What to do? The charter flight was delayed. A tourist in flight: charter crisis or elementary greed? Actions in case of violation of passenger rights

For the most part, delays in charters to warm foreign seas have occurred and are occurring not because of weather conditions, but because of technical malfunctions of the liners, which have to be repaired almost “on the fly.” Because airlines either don’t have reserve planes, or they are simply greedy to send them.

It is cheaper to pay a fine for a flight delay, which is simply “a drop in a drop of water” for the company. So, for example, on August 20, RIA Novosti reported that the court fined “” after the delay of two flights (and) back in May.

The prosecutor's office noted that, contrary to the requirements of the law, the airline did not provide reserve aircraft to transport passengers.

The amount of the fine that the airline must pay is... 200 thousand rubles. For the delay of two flights to foreign resorts. For the torment of hundreds of passengers. For their ruined vacation.

The airline ““ has frayed a lot of nerves for tourists this season (and especially in the first half of September). In particular, its flights from Moscow to Corfu and back departed with delays of 6 hours or more.

One can only imagine how the passengers of this airline's flight on September 6 (Corfu) felt when they were already informed that they were preparing to take off. Passengers fastened their seat belts, watched a “cartoon” about safety, but suddenly they were asked to get off the plane due to technical malfunctions.

As a result, the exhausted passengers, who had to cross the Russian border twice (go through passport control at the airport), having lost a day of rest, flew to Corfu with a seven-hour delay and the thought: will this plane actually make it?

Because, as passengers were told, the reason was a failure of the brake system. Having learned about this, some passengers wanted to abandon the flight altogether, but still took the risk.

Already in Corfu, tourists who arrived there by Yakutia airlines shared information with each other, and it turned out that everyone had to sit at the airport for six or more hours on different days in September.

A similar situation was observed with the return flight. For example, the flight from Kirkira to Vnukovo on September 13 departed with a 9-hour delay.

There was one consolation: some travel companies, knowing about the existing problems, did not take tourists out of their hotels until the flight took off from Moscow, and they had to sit at the airport.

True, this system failed during the flight on September 16 by the same Yakutia airline. The plane arrived in Kirkira surprisingly on time, the travel company took the tourists to the airport, but when they went through passport control and found themselves in the “free zone,” information about the flight simply disappeared from the board.

For a couple of hours, Yakutia passengers could neither get a representative of the airline to come out to them and explain the situation, nor get an explanation from their travel companies.

So, for example, a representative of Tez Tour, who took tourists to the airport, answered by phone that she was already taking other tourists from the airport, and could not help those “stuck” in the drive.

As for the central office of the tour operator, calling this number will only waste your nerves and money.

Because you have to listen, while in international roaming, to a cheerful mechanical voice that for several minutes broadcasts: “Your call is very important to us! Thank you for choosing our company! If you need to connect…” (then a list of numbers from zero to 9 follows), and when the operator finally answers, all that remains is obscene language.

The long-suffering passengers of “Yakutia”, after almost three hours of ignorance in the “free zone” of Kirkira airport, were finally invited to board. Outraged people tried to find out what was the reason this time? And then it turned out that “everyone is good.”

In this case, according to information from an anonymous source, which was later indirectly confirmed to Vestyam.Ru in the tourism industry, the reason for the delay of the flight was the non-payment of airport services by the host travel company in Corfu.

As it turned out later, the debt to the Kirkira airport was incurred by the recently bankrupt company Ted Travel, which was taken over by Russian law enforcement agencies back in August.

And it is difficult to imagine that the largest Russian tour operators working with her did not know about the existing debt to Corfu airport.

In a commentary to Vestyam.Ru, a source familiar with the situation, on condition of anonymity, said that this debt was long-standing, the Greeks were waiting for payment, but it was on September 16 that their patience ran out and they arrested the Russian aircraft.

And only after this happened and angry calls from tourists to offices began, travel companies operating in Corfu “chipped in” and quickly paid the debt of the bankrupt Ted Travel.

The source also said that a similar situation cannot be ruled out soon in Antalya, it’s just that the Turks are still waiting for payment for airport services. But one day, like the Greeks, their patience may run out, and before receiving payment, the Turks will take some Russian aircraft “hostage”, and tourists will be forced to “cook” at the airport.

However, Vestei.Ru has no official confirmation of this information. Yes, no one will give it of their own free will. So it will be possible to find out whether it is true only when cries for help from stranded passengers are heard from Antalya airport.

“The pilot is tired and goes to bed”

At the very beginning of September, Rossiya Airlines also became famous. Her flight from Larnaca (Cyprus) to Moscow was delayed for 16 hours. Moreover, people were forced to spend several hours in a stuffy cabin. Many people felt bad.

It turned out that for technical reasons the pilot was unable to start the engines, and then, as they explained to the passengers, he “got tired and went to sleep.”

You can imagine the feelings experienced by tourists who had to sit during the crew's rest at the airport. Of course, the reserve plane was not sent for them.

A source in aviation circles explained to Vestiam.Ru that this practice is not just normal, but defined by law. The pilot and crew are not allowed to exceed a certain number of hours spent on a flight. Therefore, if something goes wrong and the crew does not have time to fly to their home harbor on time, they are sent to a hotel to rest for 10 hours.

