Part 10 of Flight-Delayed's travel guide: Experience other cultures!

Follow these tips, and just maybe you'll return from your holiday not only well-rested, but also enriched. Because there's plenty to learn from our holiday destinations. Let the explorations begin! Read the full post here.

Part one of Flight-Delayed's travel tip #9: Holiday horror

There are preventative measures you can take to avoid holiday horror as much as possible. www.flight-delayed.co.uk compiled a number of tips to ensure you are fully prepared when you go on your holiday this year! Read the full post here.

Part 7 of Flight-Delayed's travel guide: Booking flights and trips

There are a lot of traps you can fall into when you book a trip online. So Flight-Delayed has compiled a few handy tips as part of our summer travel guide to make sure you don't. Find out where you can find cheap flights and what to keep in mind, and avoid holiday horror! Read the full blogpost here.

Dog toilet at San Diego airport

When travelling with your dog, he or she may at a certain point start to feel an urge that they can't ignore.. At San Diego airport that will no longer be a problem! Starting now, canines will be able to use a special doggy toilet! Read the full post on the Flight-Delayed blog.

Part 4 of Flight-Delayed's travel guide: Travel apps

You may already have your summer holiday booked. So what better time to start preparing for it right now? Flight-Delayed assist air passengers in compensation claims, but also gives travel tips. So we compiled a list of the top-8 of handiest travel apps. Read the full post on the Flight-Delayed blog. 

Nine-year old shows unicorn passport to customs at Antalya airport - and is let through!

Emily Harris from South Wales recently passed the Turkish customs with a passport that she made herself for her stuffed toy! Read the full post on the Flight-Delayed blog. 

The Flight-Delayed travel guide part 3: Sunscreen

Summer has arrived! That means sun and holiday fun, but it also means that many holiday-goers will go into the sun under-protected, which could be quite a dangerous pastime. Flight-Delayed doesn't only assist air passengers in compensation claims, but also gives tips on safe and comfortable travel. This edition: sunscreen. Read the full post on the Flight-Delayed blog. 

Ryan Irwin: youngest pilot flies for Ryanair

For Ryan Irwin, 19, a boyhood dream is coming true: he will be flying for Ryanair as one of the youngest pilots in the world! Read the full post on the Flight-Delayed blog. 

Aviation industry still growing

GENÈVE - The global aviation sector is still showing an increase in growth. Flights for passenger transportation has shown a growth of two percent compared to the same period (February till June) last year. There is still an increase but this reducing. The normal increase for this quarterly is 8% according to the IATA (International Air Transport Association).

In June  the demand for passenger flights increased with 7,4%, but the “growth trend is not promising” said by the IATA. In coparison to May last year there was only a plus 0,2%. Freight experienced a bad year but is now slowly but surely getting better.

Want to read about aviation, flight delays, rules for fluids in your hand luggage or other same like subject please go to the site map of Flight-delayed.co.uk.

Passenger number record Frankfurt Airport

The third busiest airport of Europe, Frankfurt Airport transported a record number of passengers last month. On the 1st of July the airport already noted a record when it reached 200.000 passengers that day. In total Frankfurt airport transported 5.8 million air passengers in July. In comparison to last year's July this is an increase of 3,7%. The freight decreased 7,6%.

More news and information on flight-delayed news

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

European Commission launches passenger’s rights app

Brussels July 5^th – The summer is arriving and so is the summer rush on the airports. To the irritation of many this is accompanied by lost luggage and flight delays. Via a smartphone passengers are now able to see what they are entitled too and what to do in these situations. Unfortunately taking action directly through the app isn’t possible. So you need to take action yourself.

Flight delays
On the 13^th of August after the Olympic ceremony Heathrow awaits its busiest day ever and July is the busiest month for airports all over Europe.  Airports and airlines will do everything within their power to handle their passengers without any problems but the chance of a delayed flight or damaged baggage remains present.

The smartphone application explains your rights for all occurring problems. What are your rights when your baggage is damaged or lost and; with a long flight delay you are entitled to a compensation up to £ 480.  Unfortunately it is not possible to request a compensation directly through the app. It only supplies passengers with information. A European-wide initiative called www.Flight-Delayed.co.uk is stand by in eight European countries to help air passengers in getting them their compensation.

Vice President European Commission

European Commission Vice President Siim Kallas, responsible for Transport said: "How many of us have stood in an airport and felt the frustration of people telling you that you have no rights when you know you have!  With this application millions of travellers can have easy access to the right information about their passenger rights when they most need it, when unexpected situations arise."

The application is part of the Commission’s Your passenger rights at hand campaign.

Want to download the app click here

Flight-Delayed is an initiative of  Green Claim B.V. and is active in eight European Countries. Want to switch languages check out our other websites:

Dutch: www.vlucht-vertraagd.nl

German: www.flug-verspaetet.de

French: www.volo-retarde.fr

Spanish: www.vuelo-con-retraso.es

Italian: www.volo-in-ritardo.it

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.