Air passengers reminded of compensation rights

AIRLINE passengers who travelled from last January 1 onwards have the right to seek compensation for flight cancellations or delays they suffered, according to a European directive.
The Chairman of the House Legal Affairs Committee, Ionas Nicolaou of DISY, yesterday announced that the directive had been in force since January 1, 2007, and any passengers who suffered losses from that date could seek compensation.

“Any passenger who travelled after January 1, 2007, has the right to seek his rights as they are set in this directive,” said Nicolaou.

The compensations will be estimated based on the damage suffered by the passenger, while passengers can seek their compensation from the airline directly.

Speaking after his committee had discussed the implementation of European laws for the Civil Aviation Department, Nicolaou also said the Department was obliged to maintain and publish a list of airlines that are banned within the EU as they do not meet safety standards.

He added that the list would be made public through the internet or media.

The committee chairman finally requested the Civil Aviation Department to prepare a leaflet stating airline passengers’ rights as provided by the specific directive, which will be given to them when tickets are issued.

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