Another couple of hours of delay, and the crew of Yakutia Airlines would also have gone to sleep for 10 hours. In this case, passengers (many with small children) would be forced to sleep on the floor or on benches in the “free zone” of the airport.

Because many have Schengen visas only for the duration of the trip, and they would not be able to cross the EU border again even if the tour operator had the good will to take them back to the hotel.
Of course, as in other cases, there was no point in dreaming that a reserve plane would be sent from Moscow to pick up the tourists. Because the airline simply does not provide it for these purposes: the same plane flies to Corfu, which, if it breaks down, disrupts the entire flight schedule.

Vestey.Ru’s interlocutor says that airlines that have “sagged” with their only aircraft breaking down every now and then (in this direction) could resolve the issue in favor of tourists. For example, by sending a reserve aircraft after them (if “the pilot got tired and went to sleep”). Or by temporarily sharing your charters with other airlines that do not have such problems.

However, both options would mean the airlines would lose significant funds: they would either have to share with competitors or spend money on an additional flight.

In such a situation, as practice shows, airlines make a choice in favor of their own benefit. What about the passengers? But the passengers will wait.

ATOR: this is not a crisis, but a mess

ATOR Executive Director Maya Lomidze, commenting on the situation in the tourism sector in general and with air transportation in particular to Vestiam.Ru, noted that it can only be solved in one way: there must be responsibility for both tour operators and air carriers with whom they enter into contracts for the transportation of tourists.

However, air carriers really do not have this responsibility at the moment. They recruit charter programs, while there is no proper control over them from the Federal Air Transport Agency. In particular, this applies to reserve aircraft, which the airline should have at its disposal, but in fact they do not.

As a result, situations arise in which thousands of tourists become hostages, who are forced to sit at airports and wait for flights delayed due to technical problems of the airliners for 10, and sometimes more, hours.

In addition, according to Lomidze, in this case, significant fines for delays should be introduced by law.

Perhaps at the price of the cost of the flight, and not those amounts that are a drop in the ocean for airlines, so even if there is a reserve plane, it is easier for them to pay a meager amount for the delay than to send a reserve plane for stranded tourists (of course, if there is one).

At the same time, it is on the part of government agencies that there should be control over whether this or that company will be able to service the declared charter flights during the tourist season, and not take their word for it.

And if, Lomidze says, after an inspection by the state regulatory body it turns out that the airline can actually operate only on two, and not 30 tourist destinations (as it claims), then information about this should be communicated to tour operators who are going to enter into an agreement with it for the transportation of tourists.

Moreover, these issues need to be resolved several months before the start of the season (maximum in March), and not after the fact, when tourists stuck at airports begin to sound the alarm through social networks and the media.

As for tour operators themselves, the collapse in this market began in 2014. This is a matter of competition, when “natural selection” occurs and the weakest “die out,” notes Maya Lomidze.

Although, despite the existing legislation and the need to register in the Unified Register of Tour Operators, there are also travel agencies whose financial capabilities, due to the opacity of mutual settlements, cannot be accurately verified. And in such situations, a “pyramid” arises, which sooner or later results in situations with unpaid hotels or services at foreign airports (as was the case in Corfu on September 16 with the bankrupt Ted Travel).

The solution to the issue, the head of ATOR believes, could be the experience of European countries, where there is strict control and strict measures are provided for violators of the rights of tourists, including huge fines.

At the same time, there cannot be a single body that could simultaneously supervise both air carriers and tour operators. But in order to systematically solve the existing problem, an Interdepartmental Commission is needed with the involvement of employees of the Federal Air Transport Agency, the Federal Agency for Tourism, and public organizations uniting tour operators, and fiscal authorities, which would systematically deal with inspections of both airlines and real financial affairs in one or another travel companies.

At the same time, Maya Lomidze believes, there is no systemic crisis in the tourism industry, but there is a mess in general: a lack of control and, as a result, problems for people who are thus spoiled, and sometimes completely disrupted, their well-deserved vacation.

They will resist

On September 20, a meeting is to be held at the Federal Air Transport Agency, at which sanctions for delays in charters will be discussed with airlines and tour operators. The ATOR expert says that tour operators are ready to inform about how many programs they order from carriers.

At the same time, the Federal Air Transport Agency must be able to check whether this carrier will be able to fulfill all these programs or not. “If he declares that he can, and then disrupts the programs, then he must answer for this,” the expert notes.

The Ministry of Transport has developed proposals that are aimed at increasing the responsibility of charter air carriers - even banning flights abroad.
In addition, it is proposed to analyze the aircraft turnover schedule for its compliance with the carriers’ fleet, taking into account the carrying capacity, and also to check the availability of the required number of flight technical personnel at the airline.

Experts in the tourism industry said that, having learned about this, airlines have already expressed their displeasure with such possible harsh sanctions. However, if they are not accepted, similar situations with monstrous delays of charter flights breaking down every now and then will continue into the next tourist season.

Who among us has not flown at least once to another country or city? Surely many. And some are faced with the fact that the plane’s departure is delayed. So what to do in such situations?

