Six days. this is how long the strike should last. This time, the employees of the Wings Handling company, which provides apron services for Eurowings at the Palma airport, planned it. Apart from July 1, they also want to stop work on July 5, 7, 10, 12 and 13.
At this point, it looks like there will actually be delays and cancellations; According to the representatives of the employees of Wings Handling, it does not seem that the parties will be able to reach an agreement at the moment, “Mallorca Zeitung” reports.
Multi-day strike at Mallorca airport in July: Here’s what travelers need to know
But passengers do not have to sit idle and accept the strike. they are entitled to compensation, as an expert now explains. He says what travelers affected by the work stoppages need to know.
Nina Staub, air passenger rights expert at AirHelp, the world’s largest passenger rights organization, explains what rights travelers have. Even if the strike dates will cause some chaos for passengers; “Good news. for delays or cancellations of more than three hours, they are entitled to compensation of up to €600,” Staub said.
The amount of the compensation fee is calculated based on the length of the flight route. “Affected passengers can retroactively pursue their claim for compensation up to three years after the date of their flight.”
“Passengers have the right to compensation”
The organization was able to convince the European Court of Justice in a court case three years ago that airlines are responsible for declared and undeclared strikes by their staff and must compensate their customers in case of problems. Staub: “Since in this case the staff of Wings Handling Palma, which provides ground services to Eurowings, are on strike, the strike is the airline’s responsibility. Accordingly, the injured passengers have the right to compensation.”
Not only that. according to the expert, Eurowings should also find an alternative flight. Or the airline must refund the full cost of the flight. “Airlines, as a rule, offer rebooking for an alternative flight. If the airline does not take action on its own initiative or cannot offer suitable alternative transport, affected passengers may seek an alternative themselves and pay the airline for the costs. It is important.
Experts recommend two things in particular
If there is a delay of more than five hours or if the flight is rescheduled, the airline must also refund the full cost of the ticket, says Staub. “In case of a delay of more than two hours, the operating airline must provide food and drink to the passengers at the airport, in addition, a phone call or two must be sent.” Emails to make possible:
If necessary, airlines must also provide accommodation and transportation there. The expert advises to ask for this privilege from the airline. Staub: “We advise all passengers to retain each receipt so that they can be reimbursed by the airlines for food, beverage, alternative travel and accommodation costs.”