EXPLAINER: Am I entitled to compensation if my flight is cancelled or delayed this summer?

With summer holiday season in full swing, many of us will unfortunately face the dreaded stress of delayed or cancelled flights as we head abroad over the coming months. Thankfully, Irish passengers can be entitled to some compensation when it comes to delayed or cancelled flights.

Irish citizens are protected under European Law when it comes to certain instances of delays or cancellations of flights. This law applies to all passengers departing from an EU or EEA airport. It also applies to passengers departing from an airport outside of Europe but arriving here on an EU/EEA licensed carrier.

However, the law does not apply to anyone how hasn't confirmed their reservation in time or presented themselves for check-in at the time specified by the airline.

Cancellations

If you're unlucky enough that your flight is cancelled, you need not despair as you are entitled to a choice of a refund of the cost of your ticket within seven days, be re-routed to your final destination at the earliest opportunity, or be re-routed at a later date at your convenience. You could also be entitled to compensation, dependent on the situation. 

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If you choose a refund and are entitled to compensation, the amount you receive depends on your flight. 

There are a number of reasons why you would not be entitled to compensation if your flight was delayed such as if your airline can prove that the cancellation was caused by extraordinary circumstances which couldn't be avoided. Some of these extraordinary circumstances include weather conditions, security risks, industrial disputes or air traffic control restrictions.

You're also not entitled to compensation if you received at least 2 weeks' notice of the cancellation or you received between 2 weeks and 7 days' notice but were offered an alternative flight which departed no more than 2 hours before your original departure time and arrived at your final destination less than 4 hours after your original scheduled time of arrival. 

You would also not be entitled to compensation if you received less than 7 days' notice but were offered an alternative flight departing no more than 1 hour before your original departure time and arriving at your final destination less than 2 hours after your original scheduled time of arrival.

Delays

When it comes to flight delays and compensation, there are two main factors considered - the distance of the route and the length of the delay. 

Cases that are covered by the law include delays of 2 hours or more on flights of 1,500km or less, delays of 3 hours or more on all flights within the EU of more than 1,500km and all other flights between 1,500km and 3,500km. As well as this, delays of 4 hours or more in the case of all other flights are also covered. 

If the flight is delayed by at least 5 hours, passengers must be offered a refund of their ticket instead of flying. According to Citizens Information: "a refund is a full refund of the ticket for the part or parts of the journey you have not made and for the part or parts you already made if the flight is no longer serving any purpose to your original travel plan."

If needed, this also includes a return flight to the first point of departure at the earliest opportunity. 

As in the case with cancellations, if an airline can prove that the delay was caused by an extraordinary circumstance and couldn't be avoided then no compensation is payable.