Air travel is quite rightly the fastest and one of the most comfortable ways to get anywhere on the planet. Aircraft fly over significant distances and reach speeds significantly higher than those of vehicles or trains. This opportunity is used for vacation trips, business trips and for many other purposes. However, even in the most accurate and thoughtful flight schedule, there are discrepancies due to which flights are delayed or cancelled. In such situations, it is important to receive information about the cancellation of an airplane flight as early as possible.

What does flight cancellation mean?

A flight can be canceled a few days or a few minutes before departure, it all depends on the circumstances. It also happens that the flight was first delayed, and then completely cancelled. The first half of last year was record-breaking in terms of flight delays and cancellations. In Russia alone there were 336 of them, and around the world about 4.5 million people suffered from such situations.

Every passenger can face a flight cancellation. This becomes a particularly serious problem for people who fly on connecting flights. If passengers whose direct flights are canceled simply do not reach their destination, then holders of tickets for connecting flights will lose the opportunity to transfer to another aircraft in time.

It is understandable that the news of a flight cancellation causes panic and anger among passengers. Some will not get to important business negotiations, some will have relatives waiting for them, and some will have to lose precious days of vacation on their vacation package. But there’s definitely no need to panic in such circumstances, because passengers’ rights include receiving compensation. True, there are a lot of nuances here, primarily related to the reason for the cancellation.

Possible reasons for flight cancellations

Flights are canceled for a variety of reasons, but they all fall into two categories. The first includes those that arose due to the fault of the air carrier, the second includes force majeure circumstances for which the airline is not to blame.

Important! Compensation can only be received if the flight is canceled due to the fault of the carrier.

Due to the airline's fault

The first question that arises when a flight is canceled is what to do in this situation. First, you need to find out exactly the reason for the cancellation of your flight. The airline is found guilty of cancellation due to:

• Inconsistencies in the schedule.
• Untimely preparation for the flight (lateness of the crew, late cleaning of the cabin).
• Overbooking – selling more tickets than the actual number of seats on the plane.
• Unprofitability of the flight.

This also includes any situations in which the carrier is not able to prove his innocence and explain the circumstances that prevent him from fulfilling his duties.

Force majeure

The following are not considered the airline's fault:

• Natural disasters (floods, snow drifts, fires).
• Weather conditions unsuitable for flight.
• Military operations and the introduction of martial law.
• Airliner malfunctions that may threaten the life and health of passengers.
• Introduction of restrictions on air travel or its termination in certain directions.

Due to weather conditions

Modern airliners are able to withstand various natural disasters. But still, there are conditions that jeopardize flight safety. For example, the plane will not fly during a hurricane, tornado or blizzard. In such a situation, the flight is usually delayed if the weather is expected to improve, but may well be canceled if such improvements do not occur for a long time. The same goes for severe thunderstorms.

One of the reasons preventing an airplane from taking off, as well as landing, is limited visibility. This is usually associated with heavy fog or snowfall. Pilots decide to land at a certain altitude. But if from such a distance landing strip is not visible, or it is icy and does not provide the necessary grip on the landing gear, the pilot will not land the plane. If the airline knows in advance that such conditions exist at the arrival airport, the flight is cancelled.

Important! Each air carrier has its own rules regarding weather conditions. That is why, given the same weather, some aircraft fly on schedule, while others wait for more suitable weather.

Other reasons

There are often technical reasons for flight cancellations. Like any other vehicle, the aircraft is not insured against malfunctions. Basically we are talking about minor breakdowns, since the condition of airliners is carefully monitored between flights. If the problem is not too serious and can be fixed quickly enough, the flight will simply be delayed. If it turns out that the breakdown will affect safety or requires lengthy repairs, cancellation of the flight is possible.

The reasons for flight cancellation can be more exotic. Thus, at one time, one of the Luxembourg airlines was forced to cancel and delay a huge number of flights due to a hacker attack on the computer check-in system. In the USA, a similar situation occurred due to a failure of the power supply system.

How to find out about a flight cancellation

A passenger may find out that their flight has been cancelled, either in advance or after arriving at the airport. It depends on what you need to do and where to go in this case. If there are changes in the flight schedule in advance, regardless of the reasons, the company will inform you about this a few days before departure.

Such information is sent to the passenger in the form of SMS or email. This notice usually contains a link to a section of the website where alternative flights are offered. The passenger needs to follow this link, indicate his booking code in the field that appears and make a choice from the offered flights. Help in choosing can be obtained from the air carrier’s call center.

Important! The new flight chosen by the passenger may differ from the original one in a number of parameters: the number of connections, their availability, date. However, the ticket price should not be higher than the previous figure.

