CAR News Archive

Flights

If Aer Lingus cancels your flight, it must notify you and offer you the choice of an alternative flight at the earliest opportunity or at a later date of your choice subject to the availability of seats or a full refund of the ticket. Alternative travel arrangements should not result in any additional cost to you.

Aer Lingus is entitled to offer a passenger comparable transport to the final destination if no alternative flight with the carrier is available. When a place is served by several airports, Aer Lingus may offer a flight to an alternative airport to that originally booked.  Aer Lingus is then obliged to bear the cost of transferring you to the airport that you had booked or to another close-by destination agreed with you.

If you have not been offered alternative arrangements by Aer Lingus you should contact them to choose an alternative flight or request a refund https://www.aerlingus.com/support/covid19-information/options-for-your-booking/

Care and Assistance

If your agreed rerouted flight departs later than your original, you must be offered care and assistance free of charge while waiting for your rerouted flight– specifically, reasonable meals and refreshments in relation to the waiting time, hotel accommodation in cases where an overnight stay becomes necessary, transport between the airport and place of accommodation and two telephone calls, emails, faxes or telexes.

For example, if as a result your being re-routed following a cancellation, your new time of departure is reasonably expected to be at least the day after the original day of departure, Aer Lingus should also offer you:

(ii) transport between the airport and place of accommodation (hotel or other).

Where it is not feasible for Aer Lingus to arrange the care set out above, and you do so yourself, Aer Lingus should reimburse you for your reasonable receipted expenses upon application to: https://www.aerlingus.com/support/forms/post-travel-enquiry/

Compensation

Compensation in the event of cancellation depends on a number of factors.

Firstly compensation is potentially payable in the event of a cancellation regardless of whether you have travelled or claimed a refund of your flight if you have received less than two weeks (fourteen days).

In the event that you have been given notice of the cancellation of more than two weeks (fourteen days) before the scheduled time of departure then you are not entitled to compensation.

Aer Lingus may not have to compensate you if you are informed of the cancellation between two weeks and seven days before the scheduled time of departure and are offered re-routing, allowing you to depart no more than two hours before the scheduled time of departure and to reach your final destination less than four hours after the scheduled time of arrival

Or

If you are informed of the cancellation less than seven days before the scheduled time of departure and are offered re-routing, allowing you to depart no more than one hour before the scheduled time of departure and to reach your final destination less than two hour after the scheduled time of arrival.

Compensation is not payable if Aer Lingus can prove that the cancellation was caused by an extraordinary circumstance which could not have been avoided even if all reasonable measures were taken no compensation is payable (e.g. a cancellation due to an air traffic control strike, bird strike or weather conditions that are incompatible with the safe operation of the flight).

Compensation in the event of a cancellation also depends on the distance of the flight and the reason for the cancellation.  The distance of a flight determines the amount of compensation due. If the distance is:

1500km – 3500km and all EU flights over 3500km the amount payable is €400 for example Dublin – Malaga or Dublin – Faro are over 1500km but less than 3500km.

It is very important to note that compensation is distinct from and separate to the notion of reimbursement of expenses and/ or the refund of the cost of an unused flight ticket.

Claims Process

If you choose to make a claim for expenses or compensation from Aer Lingus, you must submit a claim (including for EU Regulation 261 compensation), please select the "EC261/2004 Entitlement" option under the "Issue" section of this form. https://www.aerlingus.com/support/forms/post-travel-enquiry/.

Aer Lingus aims to deal with your application within 4 to 6 weeks. It is important to remember that Aer Lingus is not required to pay compensation if the cancellation was outside of their control (extraordinary circumstances).   Once Aer Lingus has finished dealing with your claim and if you do not agree with their decision, you can make a complaint to the Commission for Aviation Regulation.

It is important to remember that we only deal with flights departing from Ireland and that we will not deal with any complaint unless you have first submitted it directly to Aer Lingus. Details of our complaint process can be found on https://www.flightrights.ie/cancellations-delays/

A list of other relevant national enforcement bodies for countries also affected by the recent Aer Lingus cancellations is available below.  Please use the links provided to contact the relevant body for your flight disruption. 

Belgium.  If your flight departs from an airport in Belgium please contact Tel: + 32 2 277 44 00 Fax: + 32 2 277 40 73 passenger.rights@mobilit.fgov.be   www.mobilit.belgium.be

Denmark. If your flight departs from an airport in Denmark please contact Tel: +45 7221 8800 Fax: +45 7262 6790 info@tbst.dk   www.tbst.dk

France. If your flight departs from an airport in France please contact Tel: +33 1 58 09 43 21 www.developpement-durable.gouv.fr

Germany. If your flight departs from an airport in Germany please contact Tel.: +49 531 2355 115 Fax: +49 531 2355 9099   fluggastrechte@lba.de    www.lba.de

Italy. If your flight departs from an airport in Italy please contact Tel: +39 06 44596 1 Fax: +39 06 44596 493   cartadiritti@enac.gov.it      www.enac.gov.it

Luxembourg. If your flight departs from an airport in Luxembourg please contact Tel: +352 247 84159   +352 247 84334   Fax: +352 22 16 07        passagersaeriens@eco.etat.lu

The Netherlands. If your flight departs from an airport in the Netherlands please contact Tel: +31 884 890 000   Fax: +31 704 5630 13      www.ILenT.nl

Norway. If your flight departs from an airport in Norway please click contact Tel.: + 47 22 54 60 00 Fax: + 47 22 54 60 01   post@reiselivsforum.no     www.transportklagenemnda.no

Poland. If your flight departs from an airport in Poland please contact Tel.: +48 (22) 520 74 84 Fax: +48 (22) 520 73 47      kopp@ulc.gov.pl http://www.ulc.gov.pl

Portugal. If your flight departs from an airport in Portugal please contact Tel. : +351 (21) 842-3500 Fax : +351 (21) 847-3585   dre.pdc@anac.pt    www.anac.pt

Spain. If your flight departs from an airport in Spain please contact Tel.: + 34 91 396 82 10  http://www.seguridadaerea.es

United Kingdom. If your flight departs from an airport in the United Kingdom please contact Tel: +44 20 7453 6888 Fax: +44 20 7240 7071 passengercomplaints@caa.co.uk https://www.caa.co.uk/