Cancelled Flight Rights ? what are your rights are if your flight is delayed or cancelled

There has been much talk in the press recently about significant changes effecting the rights of customers if their flights are cancelled or delayed, what exactly is the law and does it apply to my circumstances ? the rights of passengers to compensation is contained under EC Regulation 261/2004, this provides that if you are travelling to or from an EU airport you can claim compensation if your flight is cancelled without sufficient notice . The level of compensation is dependant, upon the distance of destination and is fixed at : 250 Euros when the distance is 1500 KM or less, 400 Euros when the distance is no more than 1500 KM’s, and for all other flights between  1500 and 3500 km the compensation payable will be 600 Euros. The only defence for airlines is proving that the reason for the cancellation was due to `extraordinary circumstances ` outside the airlines control. This would include a terrorist attack or adverse weather. The Courts have ruled that technical faults with aircraft do not amount to `extraordinary circumstances `. Until recently, the law was unclear if your flight was delayed for more than 3 hours and whether you could claim compensation, however the law has now been clarified after a recent European Court Ruling which makes clear that those who suffer a delayed flight will be entitled to compensation. Again the level of your compensation depends upon the length of the delay and your destination, and is as follows : flight delays over 2 hours with the destination upto 1500km 250 euros, flights over 1,500 delay over 3 hours 400 euros, more than 3,500 Km 300 Euros and for flights over 3,500 with a delay of more than 4 hours the compensation will be 600 euros. There is a useful flight distance calculator at Aeroclaim to calculate the distance of your airport. We are one of the few law firms to specialise in cancelled or delayed flight compensation claims, we have a dedicated website to claim so click here to start your claim or call us on 0845 269 3571