If a flight is covered by the Regulation, you, as a passenger, have rights in the following instances: Denied boarding, cancellation and delay.
Passengers are denied boarding on a flight where the passenger has a confirmed reservation and is present at check-in and boarding, at the required time. Any and all travel documents must be presented to the air carrier upon request.
The Danish Transport, Construction and Housing Authority handle complaints concerning flights that depart Danish airports, and flights that depart a non-EU country with a direct flight to a Danish airport, where the operator is an EU carrier.
The Danish Transport, Construction and Housing Authority does not handle complaints concerning the following instances:
The Danish Transport, Construction and Housing Authority cannot handle complaints concerning these instances.
Complaints concerning baggage may be directed to Consumer Centre Europe.
Published
10/09/2020
Firstly, you must complain directly to the airline. However, if you are not satisfied with their reply; you can forward a complaint to the Danish Transport, Construction and Housing Authority.
In order to process your complaint, please have the following documents ready when submitting a complaint:
Rights concerning delay depend upon the duration of the delay. The airline has to offer meals and refreshments (alcohol not included) as well as two free phone calls, telex, fax or e-mails, hotel stay if this is deemed necessary, transport between airport and hotel accommodation if an overnight stay is necessary.
Furthermore, if the delay is not caused by extraordinary circumstances the air carrier must, upon request, pay compensation in accordance with the Regulation.
If the delay is caused by extraordinary circumstances, the air carrier may refer to this, and refuse compensation.
In order to be entitled to compensation, the delay in arrival must be 3 hours or more after the scheduled time of arrival.
The amount depends upon the distance the flight has, or will, or was planned to cover and the delay's length.
In case of cancellation and delay the right to compensation may be repealed if the airline can prove that the delay or cancellation was caused by extraordinary circumstances, which could not have been avoided even if all reasonable measures had been taken.
Circumstances such as these can occur in cases of political instability, weather conditions that are incompatible with the execution of the flight in question, safety hazards, unforeseen security issues, or strikes that affect the performance of the airline.
Air carriers may in some cases reduce the compensation by 50 % if the passenger is rerouted to their final destination, and the delay in arrival is 2-4 hours after the originally scheduled time of arrival, at their final destination, depending on the length of the flight.
Regulation
Regulation (EC) No 261/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council
Valid from
11/02/2004
If such is the case, you should contact the airline to be rebooked to another departure, or to have your ticket refunded. Rebooking will in most cases not be possible due to the current circumstances. You have the right to have a ticket refunded upon cancellation, which means that you’re not obligated to accept a voucher if the airline offers you such compensation.
However, you can choose to accept a voucher instead of having your ticket refunded. If you’re considering this, it would be advantageous for you to investigate which terms and conditions apply to the airline’s vouchers, including what security you have if the airline goes bankrupt.
The airline will not be liable for other expenses you may have incurred from separate bookings, such as hotel/accommodation, rental car, etc. You should consult your travel insurance if you have one.
The airline may direct you to the travel agency or third-party provider through which you made your booking and it can be a good idea to start your complaint there.
However, in accordance with EU 261 it is the airline that is obliged to refund your ticket.
If the travel agency or third-party provider doesn’t pay the refund you must then submit your claim to the obliged party – the airline.
You need to be able to document your contact with the airline if you want to submit a claim. You must give the airline 6 weeks to respond to our inquiry.
The airline companies are obliged to refund your flight ticket if you request it. Therefore, a practice of only offering vouchers is not in accordance with the regulations applicable in this field.
Several airlines have begun to take action to make vouchers more attractive. Thus, it may be that an airline offers you a compensation amount, such as a bonus or gift voucher, in addition to the value of the flight ticket, in order to make you accept the voucher. The airline is legally allowed to do this. If you’re considering this, it would be advantageous for you to investigate which terms and conditions apply to the airline’s vouchers, including what security you have if the airline goes bankrupt.
If you do not wish to receive a voucher, you must notify the airline that you want the flight ticket refunded in full. If the airline refuses to refund the flight ticket, you can file a complaint with the Danish Transport, Construction and Housing Authority.
If you accepted a voucher without the airline informing you of your rights for a refund, you are eligible for a conversion of the voucher to a refund. In that case you should contact the airline in order to ask for a conversion.
If the company informed you of your rights for a refund, but you choose the voucher the airline is not obliged to convert your voucher.
If the airline doesn’t want to convert your voucher you can contact the authority from the country the flight was to depart from.