I offer you excerpts from clause 99 of the Federal Aviation Rules “General rules for air transportation of passengers, baggage, cargo and requirements for servicing passengers, shippers, consignees” (approved by Order of the Ministry of Transport of Russia dated June 28, 2007 No. 82).

Your flight is canceled or delayed

First of all, the airline must organize luggage storage and provide a mother and child room for a passenger with a child under seven years of age.
If the flight is delayed for more than two hours, you should be provided with refreshments, and you should also be given the opportunity to make two calls or send two emails.
If you wait more than four hours, you will be provided with hot meals (and then every six hours during the day, and every eight hours at night).
There are cases when the flight is delayed for more than six hours at night, in which case you must be accommodated in a hotel and provided with transportation to the hotel, and you must be accommodated if the flight is delayed for more than 8 hours during the day.
The airline must do all this at its own expense, i.e. completely free for you. And regardless of the reasons for the flight delay.

If the cause of the delay is not force majeure, then the airline is obliged to pay you compensation in the amount of 3% of the air ticket price for each hour of waiting as compensation for being late (according to the Consumer Protection Law, Article 28, paragraph 5), as well as 0.25 minimum wage for each hour of waiting as a fine (according to Article 120 of the Air Code of the Russian Federation). But no more than 50% of the ticket price. Typically, large airlines comply with these legal requirements, but there are often cases when these standards are ignored by carriers.

What to do if your rights are not respected?

You can dine yourself and present the bill for lunch to the airline, and it will be obliged to pay it.

You need to go to the check-in counter and get a certificate indicating the flight delay time, or put a special stamp on your ticket. By this you documented confirm the flight delay. And further down the list: two hours passed - drinks, four - a hot lunch. Be sure to keep all receipts and invoices for these services.

After this, you must write a statement to the airline asking to reimburse all expenses and pay compensation for the delay. The application must be accompanied by all receipts, a certificate of flight delay and the ticket itself. Usually airlines do not take the case to court, because... For them, this is obviously a lost cause and they reimburse all the passenger’s expenses associated with the flight delay. If there was no force majeure, then there will be no problems with compensation. But if there is no answer, feel free to go to court. All these rules apply to both regular and charter flights.

I wish you pleasant travels and flights without delays

Questions and answers on the topic “What to do if your flight is delayed or cancelled”

1. Vadim (10/27/2009):
   

   What should I do if my flight was postponed to a later time (until 10 o'clock) and I missed the train, tickets were purchased in advance and I did not have time to return them, because... was in another country.

2. Evgeniy (12/10/2009):
   

   Hello! Tell me, this is the situation! I bought tickets Tyumen-Krasnodar, as well as Krasnodar-Tyumen, a month before departure. 3 days later the airline called me and said that the flight back was cancelled. They offer to come and hand over your ticket. The problem is that no one else offers direct flights back except this airline. They offer to take a connecting flight through Moscow, but tickets cost almost 3,000 rubles more. and in Moscow I will have to move from airport to airport and wait about 15 hours. What can be done in such a situation? (most likely, if I had known, I would not have bought tickets at all)

3. Valentina (04/05/2010):
   

   Hello. On September 12, Siberia Airlines delayed the departure of the flight to Moscow Domodedovo Airport for 13 hours for technical reasons, the ticket was marked. We were late for the flight from Domodedovo to Frankfurt, Lufthansa Airlines. A representative of Siberia Airlines did not take proper measures to help with the rescheduling of the flight and had to buy new tickets at a more expensive price; the old ones disappeared. The airline company persuaded them to buy it and promised that we would be compensated for our losses, but our written claim was refused. We are going to sue. We are preparing documents. What are our chances? Sincerely.

4. Ilya (04/25/2010):
   

   Hello!

   I bought return tickets. Departure in the afternoon.

   At the airport I find out that the flight has been canceled and they offer to fly tomorrow at the same time. I was ready to fly with other airlines, but there are no flights...

   The ticket was electronic. At the cash register the money was returned to me. 1350 rub. Fully. I asked that a note about the flight cancellation be made on my itinerary receipt. Done. With stamp and signature.

   Can I count on compensation for the cost of concert tickets? A ticket to the concert cost 7,000 rubles.

   Airline "Avianova".

5. Igor (04/28/2010):
   

   If, in the event of a delay or cancellation of a flight due to the fault of the airline, in order to catch the event I am forced to buy more expensive tickets from another airline, can I, in accordance with Article 28 of the Consumer Rights Protection Law, demand compensation from the first airline for the difference in the cost of air tickets?

6. Igor (11.05.2010):
   

   What is considered a cancellation and what is a flight delay? For example, at the airport they announced to me that my flight had been postponed for a day (2, 3 weeks, a month...) - is this a postponement or actually a cancellation of the flight?

7. Valentina (12.05.2010):
   

   An old board, an almost worn-out resource, will naturally break down often. The airline is in no hurry to replace the plane until the last minute, as it can still squeeze money out of it. And all breakdowns are called delays due to technical reasons. Supposedly they are worried about the lives of passengers. Maybe it’s better to buy a new board that won’t break down often, this will take care of the passengers, and not screw our brains, hiding behind the instructions that they themselves came up with for themselves.

8. 
   

