Know your rights!

Flight Compensation

Not every single flight delay or cancellation entitles you to compensation ranging from €250-€600 according to the Air Passenger Rights Regulation. Air passenger rights are currently provided for only in cases of particularly significant flight irregularities under German and European law. Therefore, there are numerous instances where flight compensation is not applicable. To give air travelers an overview of when a claim is likely to be lacking and when it is not, we present here the most common scenarios in which flight compensation is excluded. It explains why and when our compensation calculator concludes that Skyright cannot offer direct compensation for a flight cancellation or delay. Furthermore, it shows in which cases a compensation claim typically exists.

Key Points:

If flight compensation is excluded according to our compensation calculator, it is almost always due to one of the following four reasons:

  • The delay is not significant enough because the passenger reaches their final destination with less than three hours of delay.
  • The delay is due to uncontrollable circumstances (such as bad weather, restrictions on air traffic due to the COVID-19 pandemic, or other forms of force majeure).
  • The Air Passenger Rights Regulation does not apply because the flight does not start or end in the EU.
  • The airline responsible for compensation is insolvent (e.g., Air Berlin, Wow Air, LATAM, or Germania) or is at risk of becoming so. This is the case, for example, when an airline is at risk of having to apply for a debt restructuring or the opening of insolvency proceedings due to the poor economic situation resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic.

Flight Compensation for Cancellations

Especially since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, we are all too familiar with the fact that travel plans can change at short notice. The same applies to the options for rebooking or canceling flights provided by airlines in their tariffs. Many airlines accommodated travelers to some extent in the years following 2020, allowing more flexibility in their booking conditions than usual. However, this generosity naturally had its limits: the special conditions usually applied only to certain periods of 2020 and 2021 – and even then, not all airlines offered the same time frames or the same concessions. Whether and how much flight cancellations and rebookings cost varies then and now depending on the airline, flight route, booking date, departure date, and of course booking class. This can quickly lead to confusion.

Skyright has taken these circumstances as an opportunity to gradually create clear presentations for each carrier on how to cancel and rebook. We summarize succinctly:

  • the amount of fees incurred,
  • what refund of the flight price can be claimed,
  • and when special COVID-related regulations apply (e.g., for Ryanair).

With practical checklists for the flight cancellation process and FAQs to answer common questions, we aim to provide air passengers with a useful guide for cases where they may not want to take a flight as planned. In addition, diagrams in the article for each airline help break down difficult terms of service clauses and highlight the essence of the provisions in an understandable way. By dedicating each post separately to a specific airline, our explanations do not simply consist of generalizations, but rather clarify what applies to a specific booking.

If you encounter difficulties in obtaining refunds for the refundable portions of the flight price after cancellations, our refund service is available to you. For a commission of 17-20% of the refundable amount, we provide you with an immediate payment of 80-83% of what you can reclaim from the airline. This saves you the hassle of dealing with the airline. Instead, you will receive what you are entitled to directly into your account within 1-2 days. You can determine your individual entitlement free of charge using our compensation calculator. Following a positive assessment, it is also possible to immediately apply for a direct refund through Skyright.