How to claim if your flight is delayed by more than three hours

The sheer volume of air traffic nowadays means it is unlikely that everything goes smoothly all the time. It is a fact of life that we sometimes shrug off without realising that there could be compensation for the discomfort.

The European Union introduced a regulation in 2004 called EC261 which provides common rules for compensation.

It states that all air passengers must be financially compensated if their flight is cancelled, overbooked, downgraded or delayed by more than three hours, unless the delay was caused by extraordinary circumstances beyond the airline’s control.

It applies to flights arriving and departing from the EU, Iceland, Norway or Switzerland. Compensation ranges from €250 to €600 per passenger and varies according to the distance and length of delay to your final destination.

Customer care while you wait should include refreshments, food, accommodation if rebooked to the next day, transport to your accommodation and access to telephone calls.

There are some sources you can turn to for help in establishing your rights and claiming compensation. Flightrights.ie, which falls under the Commission for Aviation Regulations, helps consumers register a complaint with the airline concerned and will follow up if a reply is not received in adequate time.

A number of commercial services help passengers establish if disruption, delays or cancellations to their flights are covered by the legislation.

They are: Airhelp. com">Airhelp.com, bottonline.co.uk, and refund.me. They will assist people in making a claim and if successful will take a fee of up to 25 per cent. If there is no valid claim, there will be no charge.

You enter the details of your flight on the websites and they will quickly be able to tell you if it qualifies for compensation. Payment, when received from the airline, is credited to you.

Read the regulations here: http://bit.ly/1AFKMzK

jscales@irishtimes.com