If there is no suitable option among the options offered by the airline, the passenger has the right to issue an involuntary ticket refund. Money paid for a travel document for a canceled flight must be refunded in full.

Features of forced return on flights with transfers

Forced return on indirect flights has its own characteristics:

• For flights booked with one ticket, the entire cost is refunded.
• If only the second part of the flight for which one ticket was issued did not take place, the company offers another option, or must return the money for the canceled flight, as well as deliver the passenger to the departure point.
• If a connecting flight was paid for on separate tickets, the law obliges the carrier to refund money exclusively for the canceled flight. The remaining tickets will be returned as per standard procedure.

Registration of a forced return begins with filling out a special form on the company’s Internet resource or sending an application by email. In such a letter you should indicate your data, including passport numbers, ticket, reservation, flight numbers, as well as the date of departure. You need to enter your phone number and details of the card to which payments will be transferred.

For passengers who learn about the flight cancellation after arriving at the airport, there are two options: choose an alternative flight or return your ticket and receive a refund. You should begin the ticket return procedure by searching for an airline representative who will boarding pass flight cancellation stamp.

Compensation for flight cancellation

Next, a refund application is submitted. If the carrier has a representative office at the airport, you can submit your application there. In other cases, you will have to send a copy of your stamped boarding pass, ticket and statement to the company's address, which should clearly indicate the reason.

Important! Having learned about a flight delay, you can take a photo of the board with the relevant information or a screenshot of the carrier’s website. In the future, this data will be needed to prove the validity of the return requests.

You can receive compensation for a canceled flight only if it was due to the fault of the air carrier. In other cases, the company is not responsible to passengers.

You can apply for compensation for a canceled flight in Russia within six months from the date of the canceled flight. The airline's responsibility is to consider the issue 30 days in advance and make a decision no later than this period. But the law says nothing about the terms of refund. This usually takes 2-6 months.

Even if the ticket was purchased at a travel agency, the claim should be filed with the air carrier. However Travel Company can act as a mediator in solving this problem. Some agencies include insurance against flight delays or non-departures in the price of the travel document.

When to go to court

If the airline does not respond to the submitted claim within the established time frame and does not satisfy the demands of the applicant whose flight was cancelled, then the passenger has the right to appeal to the judicial authorities. You can file a claim at the following place:

• Location of the company's head office, representative office, and branch.
• Conclusion or execution of a contract.
• Place of residence or stay of the plaintiff.

Filing a lawsuit is possible within 3 years from the date of the failed flight.

The application must be accompanied by a certain package of documentation, including:

• A copy of the ticket with a note about the cancellation of the flight.
• Bills for forced hotel accommodation, meals, telephone conversations and other expenses that resulted from the cancellation of the flight.
• Documentary evidence of moral and material damage incurred due to the fault of the air carrier.
• A written claim submitted to the carrier, with proof of its sending and receipt by the addressee.

If the airline gave a written response to the applicant, refusing to pay compensation, this paper must also be submitted to the court. You will need to bring your original ticket to the meeting.

Important! It is worth filing a claim against the air carrier only if attempts to resolve the issue amicably have clearly failed.

Regulations in Europe and the USA

In the European Union, slightly different rules apply:

• If the airline has notified the passenger 14 days in advance that the flight has been cancelled, the passenger may receive a full refund, but will not be entitled to claim compensation.
• If informed later, the passenger is entitled to a payment of 250-600 euros (depending on the distance of the flight).
• In case of overbooking, compensation and funds spent on the ticket are paid.
• Compensation is paid if the selected alternative flight is delayed by more than an hour compared to the time specified on the original ticket (in case of overbooking).

Companies pay compensation if they cannot prove that everything possible was done to prevent the flight from being cancelled. Payment is credited to your account within seven days.

In the US there is no compensation for flight delays or cancellations. You can only get a refund if you overbook. Each company determines the procedure for canceling a flight independently and prescribes it in the transportation contract.

Responsibilities of the airline in case of flight cancellation

The list of responsibilities of the air carrier that canceled the flight also depends on its country of origin. In the Russian Federation, passengers can count on:

• Free drinks after 2 hours of waiting for departure, hot meals after 4 hours. hotel provision - after 6 hours at night or 8 hours during the day;
• Compensation in the amount of 25 rubles per hour of delay, but within half the ticket price.
• Compensation for losses in case of flight cancellation due to the fault of the carrier.
• Receiving a ticket for another flight offered by the company without additional payments.
• Cancellation of the flight and refund of the full cost of the ticket.

On international flights The provisions of the Montreal Convention and the EU Regulation apply.

Important! In Europe, free drinks and meals are also provided, as well as hotel services.