   Greetings. As I understand it, if the flight is delayed and I don’t catch the train, then I will buy myself a new ticket, and only then demand compensation. and another question, is it possible in such a situation (if the flight is delayed and with the required mark on the ticket) to exchange tickets issued according to “REQUIREMENT” (VPD)? thank you in advance.

9. Oksana Nagovitsyna (07/23/2010):
   

   the question is still ripe... it’s not entirely clear about charter flights... what rights do passengers of such flights have, for the most part there is only one answer - “it’s your own fault for buying a charter ticket, having bought a ticket you agreed with all the circumstances... “This is how they respond when a flight is delayed or departs early. What should I do?

10. Alexander (05.08.2010):
    

    Hello!

    Through the On Board company in Moscow, within 2 months I purchased tickets for the whole family for a flight from Turkey to Moscow with Turkish Airlines on August 28. Already in Turkey I checked my e-mail. On Board reported that our flight was cancelled. They offered to return the money or fly on another flight 29 with a transfer in Istanbul with a daily wait. It is unrealistic to refuse to return home; buying new 5 tickets at the height of the season will cost 2 times more (if they are available). Turkish agents and representatives of Turkish airlines in Dalaman stated that this issue can only be resolved by the agent who sold us the tickets, i.e. company "On Board". And the On Board company does not respond to my e-mail message.

    What to do and what can you count on?

11. Inna (08.08.2010):
    

    Hello! An e-ticket was issued for Ufa-Moscow-Syktyvkar. The flight from Ufa was delayed due to fires in Moscow. Naturally, we were late for our connecting flight in Moscow and also landed at another airport. The representative office did not take any measures, there was a refusal - you should not have been here, this is not our flight. No water, no food, the child was flying for 8 months, we were also refused to receive a room for the mother and child. They refused to return the tickets because we had already completed part of the journey. There was no choice but to take a train ticket. marked the delay. tell us in Syktyvkar we have any chances to return the ticket price and compensation

12. Tatiana (08/29/2010):
    

    Hello! We bought tickets for two with a young man from a travel agency. Departure from St. Petersburg on August 29 at 15.30. Arrival back to St. Petersburg on September 7. We have electronic tickets in hand. We accidentally find out that the flight is delayed for unexplained reasons and will take place at 00.00 from August 29 to 30, i.e. delayed by 8.5 hours. With the voucher we lose a day and a night, for which, of course, everything was paid for. What should we do in this case to return the cost of this day and night, lost vacation in Turkey due to the fault of the carrier. Validator 50KOG KOLAVIA SURGUT RU 31300001 0020. Best regards, Tatyana

13. Olesya (09/05/2010):
    

    Hello!

    Electronic ticket Moscow (S7) - Kiev (A9) - Tbilisi and back. The connection back was 5 hours, then A9 rescheduled the flight and the connection was 9 hours (the departure was earlier in the morning, but now at night, and I’m flying with my 2-year-old daughter and must not sleep at night, and in Kyiv there is no room for mothers and children (!)

    S7 disclaims responsibility, because A9 changed the departure time. But I bought tickets from S7 and they also received the money, and A9, motivating this, does nothing. What are my actions?

    At the same time, at the time of purchase there was no direct flight, but at the moment both companies have it. Thank you.

    Olga Stupnitskaya
    answers (09/07/2010):

    Olesya, good afternoon!

    You have connections from different airlines, so in this case the companies are unlikely to reimburse anything. But you try to sue A9, maybe the judge will side with you and oblige the airline to return your money for the flight. But in reality, the chances, unfortunately, are not great.

14. *Victoria* (09/08/2010):
    

    We also had connecting tickets. Anapa-Moscow-Blagoveshchensk. The plane from Anapa was delayed for 7 hours and we didn’t have time to board the Moscow plane. The airlines were different (Anapa-Kuban airlines, Moscow-Yakutia) So who should we sue? Who should we ask?

15. Alexey (11/15/2010):
    

    Good afternoon

    2 months before departure, tickets (return) were purchased for a certain date... 6 days before departure, the airline warned about the cancellation of the flight and offered to fly on another airline with more expensive tickets...

    The difference in tickets was initially paid by the airline, but after returning I had to pay it off!

    What can be done in this regard, since the difference is significant

16. Danila (11/15/2010):
    

    Hello!

    I bought a tour package to Thailand. Date 16.11. -25.11. Flight to their Khabarovsk.

    I bought tickets to Khabrovsk on November 15, the flight was postponed to November 16 due to weather conditions, i.e. I didn’t make it on time for the flight from Khabarovsk to Bankog. The tour operator refuses to refund the cost of the tour package, is there any chance of getting the money back? Thank you.

17. Julia (12/14/2010):
    

    Hello! Flight 29222 from Rimini to Moscow should be on December 11, 2010 at 17:50, the carrier is Orenburg Airlines, in fact we departed on December 12, 2010 at 12:30 pm on another Tatarstan airline. I want to receive compensation for a flight delay. Which airline should I apply for?

18. Elena (12/27/2010):
    

    My brother bought a ticket from a travel agency, and today will be the third night he will spend the night at the airport (the flight has been postponed until an indefinite time due to snowfall). He calls and asks: what should I do? There is no point in flying anymore. Firstly, there is very little time left for rest. Secondly, it is not a fact that they will fly out tomorrow. Can he refuse the trip in this case and get his money back? Thank you.

