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Airlines Payout For Delays

If you've ever wasted hours of your life cramped up on rigid plastic airport benches, eyeing up a motionless departures board, and longing for nothing more than to just... get ... home... there is good news in store. In the future you'll be entitled to compensation for your airline delays. And when we say compensation, we're not talking about the standard, pitiful symbol(pound)3.00 refreshment voucher with which you can buy a symbol(pound)2.50 bottle of water. We're talking proper wonga, in your pocket, if your airline delays your flight by 3 hours or more.

Compensation for Airline Delays

The EU ruling states that passengers who are forced to wait more than 3 hours can be compensated up to symbol(pound)535. A provision of the ruling is that Airlines are not obliged to pay this compensation if the airline is able to demonstrate that the delay was due to "extraordinary circumstances".

However, here is the clincher, technical or mechanical problems in the aircraft cannot be condsidered 'extraordinary circumstances'. Victory for the consumer!

It looks like regularly delayed airlines had better start bucking up their ideas if they don't want to end up out of pocket. Especially those budget airlines. I'm not normally one to side with the Stack 'em High-Sell 'em Cheap airlines, but it does seem like paying a couple of hundred pounds compensation per person, for a Ryanair ticket which may have only cost, oh I don't know, 14 pence (or symbol(pound)87.14 including taxes), may be a little harsh. Still, always one to look on the bright side, I'll look forward to profiteering from my next delayed cheapo Gatwick to Malaga flight.

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