An involuntary return is possible after receiving drinks and food, as well as hotel accommodation. You will not have to pay the cost of services provided. To process a refund, the passenger must initially appear for check-in and boarding, otherwise the money will not be returned due to no-show for the flight.

Flights usually depart as scheduled, but flight cancellations may occur. This may happen due to the fault of the air carrier or due to force majeure circumstances. A passenger who purchased a ticket for a flight that did not take place has the right to receive compensation. However, there are a lot of nuances here, ranging from the cause of the situation to the passenger’s decision to use alternative options offered by the company.

Canceling plane flights can only cause negativity. But an experienced tourist knows how to benefit from this event and find a bunch of advantages. The main thing is not to despair. In order to save your nerves and not incur losses, but to receive compensation, it is important to know what to do if your flight is cancelled, the rights of passengers and the responsibilities of the carrier. After all, this may not be the last time.

This situation happens quite often. Therefore, airlines have a clear mechanism of action to avoid conflicts with passengers and fines, court payments for material and moral damages.

Return money or wait

Airlines are commercial entities interested in customers. The third party to the air transportation business in Russia is the state, and in Europe it is legislation that controls and regulates the quality of the services provided. Therefore, airlines are interested in ensuring that passengers receive positive emotions from their trips and that there are no reasons to go to court.

In any dispute, the law is on the side of the service consumer, and a plane ticket is an agreement between the company and the client. According to it, the air carrier is obliged to transport a passenger from one airport to another on schedule. In case of violation of contractual obligations, it is natural for the injured party to want to return the money for the ticket and receive compensation for the damage caused. Especially if the flight was canceled just before departure.

Long wait for flight

In such a situation, it is enough to contact airline representatives and receive qualified assistance and information:

• full information about the reasons why the flight is late or cancelled;
• possible options for further actions - waiting for the next plane, refunding tickets, paying compensation;
• information about what privileges he can use while waiting for his flight;
• a note in the travel document about the delay, cancellation, re-issuance of the flight;
• return Money for an air ticket.

If the airline employees have ignored the fulfillment of the carrier’s obligations, the client must take care of himself in order to later resolve issues of financial and moral damage, through the central office of the company providing air services, or in court.

Check with the airline about your flight arrival

Passenger rights

It is useful for people who decide to continue traveling and are waiting for departure to know what to do if their flight is canceled or delayed and what free services the airline should provide to passengers before boarding the plane:

• if the departure time has changed by 2-4 hours, the passenger should be given refreshing, tonic drinks, 2 phone calls or given the opportunity to send a message;
• travelers with children under 7 years old are accommodated in a mother and child room;
• if the delay exceeds 4 hours, the airline is obliged to feed passengers;
• in cases where the flight is delayed by more than 8 hours during the day or 6 hours at night, the client must be taken to the hotel, ensure his accommodation and delivery to the airport by the time the flight is checked in.

Passengers with children under 7 years old are provided with a mother and child room

These rules are mandatory for Russian, European and Turkish airlines.

American characteristics

In the USA on legislative level no obligations to airlines. American carriers act according to internal rules when unusual situations arise.

Important! In order not to become a hostage to the situation, you need to get an air ticket with a stamp indicating that the flight has been canceled or rescheduled by American Airlines. Based on this document, the passenger takes further actions.

Correct actions when a flight is canceled

Flights can be canceled long before departure, so airlines offer passengers two options:

• Alternative flight to final destination. The flight can be carried out by the same air carrier or a third-party company. In this case, the quality of services must not be lower than that stated on the ticket.
• Refund the full cost of the ticket. There are various options available, depending on the method of purchasing tickets. When purchasing a single air ticket with all transfers, the full cost of the flight is refunded to the client. In cases where tickets were purchased from different companies, money will be refunded for the canceled flight. For example, the flight is canceled by Aeroflot, and the passenger has a transfer “ Turkish Airlines» on a separate ticket to New York. The domestic carrier returns the cost of the ticket to the client, and the rest will have to be returned according to standard rules or try to buy new tickets with a connection.

No need to wait for a convenient flight to take off

It is important to know what to do when a plane flight is canceled and the rules for refunding an air ticket so as not to lose money. You can find out information on the website of the company where you purchased your travel documents, on your tickets, or in the carrier’s instructions.

Rules and procedures must comply with the directives of the Ministry of Transport and the Air Code. They are simple, but few passengers use their rights:

• The client can always cancel the flight 24 hours before departure. It is important to take into account that some air carriers, like Pobeda and other low-cost airlines, offer discounted prices for tickets;
• If canceled in less than 24 hours, the passenger does not receive the full amount back. A fee is deducted from the ticket price. It cannot exceed 25% of the cost of the travel document.