19. Svetlana (12/29/2010):
    

    Olga, good afternoon. The day before the famous events, we bought tickets to Egypt, departure on January 6, 2011. We fly with Aeroflot from Sheremetyevo-2.

    What do you think is the best way for us to proceed? Should we hope for better weather conditions or is it still better to return our tickets? If we pass, what do we lose? Who will pay the cost of the tour and the ticket price? Who should I contact with this question? Thank you.

20. Natalya (12/29/2010):
    

    Good evening. I purchased a Moscow-Rome-Milan-Moscow tour package from 291210 to 050111. Departure on an Aeroflot flight, flight cancelled. Is Aeroflot or the tour operator obliged to resolve the flight issue with compensation? If I purchase a ticket on another airline, will I be reimbursed for losses and by whom? Can I purchase a ticket to another city in Italy that is available? Let's say Milan and expect compensation from a hotel in Rome for the days of stay used?

    Thank you very much in advance

21. Olga (December 30, 2010):
    

    Good afternoon On December 28, 2010 at 6.55 I was supposed to fly on an Aeroflot flight from Krasnoyarsk to Moscow. There I had to take the train at 15.42 and then go on a bus tour around Europe. The flight was delayed for a day, the group left without me, and the ticket was lost. Who should reimburse me for the trip in this case? The tour operator refers to its charter where, if the tour is canceled on the day of departure, it reimburses no more than 5% of the cost.

22. Olga (01/11/2011):
    

    Hello. 12/27/10. My brother was supposed to fly with Siberia Airlines from Moscow to Kemerovo at 23:40......instead, he flew out only the next morning at 11:00. No food, no hotel were not provided. Unfortunately, he lost his ticket. Now there are electronic tickets, is it possible to somehow restore it? What can be done in such a situation. And where to go. Thank you.

23. Nikolay (01/14/2011):
    

    Hello!

    On December 26, 2010, I was supposed to fly to Eilat on 12.15 flight SU501.

    I lost 1.5 days of my expensive tour.

    Aeroflot offers for this, as indicated on the website, some kind of mythical vouchers.

    I would actually like to receive not vouchers, but real compensation for 1.5 days of my vacation lost due to the fault of Aeroflot (the lack of icing can in no way be considered force majeure) and moral damages.

    Can I count on this or not?

    Please reply to my email address.

    Thank you in advance for your response.

24. Lesik (01/14/2011):
    

    Hello Olga.

    My husband and I were supposed to fly on December 26, 2010 at 10:30 on an Orenburg Airlines flight to Turin. In fact, the departure took place on December 28, 2010 at about 15-00. During our stay at Domodedovo airport, we were not offered any hotel, no hot food, no hotel, and the airline representative refused to communicate with us at all. As a result, our stay in Italy was shortened by 2 days.

    The air tickets were paid for by the travel agency, we paid the travel agency for the entire tour, without allocating the cost of air tickets.

    In this case, who should we file a claim with: the travel agency (with whom I have an agreement) or the carrier (we have air tickets on hand, but they do not indicate the cost)?

    And can we count on compensation for two lost days or only penalties in the amount of 25 rubles for each hour of flight delay?

    Thanks in advance for your answer.

25. Alina (01/25/2011):
    

    Hello.

    Two different tickets and different airlines were purchased. Last Sunday there was heavy snowfall and flight 1 was delayed so that it was impossible to catch flight 2. We are very afraid of a similar situation, because... We are leaving in 1.5 weeks. How should you behave in such cases?

26. Elena (02/08/2011):
    

    Hello! I had paid for a Krasnodar-Larnaca ticket from January 30 to February 10. But due to the cancellation of the flight on the 10th, I was asked to fly either on February 6 or 13. I had to fly on the 6th, without having time to do all the business for which I flew to Cyprus. (From February 11 to February 14, tickets to Moscow with another airline had already been paid for) I lost half of the days planned in Cyprus. Can I demand from the airline a second flight at their expense, since my trip was in vain. Thank you.

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Traveling is great and interesting, but it doesn’t always start out the way you plan. Frustrated plans, disappointed expectations and loss of money - all this can lead to a plane flight being delayed. Let's look at what you can count on in such a situation and what tricks airlines use to avoid liability. We’ll figure out what to do if your plane flight is delayed together with the Smart Tourism portal.

So, you arrived at the airport with your things and sparkling eyes, looking forward to your upcoming vacation, but were surprised to learn that your flight was delayed. Unpleasant, but not fatal. If you know your rights, you can minimize the discomfort of a flight delay.

Responsibilities of the airline in case of flight delay:

Unfortunately, not all air carriers are conscientious about fulfilling these points, therefore, if your flight is delayed, we advise you to track the delay time yourself and contact an airline representative for certain services; if there are none in the airport building, feel free to go to the information desk, they will they will find employees for you, because it is not in the interests of the administration to have dissatisfied and embittered passengers in the airport building.

Bad weather does not exempt you from liability

If everything is clear with the services provided in the airport building, then who will pay for wasted nerves, missing a connecting flight or missing 2-3 days of a paid vacation? An airline, but unfortunately not always.

