Double whammy for UK airlines: Air passengers can claim millions

London – The Supreme Court determined today that UK airlines can no longer cite ‘extraordinary circumstances’ when rejecting compensation requests for delays that were the result of a technical error. The judges also reviewed the limitation period for claims: this will remain at six years for all UK airlines and will therefore not be allowed to be brought back to two years, as the airlines had pleaded. A double victory then for all passengers battling UK airlines for delay compensation. Find out more

Ryanair imposes surcharge for possible flight delays

If your flight is delayed or cancelled, or if you are denied boarding, you should be entitled to receive compensation from the airline. Ryanair agrees – at least ostensibly – because the airline has a surcharge specifically for this purpose: the EU261 surcharge. Read more >>

Quiz: food flags!

Take a guess: which country does the flag below, created at the Sydney Food Festival, represent?

Take the full quiz on the Flight-Delayed blog. 

Has your flight been delayed or cancelled, or have you been denied boarding? www.flight-delayed.co.uk can help you get the compensation you are legally entitled to!

Richard Branson loses bet and cross-dresses

Virgin's Richard Branson recently lost a bet to his competitor Tony Fernandes of Air India on Formula 1 teams that the two top executives sponsor. Branson lost the bet and had to serve as a flight attendant for Air India airline. See all the photos on our blog. 

Has your flight been delayed or cancelled, or have you been denied boarding?www.flight-delayed.co.uk can help you get the compensation you are legally entitled to! 

Emergency landing American Airlines because of singing woman

An American Airlines flight has made an emergency landing due to 'I will always love you' recently! A passenger on an American Airlines flight is apparently such a huge fan of 'The Bodyguard' that she couldn't contain herself and simply had to sing the song for the entire duration of the flight. The incident was actually caught on tape - watch the video on the Flight-Delayed website.

Has your flight been delayed or cancelled, or have you been denied boarding? www.flight-delayed.co.uk can help you get the compensation you are legally entitled to! 

Part two of Flight-Delayed's travel guide: top-5 activities for 2013

Flight Delayed is compiling travel tips for the summer holiday season this year. In this edition, we will be giving tips for the top-5 activities for 2013. Read them on our blog!

BBC's Watchdog on flight delay compensation

The BBC One's Watchdog discussed flight delay compensation and EU regulation 261/2004 in their show last Wednesday, May 8th. 

You can watch the item on our blog.

Has your flight been delayed or cancelled, or have you been denied boarding? www.flight-delayed.co.uk can help you get the compensation you are legally entitled to! 

Prohibited items air travel

A couple of air passengers forgot to check the list of restricted items before they went to catch their flight.. Shown on the image below are items that you can't bring with you when you fly, for instance a chain saw. Well, I never knew!...

Has your flight been delayed or cancelled, or have you been denied boarding?www.flight-delayed.co.uk can help you get the compensation you are legally entitled to!

Man sues Virgin air for midair incident

An American passenger, Salvatore Bevivino, is suing airline Virgin for 500,000 dollars (320,000 GBP). Why? The passenger wanted to order a drink, but he had to do so via the touch screen system, according to Virgin's flight attendants. A brawl ensued. Read the full post on our blog at www.Flight-Delayed.co.uk.

Turkish Airlines flight attendants forbidden from wearing red lipstick

Turkish Airlines Flight attendants will no longer be able to wear red lipstick while working; only pastel tones will be allowed. High buns, wigs and tattoos will also be banned. The new rules have sparked controversy with the female employees. Read the full post on our blog at www.Flight-Delayed.co.uk.

Passenger with Tourette Syndrome denied by JetBlue

A passenger suffering from Tourette's was denied boarding on a flight of JetBlue. The man couldn't stop hollering the word 'bomb' and was denied to board his flight. Read the full post on our blog at www.Flight-Delayed.co.uk.