If the airline does not respond to your inquiry within six weeks, you can file a complaint to the Danish Transport, Construction and Housing Authority. Please note that the Danish Transport, Construction and Housing Authority can only deal with complaints if the cancelled flight was scheduled to depart:
As a result of the corona crisis and the many cancelled flights, airlines are currently receiving many inquiries, and many airlines have been forced to lay-off their staff. Therefore, it may take longer than under normal circumstances for the airline to respond to your inquiry. We recommend that you arm yourself with patience.
If the airline goes bankrupt, you must file your claim to the bankruptcy estate, whether it is a claim for a due refund or a claim for cash conversion of a voucher.
You will also have the opportunity to have your plane tickets covered by the Travel Guarantee Fund, if the departure was scheduled to/from a Danish airport. However, this does not apply to domestic flights. There will be a deductible of DKK 1,000. The fund does not cover vouchers in the event of bankruptcy.
If you have purchased your ticket with a Mastercard or Visacard you can contact your bank in order to apply for a refund. Note that this does not apply to a Danish “Dankort”
The Danish Transport, Construction and Housing Authority's case processing time is currently higher than usual, between three to six months.
As a part of the Danish Transport, Construction and Housing Authority's case management process, the individual complaints must be submitted to the airlines in order for them to respond to the claim.
The Danish TCHA is aware that the airlines are currently severely affected by the corona crisis and that, among other things, lay-off of staff has led to longer case processing times for the airlines. Therefore, the Danish TCHA is currently discussing with the airlines how the complaints can be dealt with as quickly as possible.
Following the current special circumstances, we recommend that you’re patient regarding the processing of your case.
Please note that the Danish Transport, Construction and Housing Authority can only accept complaints where the relevant cancellation departs
Compensation is a fixed amount for the inconvenience that you experience during a delay, cancellation or denied boarding incident. For more information, see question 2.
A refund of expenses is a reimbursement of documented expenses that you incurred due to the delay/cancellation/denied boarding incident. For more information, see question 3.
It is possible to claim both compensation and a refund of expenses. However, your claim must first be presented to the air carrier and you must present documentation for the expenses incurred (for instance by presenting itemized receipts). Please note that bank statements are not accepted. If the air carrier does not heed your claim, you can subsequently forward a complaint to the Danish Transport, Construction and Housing Authority or the national enforcement body in the country in which the incident took place.
If your flight is delayed by three hours or more in arrival at your final destination, or if your flight has been cancelled, you may be entitled to compensation.
If you are notified about the cancellation more than 14 days before departure, you are not entitled to compensation.
If you are notified about the cancellation less than 14 days before departure and you are offered rerouting, the question of compensation depends on when you depart, and when you arrive at your final destination.
When your departure is delayed between 2-4 hours depending on the length of the flight, you have a right to care. If you were not offered refreshments (snacks, beverages and/or meals) or vouchers while you were waiting, you are able to claim a refund of reasonable expenses pertaining to this from the air carrier. Please note that expenses relating to alcoholic beverages are not refunded.
If you were not offered accommodation, including transport to and from the accommodation, you can claim reasonable expenses pertaining to this from the air carrier. Remember to forward a copy of your itemized receipts documenting your expenses to the air carrier.
The right to care, and a refund of expenses, depends on the circumstances in each case, and the expenses must be reasonable.
List of member states, organisations and contact details
Read the conditions thoroughly before you accept the purchase, so you know what to do in case of unexpected changes or incidents in connection with the flight. Furthermore, when you purchase a ticket for more than one flight, you must note whether you have purchased a continuous ticket – meaning that the same booking number is on all your flights. If this is not the case, the air carrier’s obligations are limited in relation to the flights that you have booked.
If you are entitled to compensation, the amounts are:
* Note that while the distance for flights to the Canary Islands and the Azores surpasses 3500 km, the compensation is still EUR 400 as they are both within the EU.
In some cases, the air carrier may reduce your compensation by 50% depending on the distance you travelled and on the time of arrival at your destination. This is applicable in situations where you are rerouted, and you arrive at your destination two hours later than originally scheduled for flights up to 1500 km.
It is also applicable in situations where the flight is more than 3500 km and you arrive at your destination more than three hours after the scheduled time of arrival but less than four hours. In these cases, air carriers are allowed to reduce the compensation by 50 percent.
The air carrier is not obligated to compensate passengers in cases where the delay is caused by extraordinary circumstances, which could not have been avoided.
You may be entitled to compensation if you receive information regarding the cancellation less than 14 days before departure, unless the reason for the cancellation is extraordinary circumstances. In connection with a cancellation, you must be offered the choice of a refund of your original ticket price or be offered an alternative route to your final destination. If the air carrier does not offer an alternative flight or an alternative flight within a reasonable timeframe, and you buy new tickets yourself, you may be entitled to a refund of expenses connected with this purchase.