You will be responsible for the delay!

It often happens that you are flying with transfers, and a delay in one flight will inevitably lead to a delay in the second. There is no need to sound the alarm ahead of time.

So, if an airplane flight with a transfer was delayed, you need to get a certificate from an airline employee (preferably at the airport where the flight was delayed) stating that the flight was delayed. Upon arrival at your connecting airport, if there are any difficulties with boarding you on another flight, you will present it and the problem will disappear on its own. What if the flight is the next morning? Point No. 4 given in the table comes into effect. Feel free to ask the carrier for a transfer and a hotel, it is their fault and they are obliged to pay for your accommodation.

Missing days, like nerves, are not restored but are paid for...

If the delay was so great that you lost 2-3 days of your vacation, you should not demand the hotel owner to return the paid stay; it is not his fault that the airline was unable to fulfill its obligations. Take a check, a certificate from the hotel and, upon return, make a written request to reimburse you for the expenses incurred.

Yes, and do not forget that the passenger has the right to receive monetary compensation in the amount of 25% of the established minimum wage for each hour of delay, but not more than 50% of the cost of transportation.

Airlines know this too, but they rely on the Russian mentality. Everyone is sure that a Russian tourist will not waste his time sorting things out.

Our advice is, after a delay has occurred, collect all the receipts; after returning home, you will be able to compensate most of them.

Force majeure or air carrier tricks

Naturally, no one wants to pay money, especially for compensation for moral damage. And since the rules on the organization of air transportation clearly state that compensation (in the amount of 25% for each hour of delay) is due if the passenger is in the airport building, and if you are locked on the plane, then alas... Unscrupulous carriers sin like this, and if If you suspect that you have been treated in this way, you can go to court after arriving from vacation.

By the way, if you are kept in the cabin of the plane. This does not mean that you are not entitled to drinks and food - feel free to ask the staff for this.

There is one more point for which you will not be able to receive monetary compensation - this is force majeure. Force majeure includes staff strikes and bad weather. If you can still argue about the second point, then don’t even try to get it right about the first one; the law in this situation is on the side of the air carrier.

Being late is not a death sentence

It happens that a passenger is late for a flight for various reasons. Traffic jams, a broken alarm clock or a slow taxi driver - all these reasons are not valid. According to the rules of transportation, a passenger’s failure to show up by the deadline is a voluntary refusal of the flight. And in this situation, you will be able to return the money, minus 25%. But where would we be without pitfalls?

If you are late and want to get your money back, be sure to write a written cancellation of your flight, this way you will notify the airline of your intention to cancel your flight.

Lately, being late for check-in is not something fatal and employees are willing to meet passengers; it is not uncommon for them to be boarded in business class if they have economy tickets. So our advice to you is, do not try to immediately blame the staff for all mortal sins, but simply smile sweetly, apologize for being late and ask them to solve your problem with the flight. We assure you that if the plane has not yet departed, you will get on board.

We hope that after reading this article you have no questions about what to do if your flight is delayed. Have a smooth landing and have a great rest!!!

This year, air passengers had to be pretty nervous. Remember: there was a volcano in April. The Icelandic fire-breathing monster with the tongue-twister name Eyjafjallajokull paralyzed the sky over all of Europe for a week. There were also wild traffic jams on the Sheremetyevo road, strikes by air traffic controllers - Spanish, English and Greek...

But at the end of the year, the weather really tortures travelers. Before Catholic Christmas, hundreds of thousands of people were stuck at European airports: due to heavy snowfalls and ice, the airports of Paris, Brussels, Frankfurt, London and other European cities were closed.

On Sunday, December 26, a collapse occurred at the airports of the Russian capital. Passengers who had to fly out from Domodedovo experienced the most problems: Moscow's largest air harbor was left without electricity and stopped receiving and sending planes (the power was turned off due to ice-covered wires breaking). At least a hundred planes did not leave on time. At least 60 flights were delayed at Sheremetyevo. Read more here.

Aeroexpress trains ran intermittently to Domodedovo, which were always a salvation from traffic jams.

But just this weekend, many Russians flew away for the New Year holidays - to resorts or to visit relatives. During the pre-holiday rush, airports are already working under increased load - 1,000 special charter flights were organized from the Moscow air hub alone for the New Year. And then the weather got tricky...

But even if the weather is ideal on Monday (read the forecast here), it will take time to restore normal operations at the capital’s airports. After all, it is necessary to send those flights that were supposed to take off on Sunday and work according to schedule. In such situations, regular flights have priority. If you're flying on a vacation charter, you're more likely to get stuck in the lounge.

And just before the New Year, on December 30, weather forecasters promise heavy snowfall... In general, it’s worth getting ready for a “Christmas” holiday, armed with instructions in case of weather force majeure.

1. Before leaving for the airport, check the departure information for your flight on the airport’s online board. The boards of all air harbors of the capital and many foreign cities are on the Komsomolskaya Pravda website. True, during the power outage at Domodedovo, neither the airport website nor the online scoreboard worked. But this still happens rarely.

