International Agreements and Organizations — Page 47, Lesson 87

We're now in the heart of passenger rights under EU Regulation 261/2004 — this is the rulebook that governs what an airline owes you when things go wrong. Let's start with denied boarding, which is paragraph 2.90. Here's the key principle: before an airline can involuntarily deny anyone boarding, it must first seek volunteers. The airline has to ask for people to give up their reservation voluntarily, and in return, the airline negotiates a benefit with those volunteers — whatever they agree on. But here's the crucial legal point: even if a volunteer accepts a negotiated benefit, that volunteer is still entitled to the reimbursement or re-routing rights I'm about to describe. The negotiation doesn't waive those rights. Only if insufficient volunteers come forward may the airline then proceed to involuntarily deny passengers the right to board. And every passenger denied in that way must be offered all three types of compensation and assistance — that's the cash compensation, the reimbursement or re-routing, and the care (refreshments, communication, accommodation). All three, no exceptions. Now let's move to cancellation, paragraph 2.91. If a flight is cancelled, passengers are automatically entitled to choose one of three options. Option (a): re-routing to the same destination at the earliest opportunity. Option (b): later re-routing, at the passenger's convenience, to the same destination under comparable conditions — so the passenger gets to pick when, within reason. Option (c): a refund of the ticket plus a return flight to the point of first departure. Now, what does the refund actually cover? It's the price paid for the flight(s) not used, plus the cost of flights already flown — but only in cases where the cancellation has made those already-flown flights of no purpose. So if you flew outbound and the return leg is cancelled, the outbound might be pointless, and that cost gets refunded too. Where applicable, passengers are also entitled to refreshments, communication, and accommodation — that's the care package. And there's a specific rule about re-routing: if the airline re-routes you to another airport serving the same destination — not the original airport — then the airline must pay for onward transport to the original airport, or to a close-by destination agreed with the passenger. Now here's a critical point: these choices, and the entitlement to refreshments and so on, apply to all cancellations, regardless of whether the circumstances are extraordinary or not. So even if the cancellation was caused by something outside the airline's control, the re-routing and care rights still stand. But the cash compensation is a different story. The airline must pay cash compensation unless one of four conditions applies. Let me walk through them carefully. First condition: the airline notifies passengers at least two weeks prior to departure — no compensation. Second condition: notification is between one and two weeks prior to departure, and the airline re-routes so the passenger can depart no more than two hours earlier than scheduled, and arrive no more than four hours later than scheduled. Both limits must be met. Third condition: notification is less than one week prior to departure, and the airline re-routes so the passenger can depart no more than one hour earlier, and arrive no more than two hours later. Tighter limits, because the notice is shorter. Fourth condition: the cancellation was caused by extraordinary circumstances that could not have been avoided by any reasonable measure. That's the force-majeure escape hatch — but note the wording: it must be circumstances that could not have been avoided by any reasonable measure. And finally, the airline must also provide an explanation to passengers of alternative transport. So the structure to remember: re-routing and care rights apply to every cancellation, but cash compensation is excused only by those four specific conditions. That's the heart of 2.91.