The main rule is to keep your travel document until the end of the trip.

The next recommendation from experienced travelers would be for the traveler to understand the situation and take steps to resolve the situation. If the passenger doesn't do this, no one will worry about it. Airlines benefit when customers are satisfied, but the staff will not take the initiative, because the procedure is prescribed in regulations and instructions. Deviation from the standards entails penalties against the negligent employee. The aviation rules say that the refund of money for a ticket if the client refuses to travel is handled by the direct seller. In other cases, it is necessary to contact representatives of the carrier.

Airlines bear financial responsibility for delivery to passengers, except emergency situations. These include:

• Natural disasters, worsening weather conditions;
• Technical issues;
• Introduction of transportation restrictions at the state level;
• Strikes.

All other situations are considered the carrier's fault. For each case, airline representatives provide passengers with a full report indicating the reason for the failure to fulfill obligations. This is important in order to bring the airline to clean water and deduct from it all unforeseen costs that the tourist incurred as a result of the cancellation or rescheduling of the flight.

Important! To receive a detailed response in writing, you must file a claim and submit it to the airline's legal address with notification of receipt.

For example, it is quite difficult to answer the question under what weather and wind speeds flights are canceled, because many natural factors influence the plane. It is difficult for the passenger to determine on his own whether they relate to force majeure circumstances or not. On average, the maximum wind speed for modern airliners is 17 m/s. But it is problematic to say exactly at what wind flights are canceled, because the calculations take into account its direction, gustsiness and other weather conditions.

The airline is obliged to provide the client with reasons for refusing to fly on time.

Bad weather conditions

Payment amounts

If the carrier could not prove innocence, this means that the flight cancellation was due to the fault of the airline, compensation must be paid:

• in Russia - 3% of the price of the travel document, plus 25% of the minimum wage for each hour of delay;
• in the EU from 125 to 600 euros.

Mostly such delicate issues are resolved pre-trial in EU countries in a maximum of 7 days, but in the Russian Federation clients have to be patient for a couple of months. Passengers of Russian airlines have up to 6 months to file claims. In Europe, cases from 2-6 years ago are accepted for consideration. This period depends on current rules transportation in a specific country.

On international flights, payment issues are regulated by the Montreal Convention. Its participants are more than 120 countries. Since 2018, Russia has joined them. Therefore, if the flight is international, then it does not matter whether Alitalia, Luft Hansa, UTair or another reputable airline operates the flight, payment for damage to the passenger can be estimated at about 6,000 euros. Applications are accepted no later than 2 years from the date of the incident.

Note! If a traveler encounters problems with air carriers, he or she must document the costs associated with the rescheduled or canceled flight.

Distinctive features of charter flights

When canceling or changing the date or time of charter departure, the passenger must contact the direct seller of the flight. This could be a travel agency or another company providing services for transporting passengers to their destination. The procedure for action in the event of force majeure is specified in the service agreement, which the client must follow.

If changes in the charter schedule occur immediately before departure, then you must mark it on your boarding pass. This must be done by a representative of the airline carrying out the transportation. Thus, the passenger receives the right to all compensation and services that the air carrier provides in accordance with current legislation.

In modern conditions, a person must know his rights and responsibilities, even as a passenger. Otherwise, airlines use the slightest chance to profit from transportation. Therefore, before buying a ticket at a favorable price, a tourist is advised to study in detail the terms of service, along with the rights and obligations of the passenger and the carrier.

Compiling ratings of the most punctual airlines is a fairly frequent study by various experts. After all, delays occur regularly. Some of them do not cause any particular inconvenience to passengers, because... are only a few minutes. Others cause serious problems, even leading to the search for new options. However, not everyone knows what to do if their flight is cancelled.

Postponing or removing a flight from your schedule is not so easy. This state of affairs is influenced by several different reasons. It happens that the carrier is not to blame for this. Of course, the passenger deserves a refund for the flight that was canceled. But you shouldn’t rashly blame the airline - first you should clarify the reason why such a problem occurred.

Blame the airline

The air carrier bears full responsibility and is the culprit for canceling the route if:

• The crew was unable to prepare the liner in time or clean it before departure
• The passenger cannot be checked in due to the overbooking system (i.e. when significantly more travel documents have been sold than there are seats on the plane)
• The flight becomes unprofitable for the carrier
• The airline does not have proper evidence and does not explain the reasons for failure to fulfill its obligations

In these cases, experts say, the airline is entirely to blame.

