Air passenger rights

Due to the Regulation No. 261/2004 of the European Parliament and the European Council, all passengers whose flight includes at least one arrival, departure, and/or stopover at a Spanish airport, enjoy the legal rights of a passenger.

In case of violation of these rights, the passenger has the right to file a complaint which may give rise to financial compensation or any other type of compensation. If a passenger is dissatisfied with the service during a flight, but is not entitled to file a complaint, he/she still has the option to file a complaint or a suggestion.

The right for placing a complaint may result from the following cases

These are the most common cases with a right to claim, and are normally addressed to airlines, airports or entities related to your trip such as travel agencies, wholesalers, etc.. In order for claims based on these assumptions to be accepted, certain conditions must be met, i.e. the passenger must have fulfilled his or her obligations as a passenger and the passenger's rights must have been unjustifiably violated. This is because there may be legally developed situations described here - such as force majeure for example - that do not give rise to claims in such a case.

Passengers affected by cancellations can turn to specialized claims services and obtain financial compensation for the cancelled or delayed flight.

Passenger with a delayed or cancelled flight at an airport

Flight disrupted due to an airline strike
Nonexistent, confusing, neutral, or denied information.
Denied boarding due to overbooking, delays, or flight cancellation.
Do not facilitate the right to claim.
Incidents with the ticket, its issue, or change of class.
Delays in departure or arrival of the flight.
Lack of assistance in departure delays.
Missed flight or missed flight connection.
Damage to or loss of luggage.
Discrimination against passengers with disabilities or reduced mobility.
Lack of security at the airport or on board aircraft.
Deficiencies in the service provided at the airport or in the aircraft.
Accidents and/or injuries.
…more cases.

How to file a complaint

Before leaving the airport or the area where the incident occurred, first find out how the claim process you are going to carry out works (medium or channel, term, provision of evidence, etc.), because some claims must be managed In Situ, while others can be carried out within a reasonable time by ordinary mail or the Internet.

There are claim forms at the airline counters, at the airport information points, at the airport shops and restaurants, although the form can also be downloaded online when it is not necessary to file the On-Site claim.

Be careful detailing the events and keep all the documentation in this regard, even if it does not seem useful to you, since after filing the claim, if you do not receive a response within the period indicated or you are not satisfied with the conclusion of the claim, you may:

appeal before the Courts of Justice,
contact the State Aviation Safety Agency (in the case of a claim against the airline),
or use specialized claim services and obtain financial compensation for the canceled or delayed flight.

Please do not leave the airport or the area where the incident has occurred, without informing yourself previously about the procedure of filing a complaint (means, channel, period of time, proofs, etc.). Some complaints have to be done on-site, while others can be dealt with within a reasonable time period by normal mail or internet.

For this reason, depending on the entity concerned, you may dispose of sheets of complaint at the check-in counters of the airlines, at the information desks of the airport or in the airport shops. You may also download and print them if it is not necessary to present the complaint on-site.

Please be very precise when you describe the incident and keep all the related documents, even if you think it is not necessary. You may need the documentation again in case you do not receive an answer within the agreed period of time or maybe you are not happy with the answer, and want to lodge an appeal before the courts or contact with the National Aviation Agency AESA (case of appeal against the airline).

Additional information

Due to the complexity and the constant evolution of the regulations and the laws, the information given herewith may not be complete, incorrect, incomplete or not yet updated. Therefore it is within your responsibility to do everything in your power in order to gather the necessary information.

Please find more information (details of each case, compensations, regulations, directions and phone numbers, etc.) in aeropuertosenred.com , in the sections about passenger rights.

Go Up