Compensation in case of
Flight Detour
You’re sitting on a plane and suddenly there’s an announcement that the flight is being diverted. Instead of arriving at the planned destination, you land somewhere completely different. When a flight is diverted, many passengers are unsure whether they can claim compensation from the airline for the inconvenience. With the help of our travel law experts, Passengers friend claims the compensation payment you are entitled to from the airline.
You have these rights in the event of a flight detour:
Sometimes flights are diverted and have to land at another airport with a delay. If you arrive at your original destination at least 3 hours late, you are entitled to compensation of up to €600 per person under the EU Air Passenger Rights Regulation. When calculating the delay, the arrival time at the original destination is relevant.
Benefits you are entitled to in the event of a flight detour:
If the flight is delayed for more than 3 hours, you are entitled to care services such as meals, soft drinks, two phone calls or emails. If the plane lands at another airport, the airline must transport you to your original arrival point. If you must arrange your own alternate transportation, please keep all receipts and vouchers. You can bill the airline for your expenses after the fact.
The amount of reimbursement depends on the flight distance:
Scope of the Air Passenger Rights Regulation:
The EU Passenger Rights Regulation No.261/2004 regulates compensation payments for all flights departing from a European airport.
However, the legal situation is different for flights departing from outside the EU: The destination airport must be within the EU when the flight lands and the operating airline must have its headquarters in the EU.
This is how you check and claim your compensation:
Simply enter your flight number and flight date in our claim form. You will instruct us to check your claim for compensation within two minutes. This service is free of charge for you. We only retain a 36% commission if we are successful.
Flight detour are annoying. In addition to the question of compensation, there is often the question of why flights are diverted.
Reasons why a flight is diverted
Flights can be diverted for a variety of reasons. These include, for example:
- Airport closure
- Emergency medical service
- Severe weather
- Night flight ban
The night flight ban:
Among the most common reasons for a detour is the night flight ban. If your flight has been diverted, you are definitely entitled to replacement transportation to the original airport. This means that the airline must ensure that you reach your destination airport. If the airline does not take care of this, you can book your own transportation to the destination airport. The following table shows you which airports may not be approached at night:
Lübeck from 23:30 Uhr to 05:30 Uhr | Dresden from 23:30 Uhr to 5:30 Uhr |
Hamburg from 23:00 Uhr to 6:00 Uhr | Frankfurt am Main from 23:00 Uhr to 5:00 Uhr |
Bremen from 22:30 Uhr to 6:00 Uhr | Saarbrücken from 22:30 Uhr to 6:00 Uhr |
Berlin-Tegel from 23:00 Uhr to 6:00 Uhr | Karlsruhe/Baden-Baden from 23:00 Uhr to 6:00 Uhr |
Niederrhein from 22:00 Uhr to 6:00 Uhr | Stuttgart from 23:00 Uhr to 6:00 Uhr |
Dortmund from 22:00 Uhr to 6:00 Uhr | Friedrichshafen from 22:00 Uhr to 6:00 Uhr |
Düsseldorf from 22:00 Uhr to 6:00 Uhr | Memmingen from 22:00 Uhr to 6:00 Uhr |
Leipzig/Halle from 23:30 Uhr to 5:30 Uhr | München from 0:00 Uhr to 5:00 Uhr |