Force majeure

However, there are also situations when the airline would be happy to send the plane, but for one reason or another cannot do so. These include:

• Unsuitable weather conditions - in this case, insisting on the plane taking off is tantamount to a potential attempt to kill all passengers and crew
• Natural disasters, such as tsunamis, floods, volcanic eruptions
• Actions of a military nature
• Introduction of martial law in a particular country
• The emergence of bans and various kinds of restrictions on the transportation of goods in different directions
• Strikes by workers of various enterprises in the aviation sector, affecting flight departures
• Airliner defects that directly affect the safety of passengers

In this case, departure is physically impossible for reasons beyond the control of the air carrier.

Time frame

Flight cancellations are not uncommon. It happens, in some situations, this happens several weeks before the appointed time. Sometimes, and this often happens, a person finds out right at the airport that he will not fly anywhere.

Cancellation a few days in advance

If the airline decides to cancel a flight several days or weeks in advance, it can offer the passenger several different interaction options:

1. Flight of another option: alternatively, it could be another flight of the same carrier, or maybe a flight of another company. In this case, one main condition must be met - the destination must be saved
2. Full refund of the ticket price. When a passenger purchases a ticket with transfers and connections, he must be refunded all the money for all parts of the route. But if the tickets were purchased in different segments separately, you will be able to get a full refund only for the ticket of the company that is canceling the flight

But there are also the following nuances. If a flight is canceled 14 days before the departure date, no refund will be given. If the passenger receives 13 days notice of cancellation, you can expect compensation, but depending on the flight distance.

When replacing a flight within 7-13 days before the first flight with another and canceling the second proposed option, the passenger can demand compensation based on the flight distance and the duration of the delay.

Cancellation at the airport

If the flight is canceled while the passenger is already at the airport, the first thing to do is contact the airline counter for complete information. The carrier is obliged to explain itself to its customers according to the law. If a flight is canceled due to the fault of the airline, the passenger is entitled to compensation.

But you can’t count on any big money. According to the Air Code of the Russian Federation, it will be possible to receive only 25% of the minimum wage, and the amount should not exceed 50% of the ticket price.

When to file a complaint

According to the law, you can file a complaint against the actions of the air carrier within 6 months from the date of flight cancellation.

When will the money be returned?

The airline has 60 days to issue a refund for the ticket. At the same time, no one can name the exact date when the money will arrive in the account - this can happen either 2 weeks after submitting the corresponding application or after 2 months. Moreover, in no way - neither complaints, nor threats, nor appeals to supervisory authorities - will it be possible to speed up the process.

What to do if the charter is canceled

Charter flights are quite popular among carriers. But problems with them occur quite often. Charter flights are not that rare and are rarely cancelled. After all, they depart depending on how full they are - and if the tour operator (namely, he is the organizer of such a tour) was unable to sell enough tickets, then the departure of such a plane would be inappropriate. And it will most likely be cancelled.

In this case, all questions should be addressed specifically to the transportation organizer, and not to the company that provided its aircraft for charter. But often difficulties can arise with such tickets.

What documents to collect for a complaint?

If the airline refuses to receive compensation and does not explain the reasons for canceling the flight, you can collect documents and file a complaint, resolving the issue pre-trial.

Among the documents it is desirable to have:

• A ticket with a flight cancellation stamp on it
• Receipts and checks for expenses that had to be made due to flight cancellation, for example, taking a taxi, etc.
• Letters and invitations if the flight was to take place for an official celebration within the family or with friends, for example, for a wedding, or when flying to a business event

Naturally, you will need to write a statement. Such a claim is presented to a representative of the airline or through the airline’s website. An excellent solution would be to send everything by registered mail with a receipt stamp.

The carrier must review the complaint and provide a response within 30 days. All correspondence should be saved so that if the case cannot be resolved peacefully, it can be used in court.

If the airline refuses to resolve the issue amicably, you should go to court.

03.12.19 21 484 78

And I got 20 times more than I paid for the ticket

I travel by plane often. Over five years of active travel, I have already accumulated 231 flights.

Andrey Kuznetsov

won a lawsuit against the airline

During this time, anything happened: flights were delayed, canceled, rescheduled. Once I had to make a forced refund of tickets due to illness: the plane took off without me, but the money was returned. Usually, airport and airline employees helped resolve the situation.

But in December 2018, the flight I was supposed to fly from Krasnodar to Moscow was first delayed and then completely canceled. The airline staff refused to transfer me to another flight and even ridiculed me for demanding compensation. Then I bought new tickets on my own, and then went to court and won 10,000 RUR.

In this article I will tell you how to act in such a situation.

What happened to the flight

On December 3, 2018, I was supposed to fly from Krasnodar to Moscow on a low-cost airline Pobeda flight. I managed to get a very cheap ticket - for 499 RUR.

