references.

→Consult the standard letter: Covid 19 – Flight canceled by the airline – Ticket refund request

In 2020, my flight was canceled by the airline. The latter imposed a credit note on me which is about to expire. Can I claim a refund of this credit?

In defiance of the legislation in force, many companies have imposed credit notes on passengers. Remember that EC Regulation n° 261/2004 provides that the traveler must have the choice between a cash refund and a credit note.

If the carrier has canceled the flight and has imposed a credit on you which is about to expire, this must be refunded to you in full by the carrier within 14 days of its expiry date.

→Consult the standard letter: Request for reimbursement of an unused credit

Following the cancellation by the airline of my flight in 2020, it imposed a credit note on me. However, given the health situation, I do not wish to travel again. Can I claim a refund of my credit?

Many companies have imposed credit notes on their passengers, in defiance of the legislation in force. However, EC Regulation n° 261/2004 provides that the traveler must have the choice between a cash refund and a credit note.

Given the current context, if you do not want to travel again and therefore use this credit, you can demand a refund. Be aware that the air carrier must reimburse you in full.

→Consult the standard letter: Request for reimbursement of an unused credit

In 2020, my flight was canceled by the airline. The latter imposed a credit note on me. I used this credit when booking a new flight which itself was cancelled. Can I claim a refund and not a credit note for this new plane ticket?

European Regulation EC n° 261/2004 provides that in the event of cancellation of a flight, the airlines must reimburse the passengers concerned. They can nevertheless offer the traveler, with his express agreement, a refund in the form of a credit note.

If you used your credit to book a flight, which was itself cancelled, you can demand a cash refund of the initial credit.

→Consult the standard letter: Request for reimbursement of an unused credit

I had booked a plane ticket for April 2021. Following the reconfinement, I canceled my reservation. Can I get a refund for the plane ticket?

In principle, under the applicable regulations in this case, the carrier is not required to reimburse you, as long as the flight has been maintained.

However, given the current context, and following the recommendations of the European Commission, some companies have implemented a commercial policy that allows passengers to either modify their reservations or obtain a credit note.

We therefore invite you to contact the company or to consult its general conditions of sale and its communications on its site in order to know your rights.

You can also refer to the clauses of the travel cancellation insurance contract if you have taken out one. Similarly, if you paid by credit card, check whether this reason for cancellation is provided for under the insurance provided by the issuer of the means of payment, for example Visa.

With the airline, if you maintain your decision to cancel, you can only claim a refund of the airport tax.

→Consult the standard letter: Air transport – Reimbursement of airport tax

I have booked a flight but, given the current health situation which is still fragile after deconfinement, I wish to cancel it. Can I get a refund of the plane ticket?

In principle, under the applicable regulations, you cannot demand a refund of your ticket from the airline, as long as the flight is maintained.

However, given the current context, and following the recommendations of the European Commission, some companies have implemented a commercial policy that allows passengers to either modify their reservations or obtain a credit note.

We therefore invite you to contact the company or to consult its general conditions of sale and its communications on its site in order to know your rights.

You can also refer to the clauses of the travel cancellation insurance contract if you have taken out one. Similarly, if you paid by credit card, check whether this reason for cancellation is provided for under the insurance provided by the issuer of the means of payment, for example Visa.

With the airline, if you maintain your decision to cancel, you can only claim a refund of the airport tax.

→Consult the standard letter: Air transport – Reimbursement of airport tax

In case of difficulties, do not hesitate to contact your local UFC-Que Choisir association.

I booked a flight, but the country of destination is subject to health measures. I want to cancel it. Can I get a refund for the plane ticket?

In this case, the carrier is not required to reimburse you.

If the flight is maintained, regardless of the health restrictions of the country of destination, you cannot automatically demand a refund.

However, given the current context, and following the recommendations of the European Commission, some companies have implemented a commercial policy that allows passengers to either modify their reservations or obtain a credit note.

We therefore invite you to contact the company or to consult its general conditions of sale and its communications on its site in order to know your rights.

You can also refer to the clauses of the travel cancellation insurance contract if you have taken out one. Similarly, if you paid by credit card, check whether this reason for cancellation is provided for under the insurance provided by the issuer of the means of payment, for example Visa.

If you maintain your decision to cancel, you can only claim a refund of the airport tax.

→Consult the standard letter: Air transport – Reimbursement of airport tax

I booked a flight. If I test positive for Covid-19 before departure, can I obtain a refund of the plane ticket?

In principle, the regulations in force do not allow you to demand a refund of your ticket with the airline, as long as the flight is maintained.

However, given the current context, and following the recommendations of the European Commission, some companies have implemented a commercial policy that allows passengers to either modify their reservations or obtain a credit note.

We therefore invite you to contact the company or to consult its general conditions of sale and its communications on its site in order to know your rights.

You can also refer to the clauses of the travel cancellation insurance contract if you have taken out one. Similarly, if you paid by credit card, check whether this reason for cancellation is provided for under the insurance provided by the issuer of the means of payment, for example Visa.