2. Do everything to avoid traffic jams (I understand that in Moscow this almost sounds like a mockery, especially before the New Year, and even when there is ice and snow. But that’s why it’s important). Do not travel by car, but by metro and Aeroexpress. Again, there are exceptions: in the summer there were cases when high-speed trains got stuck on the way to Sheremetyevo; on Sunday, express trains to Domodedovo were very late. But in most cases, the railway is still more reliable.

3. Check in for your flight on the airline's website. This will give you some extra time in case of delays on the way to the airport. After all, to check-in you need to be at the airport at least an hour and a half before departure. And if you have already printed your boarding pass, you have a chance to catch your plane 40 minutes before departure.

We have collected typical situations that, unfortunately, air passengers often encounter - both in Russia and abroad. Lawyers specializing in the truth in the field of tourism help with advice: the director of the legal agency "Persona Grata" Georgy Mokhov and the director of the legal consultation "Visit" Anna Gladun.

We were late for our flight: we were stuck in a traffic jam, there were no buses running because of the snow, or something from that “opera”...

Alas, you can’t file a complaint against traffic jams or snow, and you can’t sue them. According to paragraph 80 of the Federal Aviation Rules, the passenger must arrive at the place of passenger check-in and baggage check-in, as well as at the place of boarding the aircraft no later than the time established by the carrier.

Lateness will be considered as a voluntary refusal of an aircraft passenger to fly later than 24 hours before departure. By law, in this case, you must get your money back for the ticket. True, minus the fee, the amount of which cannot exceed 25% (according to Article 108 of the Air Code of the Russian Federation).

You must contact the airline directly to request a refund. At the airport, look for the carrier's counter or its representative. To qualify for a refund, the flight cancellation must be made in writing, otherwise it will turn out that you did not notify the airline of your refusal.

The flight is delayed, you are sitting in the waiting room.

According to clause 99 of the Federal Aviation Rules "General Rules for the Air Transportation of Passengers, Baggage, Cargo and Requirements for Services for Passengers, Shippers, Consignees", the airline is obliged, at its own expense and regardless of the reasons for the flight delay, to organize luggage storage and provide a mother and child room to passengers with children under seven years of age.

If you wait more than 2 hours, you should be given refreshments and given the opportunity to make two free phone calls or send two emails. And this is healthier than drinks - especially if you are sitting at a foreign airport and have spent a lot of money while roaming.

4 hours late - hot lunch or dinner. Usually they eat at the airport cafe. If you are stuck longer, then you should feed every 6 hours during the day and every 8 hours at night.

If your flight is delayed by 6 hours at night and 8 hours during the day, you must be accommodated in a hotel and taken to it, as well as back to the airport.

The rules are the same in any case - the plane is stuck due to bad weather or due to a breakdown. Where to go for all this? To the airline representative. If you can’t find it or are stuck at a small airport, contact the airport information desk.

If something from this list was not provided and the passenger had to obtain these benefits at his own expense, the airline will have to reimburse all expenses by check.

In addition, the air carrier must pay a fine to each passenger in the amount of 25% of the minimum wage (in other words, 25 rubles) for each hour of delay, but not more than 50% of the ticket price (Article 120 of the Air Code). True, a fine cannot be collected if the delay occurred due to force majeure, elimination of an aircraft malfunction that threatens the life or health of passengers, or due to other circumstances beyond the control of the carrier.

They put us on the plane, but it doesn’t take off: they roll it around the field, or the plane just stands still. This often happens in difficult weather conditions, or when there is a traffic jam at the airport, or when the aircraft malfunctions.

This is the same flight delay. You must be provided with drinks and food based on the same standards.

You are flying with a connection. The first flight was delayed and we ended up missing the second one.

At the airport of departure, you need to get a note on your ticket (printed electronic ticket) that your plane could not take off on time for such and such a reason, or was delayed for such and such a time.

At the transfer airport, contact an airline representative with a request to rebook a ticket for another flight. This is where you will need a note on the ticket confirming your innocence of being late.

Usually the ticket is changed without delay. Moreover, most often both flights are operated by one airline or carriers that are members of one aviation alliance (there are three large alliances in the world: Sky Team - it includes Aeroflot, Star Alliance, One World).

But it may turn out that the next flight is only tomorrow. The airline responsible for the delay must compensate for expenses for hotel and food. Collect receipts, receipts, and other proof of expenses. And upon your return, write a claim demanding compensation for losses caused by poor quality of air transportation services.

If you are forced to buy a new ticket with your own money, then you will also have the right to demand its cost (along with penalties and compensation) from the airline whose flight was delayed. To do this, first submit a written claim for compensation of losses, and if it is refused or if you have not received an answer within 10 days, you can go to court.

Due to a flight delay, a day or two of rest was lost.

As a rule, it is possible to obtain compensation after returning. You can demand from the airline to compensate for the cost of services lost due to lateness: a night of hotel accommodation, meals, if it was paid for, excursions, etc. At the hotel, it makes no sense to demand money for a “missed” day, it has nothing to do with it.

Is the company to blame if a flight is delayed due to bad weather? It’s all a matter of nuances: if, in addition to bad weather, there were some mistakes in the work of the aviators (for example, they didn’t de-ice the plane on time) - then yes. And you can demand compensation from her for your expenses (for paying for a hotel while waiting for the next flight, a “missing” day of rest in a hotel, money for those days that you were not paid, etc.). If the carrier acted impeccably, no.