499 R

I paid for a flight that was later cancelled.

That day, heavy fog descended on Krasnodar. At the airport, I opened the Flytradar tracker and saw the plane that was supposed to take me away circling over the airport. He was unable to land in Krasnodar and flew to Rostov-on-Don.

10 minutes before the scheduled departure time, the airport announced that the flight would be delayed by an hour, then by another hour. By law, if a flight is delayed, the airline must provide passengers with water after two hours, and food after four hours. And so it happened: first they gave us bottles of water, and then food.

Seven hours later the flight was cancelled. An airline representative invited passengers to sign on the list in order to make an involuntary return of tickets and get their money back. They were promised to be transferred within 30 days.

What is written in the law

When you buy a plane ticket, you automatically enter into a contract of carriage with the airline. Under this contract, the airline agrees to take you to your destination. The airline may terminate the contract on its own initiative in several cases: for example, if a passenger refuses to pay for baggage or is carrying prohibited items.

My flight was canceled due to weather conditions. Weather is not one of the reasons why an airline may terminate a contract. Only passengers have the right to do this. According to Federal Aviation Regulations, in such a situation, passengers have two options:

1. Issue a forced refund of tickets.
2. Wait until the weather improves and the flight can take off.

Involuntary refund is the passenger's right to return the full cost of the ticket in the event of force majeure. After completing the forced return, the contract of carriage is considered terminated. The airline doesn't owe you anything other than the cost of the ticket.

In what cases do you have the right to a forced refund of tickets?

What are the regulatory organizations?

These are supervisory authorities that monitor compliance with the law. They can fine a company that violates it. But they cannot recover money in your favor - only the court decides.

But regulatory organizations can help with filing a claim. And if in their response letter they admit that you are right, this letter can be attached to the claim and used in court.

Rosaviatsia responsible for flight operations. Their answer came first, two weeks after my request. The organization forwarded my complaint to the airline and received a response, which it sent to me by email along with its comment.

The airline’s letter repeated word for word the response to the pre-trial claim, and the Rosaviation’s commentary amounted to a retelling of aviation rules.

I continued correspondence with the Federal Air Transport Agency via the form feedback on the website and bombarded them with questions:

1. Should the airline have carried out the transportation?
2. What is the maximum period for which the hotel is provided?
3. How to understand that the contract has been terminated?
4. Is an airline representative's verbal refusal to provide alternative transportation considered unilateral termination of the contract?
5. How is the passenger notified by law of the termination of the contract?

But the answers did not please me. In one letter they informed me that they would have to provide a hotel in case of flight cancellation. On the other hand, there is no requirement in the legislation to provide alternative transportation. I was unable to support my position in court with the response of the Federal Air Transport Agency. But I learned more about the airline’s argument and used it in preparation for the court hearing.

Prosecutor's office- the highest supervisory body responsible for the observance of human rights and freedoms. The complaint there was in vain: it turned out that the prosecutor's office was only involved in supervising the authorities. In my case there was a dispute between two subjects. I was informed that there were no grounds for taking prosecutorial action, and they recommended that I go to court.

Later, I had to contact the prosecutor’s office again: the last of the organizations, Rospotrebnadzor, did not respond to me for 66 days, although by law they must respond within a month. The answer came only after a complaint about a violation of the response time.

Rospotrebnadzor protects consumer rights in the Russian Federation. From them I received a claim template. Unfortunately, by that time I was already tired of waiting, so I drafted and filed a claim myself, using materials from the Internet.

Filing a claim

I decided to sue myself for two reasons.

The first is for the sake of experience and curiosity. I am a person far from jurisprudence, but I love numbers and official documents, so it was interesting for me to understand them.

The second reason is that I didn’t want to spend money on lawyers. I understood that I was suing a large company, and I was aware of the possibility of losing the case.

If I had turned to lawyers, I might have been able to get more compensation from the airline. But initially I did not set such a goal. The trial was more a matter of principle for me: I wanted to restore justice.

Therefore, I filed the claim myself. In total, this took about 20 hours: I approached the task much more seriously than drawing up a pre-trial claim. In order not to make a mistake anywhere, I re-read the Federal Aviation Regulations and the Air Code twice, and also - it lists the requirements for the content and execution of claims.

In the claim, I indicated that the airline refused to fulfill its obligations under the contract, and demanded compensation for my travel expenses, as well as payment of 50,000 RUR as compensation for moral damages and a fine of 50% of the total amount for refusal to voluntarily satisfy the requirements. In support, I referred to Articles 310 and 793 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, Articles 103, 107 and 120 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, and Articles 13, 15 and 17 of the Law “On the Protection of Consumer Rights”.

