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Date Published: 27/09/2022

ARCHIVED - 8 million passengers entitled to compensation for delayed and cancelled flights this summer

ARCHIVED ARTICLE

In Spain, more than 31.8 million people travelled by plane this summer

<span style='color:#780948'>ARCHIVED</span> - 8 million passengers entitled to compensation for delayed and cancelled flights this summer

Around 8 million people across Europe will be due financial compensation as a result of cancelled and delayed flights this summer, according to international air passenger rights organisation Airhelp.

This summer has been busy for aviation companies, certainly since the return to normality after the coronavirus pandemic, but also incredibly chaotic. A total of 897 million passengers flew somewhere in Europe between May and August but of these, 310 million suffered either cancellations or delays.

The high season has been marked by airport and cabin crew strikes which caused major disruptions in Spain and elsewhere, with the latest industrial action called by French air traffic control staff grounding dozens of planes this month.

Of the inconvenienced travellers, 8 million are now entitled to compensation, a huge increase on pre-pandemic payouts when the industry had to compensate 6 million passengers.

Interestingly, rather than adapting to the staff shortages and coping with the tumultuous situation, airports and carriers experienced more problems as the summer went on, and cancelled and delayed flights rose in number month on month until August.

In May, 12 million passengers suffered disruptions (491,000 cancellations, with 1 million people offered compensation. This figure increased to 19 million in June, with 2.3 million entitled to pay outs and a staggering 23 million journeys were either axed completely or delayed during the month of July. Of these, 3 million passengers will receive money back.

As the summer drew to a close, things improved slightly in August: ‘only’ 19 million travellers experienced some kind of disruption, 1.5 million of whom can claim compensation.

Between May and August, in Spain, a total of 31.8 million passengers travelled by plane. Of these, 8,240,000 have suffered delays or cancellations to their flights and 764,000 are entitled to compensation.

Know your rights: How much compensation can you claim for cancelled flights?

Image: Archive

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