Campaign video passengers rights for delayed flights

Campaign video European Commission
Passengers rights for delayed flights

Did you have look at this video and want advise or file a claim please go to www.flight-delayed.co.uk

Campaign video passenger rights flight cancellations

Campaign video European Commission
Passengers rights for flight cancellations!

Did you have a look at this video and are in need of advise or want to file a claim please go to www.flight-delayed.co.uk 

Flight safety under pressure through claims by plane delay!

Is this really true or just a prime example of marketing and lobbying of the airlines?


The penny has dropped by the airline companies, they have to pay damages if their flights are delayed for more than 3 hours. Instead of dealing with these damages in a correct way, flight safety is jeopardized. Airlines say they have to make a tradeoff to avoid delays. In order to avoid a delay, an airline might choose not to make a stop to refuel. This is dangerous. Air traffic in Europe is extremely high, hence this is not a good development.

Why do these stories suddenly appear? Airline companies do not want to upset their passengers, right?

To understand the big picture, it is the useful to get more background information. Since 2004 there is a European legislation that protects air passengers in case of cancelation, overbooking and delays. In case of overbooking and cancelation you are entitled to a financial compensation, while in case of delays passengers are entitled to assistance only. This is the reason why airline companies ‘prefer’ a delay instead of a cancelation. In 2009 the European Court decided to equalize a delay of three hours with a cancelation. This so-called Sturgeon verdict gives right to compensation up to £ 480. You probably understand that the airline companies were not pleased with this verdict. Since, they frustrate every request for compensation and 95% of the claims is rejected directly. It does take some time, and we experience this everyday at Fight-Delayed. Airline companies wanted more clarity, and even preferred to cancel the entire compensation regulation. Some judges, for example in Germany and England, asked some preliminary questions. These are questions to obtain more information about the compensation regulation. The European Court will make a decision soon, that is waited for since trouble started in 2009. 

On May 15^th the Advocate-General from the European Court in Luxembourg, Yves Bot, advised the European Court to maintain current legislation and let the airline companies pay in case of prolonged delays.

Is this such an unfortunate judgment that jeopardizes the rights of air passengers?

There is so much pressure that Mr. Bot did bear the flight safety in mind when making this judgment. In this decision and hence advice, he also mentioned not to know any reason why to deviate from current legislation. Yves Bot has a high position in court and this means that the end is near. It is not just a simple decision.

It is not a surprise that airline companies bring out this kind of messages at this moment in time, as they really want to stop the compensation regulation (EC) nr. 261/2004. If they have to pay in case of flight delays it will cost them tons of money. They try to stop this by lobbying by political parties in Brussels. Many CEOs of airline companies went to Brussels to clarify the point of view of the aviation industry, because at the time political and social discussions start all over, they (the airline companies) are in favor. On the one hand, politicians can think that delays and flight safety are always related and this might result in a withdrawal or modification of present legislation. This, while most of the decisions that cause a delay are of a commercial or operational nature.

The slots are short, fuel is expensive and if technical problems occur, the necessary time to repair the problems is not available without causing delays or cancelations in the worst case. People will think more about their own safety instead of their money and this is exactly the kind of messages the airline companies use to advantage their positions.

Many people think that this compensation regulation, and hence the claims, will increase the ticket prices, that finally have to be paid by the air passengers. This would be the optimal solution because the increase will be tiny. We always talk about high percentages of delays. This is true, and partly because of the enormous amount of flights and passengers in Europe. Yearly, there are about 1,5 billion air passengers and the estimation about how much money airline companies have to pay is equal, i.e. 1,5 billion euro. If the tickets would be increased by one euro each, the entire problem is solved. For me it seems like a perfect solution.

Background information:

27% of all European flight traffic is delayed and only 2,1% of these flights give right to compensation because of cancelations or delays. This means that 30 million people per year are entitled to compensation from the airline companies. If your flight has been delayed, cancelled or overbooked, you have a legal right to compensation up to £ 480 per passenger. Check out your flight on www.flight-delayed.co.uk and submit your claim.