I calculated compensation for moral damage as follows: because of I missed 4 days of sick leave - during this time I could have earned approximately 25,000 RUR. But since I not only missed this time, but was sick, I multiplied the amount by two.

When filing an application with the court, you must pay a fee. Its size depends on the cost of the claim. In my case, the claim was exempt from duty, since it was a violation of consumer rights.

Filing a claim

Claims against airlines are considered in two types of courts: district and world. Where to apply depends on the cost of the claim, that is, the losses suffered by the applicant. The district court only considers claims with a price exceeding RUR 50,000. World - all the rest.

This turned out to be a mistake. They didn’t answer me for a whole month, and then they returned the claim. Virtual justice did not work.

I had to take a day off from work and personally file a claim at the reception desk of the magistrate’s court. I found out exactly where to file a claim using the territorial jurisdiction module. The court is located in the city where the defendant is registered, so I entered the legal address of Pobeda into the module.

Before filing the claim, I sent it to the airline by registered mail with an inventory of the contents, and attached the inventory and shipping receipt to the claim. It could have been done differently: not send anything, but make two copies of the claim and submit both to the court. Then the court itself would send the statement of claim to the defendant.

I was told that after the court accepts the claim and schedules a hearing, information about this will appear on the court’s website. This should happen within five working days. If five days have passed and there is no information on the website, you need to call the court and clarify the status of the application.

The very next day I found out on the court’s website that the claim had been registered. And soon I received an SMS with the date of the meeting.

Court

It took three court hearings to defend the truth.

First meeting took place on April 16. At the meeting, the court recommended that I clarify the claims.

Firstly, according to the judge, the cost of a taxi from Krasnodar airport to the station was unreasonable because the case took place during the day. I didn't argue with this.

Secondly, by the time of the meeting, the airline transferred me 698 RUR: 499 RUR for the canceled flight and 199 RUR for the service of choosing a seat in the cabin. This surprised me, because I did not sign the application for forced refund of the ticket. However, now I had to change the claim and demand compensation for the difference in the cost of tickets, and not pay for the flight from Sochi to Moscow.

I drew up a statement to clarify the claims, sent it to the airline and began to wait for a new meeting. The date was set at the end of one. I was given a notice about it against my signature right in the courtroom.

Width="1186" height="594" class="outline-bordered" style="max-width: 1186px; height: auto" data-bordered="true"> In the application for clarification of claims, the following summary table was obtained: deducted from the amount of losses 698 RUR, which the airline transferred to me, and removed one taxi ride

Second meeting took place on April 29. Again, no decision was made: during the meeting, the court secretary clarified on the Russian Post website that the airline had not received a statement to clarify the claims. The case had to be rescheduled. It’s a shame, because at that time the application had been awaiting delivery at the post office for 5 days. The defendant simply did not go to the post office.

Before the third meeting, I decided to take additional evidence that my health had suffered. I went to the clinic, where they convened a medical commission for me and gave me a certificate stating that I was really sick after the failed flight. I don’t know if this influenced the court’s decision, but I think that the sick leave might not have been enough, and I would not have received any compensation.

Third meeting rescheduled twice: first because of judge's vacation, then because of his absence was due to another reason - it was never given to me. As a result, the meeting took place on June 4.

Representatives of the airline were not in court, but they sent their objections. They stated that they allegedly offered me to reissue tickets for the next flight without additional payment, but I refused.

In response, I drew the judge’s attention to the fact that the next flight departed only a day later, and there were no documents for accommodating the “departed” passengers in hotels. He suggested adding dictaphone recordings to the case materials, but the judge said that this was not necessary. Perhaps the recordings would be useful if the defendant were present in court and defended his position.

The judge ruled in my favor. Six months after the failed flight, the court partially satisfied my claims and recovered from the airline:

1. Difference in airfare.
2. Train ticket costs.
3. Taxi costs in Sochi.
4. Cost of telephone calls.
5. Compensation for moral damage in the amount of 5000 RUR.
6. A fine of 50% of the amount of actual costs awarded, excluding compensation for moral damage.

If I had spent money on a lawyer, the defendant would compensate me and these expenses.

In total, the airline paid me 10,535 RUR. This is approximately 20 times more than the cost of the failed flight.

RUB 10,535

the airline paid me for the canceled flight

The court refused to compensate me for another taxi - from the airport to home, as well as food in a cafe near the Krasnodar station on the way to Moscow. I provided receipts from the cafe, but they did not contain information that it was I who paid. It was necessary to take a bank statement with card transactions.

I also forgot to indicate postage costs in the claim - they amounted to about 400 RUR. But despite this and the fact that the compensation for moral damage turned out to be much less than I expected, I was glad. After all the trials, I won.

