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Cancelled trip, hotels that cannot be rebooked and extra expenses - what demands can you as a consumer make of the airline if you are affected by an air strike?

If a flight is canceled due to a strike, the consumer always has the right to rebook the trip or to cancel the trip and get a refund, according to Christine Holst, a lawyer at the Swedish Consumer Agency.

The requirement can only be made when a flight has actually been canceled.

Refunds apply to the unused portion of a trip and the money must be paid back within seven days.

Rebooking is available with the options of reaching your destination as soon as possible or rebooking to another date that suits you.

In some cases, you may be entitled to compensation for expenses or financial loss caused by the cancelled flight. This may include missed connecting flights, missed hotel nights or lost income.

Financial claims should be made directly to the airline.

”It is important to save all receipts and make a claim against the airline,” says Christine Holst.

However, you are obliged to limit your costs and, for example, book hotel nights as much as possible.

At the Consumer Agency website, Hallå konsument, there is a service called Flygkällatorn where you as a consumer can get help with what rights you have in the event of a cancelled flight. The service also includes links to reach the airlines to make demands.

In some cases, you are entitled to financial compensation according to fixed amounts – 250, 400 or 600 euros. The distance of the cancelled flight determines the amount.

The right to compensation is conditioned, among other things, by how far in advance you were notified of the cancelled flight.

If the strike is classified as extraordinary, the right to financial compensation may disappear. What is classified as an extraordinary event or not is complicated and must be assessed on a case-by-case basis, according to Christine Holst.

This includes whether the airline has done everything it reasonably can to avoid a strike.

”"We always encourage the consumer to make demands on the airline. Then the airline has to take a position," says Christine Holst.

If a consumer is not satisfied with the response from the airline, the matter can be taken to the Swedish National Complaints Board (ARN) for review. If the consumer is not satisfied with the decision at ARN, the matter can be taken to the district court.

Source: TT