But! The airline must provide hot meals, hotel accommodation and everything that is required in case of a long flight delay in any case.

You've heard enough horror stories about the transport collapse in Moscow and Europe, and you've decided to return the tour you've already purchased.

The question is whether you will get your money back. In the case of the current bad weather - no. You can demand a 100% refund if the traveler can prove that there was a real threat to his life and health.

It is difficult to prove this in practice. A strong argument for the court may be the conclusion of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs that at the start of the tour an unfavorable or dangerous situation has developed in the country or region and Russians are not recommended to visit this country. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs rarely issues such documents.

The general rule for refunds for purchased tours is this: the tour operator must return everything to you, except for the expenses actually incurred by him. If there is, say, a week left before departure, these expenses already make up a large part of the cost of the trip.

Situations where both charter and regular flights to popular tourist destinations depart late are not uncommon. I hope that my answer will be useful not only to those who buy a full tour package, which already includes the cost of the flight, but also to those who book air tickets on their own.

In accordance with Art. 9 of the Federal Law “On the Fundamentals of Tourism Activities”, the tour operator is responsible for the actions of suppliers who provide services included in the tourism product. At the same time, in accordance with the same article, the tour operator is not responsible for the actions of service providers if there are special legal acts that directly provide for their liability. In this case, there are such acts, these are the Air Code and the Federal Aviation Regulations, which stipulate that in the event of a flight delay, the air carrier bears responsibility for all property and moral damage caused to the passenger.

If you booked and purchased air tickets yourself, you will need to prove that your rights were violated. To do this, you need to create a package of documents:
air ticket with a note about flight delay (or cancellation);
a certificate indicating the reason for the flight delay;
documentary evidence of all independent expenses: checks, invoices, etc.;
a ticket that had to be purchased due to being late for a scheduled connecting flight.

Then submit a claim to the airline in writing, attaching copies of documents confirming the right to compensation. If the appeal was ignored or the perpetrators refused to compensate for the costs, you can sue them in court.
And who will answer to the tourist if, for example, due to a late flight, he actually lost a whole day of paid vacation or, as we see from the letter, as many as two?

According to the law “On the Fundamentals of Tourism Activities in the Russian Federation,” the duration of the tour is an integral part of the contract. And any change in travel dates must be agreed upon with the tourist. So you can send a claim to the tour operator - most likely, it will be satisfied. But there are some nuances here too. Travel times are based on dates, not hours. And if a tourist arrives at the vacation spot not in the morning, as expected, but in the evening - having lost the light part of the day, but still on the date specified in the contract - it will not be possible to receive compensation.

A tourist, buying a tourist product with air travel included, completes the transaction with a number of documents. One of these documents is an agreement between him and the air carrier (ticket), which regulates all aspects of the provision of air transportation services. It states that the airline is responsible for any flight delays. The same provision is spelled out in the regulatory document on flight delays - the Federal Aviation Rules, approved by Order of the Ministry of Transport of the Russian Federation dated June 28, 2007 No. 82.
However, there is a Resolution of the Plenum of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation dated June 28, 2012 “On the consideration by courts of civil cases in disputes regarding the protection of consumer rights,” which clarified the responsibility of the carrier and operator for the services they provide:
clause 50 When applying legislation on the protection of consumer rights to relations related to the provision of tourism services, courts should take into account that responsibility to the tourist and (or) other customer for the quality of fulfillment of obligations under the contract for the sale of a tourism product, concluded by the travel agent as on behalf of the operator, and on its own behalf, is borne by the tour operator (including for failure to provide or improper provision of services to tourists included in the tourism product, regardless of who should have provided or provided these services), if federal laws or other regulatory legal acts of the Russian Federation do not it has been established that a third party is responsible to tourists (Article 9 of the Federal Law of November 24, 1996 No. 132-FZ “On the Fundamentals of Tourism Activities”).

In this regard, draw the attention of the courts to the fact that, for example, in cases and disputes arising in connection with the implementation of charter air transportation of passengers within the framework of the execution of an agreement on the sale of a tourism product, the proper defendant and executor of the contract of carriage with the consumer is the tour operator, which in accordance with paragraph 2 of Article 638 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, without the consent of the lessor under a rental agreement (chartering for a time) of a vehicle, on its own behalf, enter into transportation agreements with third parties.

Thus, the new resolution actually divided responsibility between the carrier and the tour operator for different types of transportation. The carrier is responsible for regular transportation, as provided for in the Air and Civil Codes. But the charter is managed by the tour operator and you can make claims
now you will need to go to him, as stated in the second paragraph [clause 50 of the Resolution], but the documents that need to be submitted to the tour operator will remain the same as when booking yourself.
In this regard, the question arises: who will then be responsible for ensuring proper conditions for passengers while waiting for the departure of a delayed flight? So, let us remind you that the obligation to provide accommodation and hot meals to passengers lies with the air carrier in accordance with the Federal Aviation Regulations, and no one has removed it from it and is unlikely to remove it. The carrier still performs this function, and the operator will be responsible to the tourist, since charter transportation is part of the tourism product.

So don’t be afraid and demand money for your ruined vacation, because you’ve been earning it all year.