If you maintain your decision to cancel, you can only claim a refund of the airport tax.

→Consult the standard letter: Air transport – Reimbursement of airport tax

I booked a flight using holiday vouchers. The flight was canceled by the airline which refuses the refund due to the method of payment. Does she have the right?

No, you can demand a full refund of the amount of your ticket from the air carrier.

It is the total amount of the plane ticket that must be reimbursed, regardless of the means of payment.

The refund of the full price of the ticket is due within 7 days of the passenger's request.

→Consult the standard letter: Flight canceled by the airline – Request for reimbursement of a ticket paid for using holiday vouchers

I booked a flight and a hotel night separately. The flight was canceled by the company and the plane ticket was refunded to me. But the hotelier refuses to reimburse me. Is this normal?

The flight having been cancelled, you were unable to get there and therefore benefit from your reservation.

However, if the flight and the hotel night were the subject of two completely independent reservations, the hotelier is not obliged to reimburse you. The hotel's cancellation conditions will apply, or those of the cancellation insurance contract if you have taken out one. Similarly, if the accommodation was booked using a payment card, according to the guarantees of the card's insurance contract, you can claim a refund from your bank.

The situation could be different if the purchase of the plane ticket was combined with the purchase of another travel service (car rental, accommodation, etc.). In this case, you could obtain compensation based not on the European regulations but on the Tourism Code. The same applies if the professional with whom you made the flight reservation has transmitted your name, address and bank details to a second professional and a contract is concluded with the second seller within 24 hours of receipt of confirmation of the contract concluded with the first.

Note: you can consider an appeal against the airline when the cancellation of the flight is not due to extraordinary circumstances.

Indeed, it should be remembered that EC Regulation n° 261/2004 provides that when a flight is canceled by the airline, the carrier must either reimburse or reroute the passenger. The airline must also pay a fixed compensation when the cancellation is not due to extraordinary circumstances, according to the following scale:

In addition, you can demand that the carrier pay you, in addition to the fixed compensation, additional compensation. It is then necessary to justify the amount of your financial loss.

Please note that Covid is currently still considered a case of extraordinary circumstances.

→Consult the standard letter: Request for reimbursement of expenses – Flight cancellation

I realize that I misspelled my name when booking my flight on the booking platform. I want to correct the error on the tickets, but the airline or intermediary wants to charge me a fee. Is this normal?

If you misspell your name, it may prevent you from boarding the flight. Indeed, the name on the ticket must correspond to the one on the identity document that you will present at the airport. At the time of booking, whether with the carrier or via a platform, the professional must draw attention to the name entered for the booking.

It is therefore necessary to make the necessary changes to avoid being denied boarding. In practice, booking platforms will apply fees to reissue your ticket with the name corresponding to your passport or identity card.

As this practice is not regulated, it is legal. Nevertheless, the professional must inform you of the existence of these costs. In practice, this information appears in the general conditions of sale. Consider consulting them.

The mistake can cost you dearly and buying a new ticket can sometimes be more economical.

I made a flight reservation on a booking platform. I realize that I have been sampled twice. How to be reimbursed?

You have the right to demand reimbursement of the undue debit. To do this, send a registered letter with acknowledgment of receipt to the platform.

On the other hand, be vigilant if, following a malfunction of the website, you think that your reservation has failed and you have made a new reservation. Indeed, if both reservations are confirmed, you will have difficulty obtaining a refund, unless you can prove the malfunction, which, in practice, can be complicated.

To check if one or two reservations have been recorded, check your emails. Indeed, the professional must confirm your reservation without undue delay by email. If you have only received one confirmation when you have been debited twice, you can claim a refund.

Can I claim compensation if my flight is delayed or canceled due to an air transport strike?

If, because of this strike, your flight has been canceled or suffered a delay of more than 3 hours on arrival, you can claim a refund of the ticket. Indeed, according to the Court of Justice of the European Union, a delay of more than 3 hours on arrival is treated as a cancellation.

In this case, European regulations provide in principle for the payment of an additional lump sum. However, this compensation is not due if the air carrier proves that the cancellation or the long delay is due to extraordinary circumstances which could not have been avoided even if all reasonable measures had been taken.Certain cases of strike were considered extraordinary circumstances. This was the case, for example, during the air traffic controllers' strike. On the other hand, the strike by the airline's staff does not exonerate the carrier from its obligation to pay the lump sum compensation.

→Consult the standard letter: Airplane delay – Delay of more than 3 hours departing from the European Union or due to a Community carrier

Good to know: weather conditions preventing take-off may exempt the air carrier from paying the additional fixed compensation.

For non-European flights

When your flight is not considered a European flight, you cannot take advantage of the EC regulation. You should review the contract with the airline to determine your rights and obligations. Do not hesitate to contact your local UFC-Que Choisir association.

Read also

In case of difficulty, do not hesitate to contact your local UFC-Que Choisir association.

Julia Le Roux

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