Flight canceled or trip canceled: Who is now entitled to compensation

Airlines are currently massively cutting their flight plans because demand has dropped sharply due to the corona virus and many destinations are simply no longer to be served due to travel warnings. Almost all destinations worldwide are now affected by cancellations and rebookings.

Requirements for compensation

Those who cannot or do not want to keep the new appointment, or who generally want to fly at a much later date, can now benefit from significantly expanded goodwill regulations for most airlines. With airlines such as Lufthansa, passengers can rebook free of charge.

However, there is not necessarily money. If passengers are rebooked and flight times or even the flight day change, compensation is only provided under certain conditions. The entitlement depends on the time at which the airline informs a passenger:

• If the company informs about the change in flight time or flight date 14 days before departure or earlier, there will be no compensation payment under the EU Passenger Rights Regulation, as travel lawyer Paul Degott from Hanover emphasizes.

You can read more about this here: These are your rights if your flight is delayed – or even canceled

Corona "no joker" for airlines

On the other hand, if the airline cancels a flight less than two weeks before departure for business reasons and rebooks the passenger, he is entitled to compensation. In terms of a single flight, the fact that the corona virus is rampant in Europe is, according to Degott, not yet an unusual circumstance: "Corona is now the joker of airlines, but that is not enough."

The airline is only released from the obligation to pay for short-term cancellations if the passenger can in principle no longer enter – as is currently the case in Israel.

These rules apply to the individual airlines:

Lufthansa:

Lufthansa is reducing its flight program by 80 percent on the Kruz route and by 90 percent on the long-haul route. Long-haul routes are particularly affected by connections to the Middle East, Africa and Central and South America. The new flight plan is initially valid until April 12.

Irrespective of the freeze on entry for Europeans to the United States, Lufthansa maintains at least a core range of flights to the United States. The website states: "The Lufthansa Group will operate flights from

also retained in the flight schedule beyond March 14th, thus maintaining at least some air traffic connections to the USA from Europe. The airlines are currently working on the creation of a corresponding special flight plan for the USA. "

Anyone who has booked a flight with Lufthansa that has been canceled or leads to the risk area benefits from extended goodwill regulations:

• You have an existing booking and you already have a specific new travel date:

All flights booked by March 5 with a departure date by April 30, 2020 can now be rebooked free of charge. Existing tickets can be rebooked within their validity period or for a new date by December 31, 2020 – regardless of the booking tariff.

• You have an existing booking but no new travel date:

If you booked a ticket before or on March 12 with a departure date before April 30, 2020, you can now cancel your flights without specifying a new travel date. A new flight must be booked before June 1st. The new travel date must be within the ticket validity or at the latest by December 31, 2020.

• You do not have an existing booking yet and would like to travel flexibly in the future:

If you book a new flight with one of the Lufthansa Group airlines by March 31, we will waive the rebooking fees for all flights worldwide – regardless of the booking tariff. Newly purchased tickets can be rebooked once without a rebooking fee until December 31, 2020.

All information can be found on the company's website in the "Flight Information" section.

Ryanair:

The Irish low-cost airline is cutting its offer by up to 80 percent. All connections to Italy have already been canceled up to and including April 8, and further flights will be significantly thinned out over the next seven to ten days.

Ryanair also offers customers comprehensive goodwill arrangements:

• Passengers can rebook free of charge

In a release, Ryanair explains the current options for passengers: "We understand that there is uncertainty about travel at this time. If you currently have a booking with us in March but prefer not to fly at this time, you can change your flight online and we will waive the rebooking fee. This applies to all existing and new bookings by Tuesday, March 31st. If there is a tariff difference, you have to pay it – by waiving the rebooking fee, we want to give you more flexibility in changing your travel plans. "

• Canceled flights can be refunded or rebooked

The low-cost airline further explains: "In cases where we Customers who had to cancel flights can switch to an alternative Ryanair flight free of charge or receive a refund. To change your travel plans, please visit the "My Bookings" section on Ryanair.com. "If a flight is canceled, Ryanair will automatically notify passengers via SMS or email.

Easyjet:

The British airline Easyjet is also responding to the effects of the corona virus. The airline plans to leave most of its fleet on the ground. Passengers can find all the latest information on the company's website.

Easyjet also extends the rebooking options:

• No change fee for rebooking

The company said on the website: "Due to potential concerns from our customers, we are offering easyJet customers who wish to change their travel plans to rebook their flights to alternative dates and / or travel destinations without a change fee. If the new fare is higher, customers only have to pay the difference in airfare.

This exception applies to both existing and new bookings until further notice. Customers can change their booking online in the 'Manage bookings' area on easyJet.com or via the mobile app. Changes must be made at least two hours before the scheduled departure time in accordance with our terms and conditions. "

Airlines point to an exceptional situation

Airlines continue to insist on exceptional circumstances when canceling flights due to the corona virus. Internet passenger rights portals, on the other hand, point out that the cancellations are generally purely business decisions. In case of doubt, courts have to decide in the end.

Regardless of claims from the EU regulation, there can be a claim for damages. This simply results from the contract of carriage. Example: If a vacationer is rebooked on a flight two days later, he can charge the airline for the two hotel nights, Degott says.

Who will help me to enforce my rights?

The Stiftung Warentest dealt with the subject of passenger rights. The experts at "Finanztest" recommend that you first contact the airline in question for compensation. In the event of a dispute, an arbitration board can then be called. If that doesn't work either, "Finanztest" advises to switch on a passenger portal. Contact points are Compensation2Go, Flightright or Fairplane. Flightright evaluate the experts as providers with a lot of experience.

Tour operators also have to react

In addition to the airlines, tour operators are also massively affected by the effects of the coronavirus crisis on the desire to travel and, above all, people's travel options. The Federal Foreign Office now advises against all unnecessary trips abroad. The tour operators react to this.

These regulations apply to the various providers:

TUI:

TUI writes on the website: "TUI Germany has decided you suspend worldwide travel program until March 27, 2020 inclusive. We will therefore cancel all trips up to and including March 27 and will inform you as soon as possible. We ask for your understanding that the large number of travel bookings are processed chronologically according to the departure date and the notification may therefore take some time. For guests who are currently in the holiday areas, the following applies: Many return flights are carried out regularly. TUI will find a solution for all other guests and will actively inform them. The TUI General Terms and Conditions currently apply to all trips departing from March 28, 2020. "

TUI also explains that all travel agencies will be completely closed on the homepage: "Due to the current orders of the state governments we also keep our travel agencies closed.
We're still reachable! You can still reach the offices by phone or email. "

For more information, travelers can visit https://www.tui.com.

FTI Tourism:

FTI Touristik also responds to the situation by stopping all trips. The company writes on the homepage: In order to support the efforts to contain the corona virus, the FTI GROUP Reisen actively says up March 31, 2020 onwards. Short-term offers are currently not available. Long-term vacation bookings to all destinations are still possible.

This is an extraordinary situation for all of us and we understand your insecurity regarding your vacation trip. We endeavor to inform you promptly about current developments such as entry requirements and inform you about your travel agency, personally or via this page. "

Alltours:

Alltours is no different than TUI or FTI. The provider explains on his website: "Alltours cancels package tours and travel with individual arrival until March 27th. " According to the organizer, trips with individual arrival include tours via Belgium, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Austria, Poland, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Slovenia, the Czech Republic, Hungary and the German North / East Frisian Islands and Fehmarn, Poel, Rügen and Usedom in the Baltic Sea . "Alltours cancels the trips free of charge; customers receive confirmation," the provider writes on his website.

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