Performance list

After the trial it's still not over. To recover money, you will need a writ of execution.

To obtain a writ of execution, I needed one more document - a reasoned court decision. By law, it must be completed within five days. But in reality it happens differently - because of Due to the workload of the courts, this may take a year or even more.

I waited a month, after which I decided to file a complaint through the website of the High Qualification Board of Judges - they consider claims against the courts. Three weeks after the appeal, the court announced that the decision was ready. I think that if I had not contacted the panel of judges, I would have had to wait even longer.

I took the reasoned decision and submitted an application to the court reception for the production of a writ of execution. It was given to me within three working days.

Collection

Finally, with the writ of execution in hand, I began the last step. You can recover money through bailiffs or yourself. I knew that the bailiffs were working very slowly, and I decided to act again myself.

To recover money, you need to know which banks the airline has accounts with. This information can be requested from tax office by contacting any department with a written application and a writ of execution.

I found another way: I entered the query “site:pobeda.aero BIC” into Google. The first part of the request is the site on which the search engine will look for information. And BIC is a bank identification code. This abbreviation appears only in the details.

We were able to find the necessary information immediately. I entered the details into the search bar and found many documents on government procurement websites with the name of the airline. I also checked the account through Sberbank Online. The recipient was highlighted - Pobeda Airlines.

I ended up going to another bank where the airline also had an account. There I wrote a free-form application about accepting the writ of execution for execution and indicated my bank details.

The next day after I applied, the money was transferred to me.

Remember

1. Study your rights in advance and do not agree to unprofitable offers, even if the airline says there is no other way.
2. If you find yourself in a similar situation, save all evidence. The more pieces of paper, stamps, conversation records, bank statements, the better. Even if they are not useful in court, you can use them when drawing up a claim.
3. Print out the itinerary receipt in advance so that if something happens, you have something to mark on.
4. Feel free to write complaints to regulatory organizations. That's what they exist for.
5. Contact the court that will handle your case. It's better to spend two hours traveling than a month waiting for an answer.
6. Winning a trial without lawyers is possible.
7. It is possible to collect money without bailiffs.

A passenger on a canceled flight has the right to receive a refund for his ticket for which he was unable to travel. If a series of flights was planned, and all tickets were purchased from the airline that canceled the flight, then the person has the right to demand compensation for the remaining flights, too, if now he cannot make it in time for them. The passenger can also receive a free ticket from the airline to the departure airport.

If, as is most often the case, it is important for a passenger of a canceled flight to get to his destination, and not to get it, then he can demand from the airline a free ticket to where he needs to go, only on another flight, and at a convenient time. True, it’s convenient, but from a reasonable position: if you ask for a ticket in a month or a month, the airline will probably refuse. By convenient, we mean that if there is a daytime flight that suits you, you can take it instead of the one scheduled for early morning.

The passenger has the right to make the necessary calls, receive food and a room if necessary. This is done in the same way as if the airline had delayed the flight. He also becomes entitled to compensation. But there are nuances. If you were notified of a flight cancellation no later than 2 weeks before the departure date, it is useless to claim compensation. If the flight for which you received a replacement ticket arrives no later than 4 hours after the one that was cancelled, then the compensation is reduced by half.

If you are at the airport and your flight is cancelled, the sequence of actions differs depending on whether you are a transit passenger. For non-transit passengers, you need to immediately go to the check-in counter, ask about the reasons for the cancellation, the time of the next flight, and find out whether the airline will provide you with a hotel. You need to immediately re-register for the next flight or cancel your ticket. The baggage will either be re-checked if it has already been checked in, or removed from the flight and given to you. You may be given free food vouchers; if this does not happen, you can keep all receipts and request a refund. However, there is a limitation - the food must be “reasonably necessary”, meaning a can of black caviar will probably not be paid for.

It is somewhat more difficult for transit passengers. The main problem is to find an airline representative, who is sure to be somewhere nearby if the flight is definitely cancelled. It can be located behind the counter (usually major airlines have representative offices in all major transit airports), at your carrier's canceled flight gate or other gate, or at your company's lounge. If you are unable to find a representative, contact a security service who can help you locate one.

You will need a representative to re-register for another flight, find out about hotel and meals, and what is needed to re-issue a ticket. If you don't have a visa at your transit point, find out what you need to get out into the city if you have a long wait for your next flight. Do not release the representative until he has satisfied all of your requirements, including re-checking you and your luggage and providing you with a pillow and blanket.

Also ask the airline representative to issue you a certificate stating that the flight has been cancelled, which will indicate the date and time of departure. It may come in handy if a dispute arises regarding a refund.