AirHelp Reveals Most Popular & Disrupted Flight Routes For Christmas Week 2018 And Compensation For Disruptions Under European Law

Number of Disrupted Flights During Christmas Week: 83,000

Number of Passengers Who Experienced Flight Disruptions During Christmas Week: 7.9 million

Worst Day to Fly: December 22 (Friday before Christmas)

Most Popular Routes During Christmas Week:

1. San Francisco International Airport (SFO) to Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) 
2. Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) to San Francisco International Airport (SFO)
3. New York John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) to Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) 
4. Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) to New York John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK)
5. New York LaGuardia Airport (LGA) to Chicago O'Hare International Airport (ORD)
6. Chicago O'Hare International Airport (ORD) to New York LaGuardia Airport (LGA)
7. Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) to Las Vegas McCarran International Airport (LAS)
8. Las Vegas McCarran International Airport (LAS) to Los Angeles International Airport (LAX)
9. Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA) to Portland International Airport (PDX)
10. Portland International Airport (PDX) to Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA)

Most Disrupted Routes During Christmas Week:

1. New York LaGuardia Airport (LGA) to Toronto Lester B Pearson International Airport (YYZ)
2. Chicago O'Hare International Airport (ORD) to Toronto Lester B Pearson International Airport (YYZ)
3. Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR) to Toronto Bishop Billy City Airport (YTZ)
4. Boston Edward L Logan International Airport (BOS) to Orlando International Airport (MCO)
5. Boston Edward L Logan International Airport (BOS) to Toronto Lester B Pearson International Airport (YYZ)
6. Portland International Airport (PDX) to Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA)
7. Indianapolis International Airport (IND) to Chicago O'Hare International Airport (ORD)
8. Kahului Airport (OGG) to Honolulu International Airport (HNL)
9. Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR) to Toronto Lester B Pearson International Airport (YYZ)
10. New York LaGuardia Airport (LGA) to Montreal Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport (YUL)

Total Money Owed for Flight Disruptions During Christmas Week Under European Law EC 261: $6.3 million*

* EC 261 is a European law protects all passengers, including U.S. travelers, on flights on European airlines flying to the EU, and any flight departing from an EU airport. According to this law, airlines must provide passengers affected by lengthy delays of more than three hours, flight cancellations, or boarding denials due to overbookings with compensation of up to $700, in addition to meals and drinks for all delays of more than

Airline Strike: Passengers Get Ready For Compensation. #PassengerRights

 By Juergen T Steinmetz

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The European Court of Justice in Luxembourg ruled that airlines must compensate passengers for delays and cancellations caused by airline staff strikes. Similar to EC 261, a European regulation that requires airlines to compensate passengers who have experienced flight disruptions, this new ruling protects all airline passengers flying to the EU, on an EU airline, or from any country within the EU, including US passengers.

Previously, airline strikes were considered an extraordinary circumstance, so until now, passengers were not eligible to claim compensation from airlines if disruptions resulted from strikes. This new decision significantly strengthens existing regulations, reopening cases of this kind as more travelers become eligible to claim up to $700 in compensation for this type of disruption.

The European Court of Justice in Luxembourg today ruled that airlines must compensate their passengers for flight delays and cancellations, even though the reason for this was a strike by airline staff. The airlines are now facing a wave claims, because this ruling applies to all previous airline strikes and new ones. Why this is such an important judgement, is explained by Christian Nielsen, head of the legal department of the world’s leading passenger helper portal, AirHelp.

“Until now, airlines strikes of all kind have been considered extraordinary circumstances that exempt airlines from their duty to pay compensation. Today the European Court of Justice ruled that even an illegal strike does not constitute an extraordinary event. So from now on, airlines must compensate their passengers with up to $700 per person if they were affected by flight delays or cancellations due to strikes by airline staff. This decision significantly strengthens European passenger law. The airlines are now going to face a wave of claims, as this ruling also applies to all previous strikes, the statute of limitation being the only barrier.

Therefore, we at AirHelp will reopen thousands of closed cases of this kind and enforce the claim for compensation of our customers with the responsible airlines. We will inform all affected customers in the next days. However, we also advise all other passengers affected by flight problems due to airline strikes to enforce their right to financial compensation. At AirHelp it is our mission to fight for passenger rights and help everybody to get the compensation they deserve. We even go to court for you.”

Flight problems: These are the passengers’ rights

In case of a delayed or canceled flight, and in instances of denied boarding, passengers may be entitled to financial compensation of up to $700 per person in certain circumstances. The condition for this stipulates that the departure airport is within the EU or that the airline carrying it is based in the EU. Furthermore, the reason for the delay in flight operations must be caused by the airline. The right to financial compensation must be claimed within three years of the delayed date of the flight.

On the other hand, extraordinary circumstances such as storms, or medical emergencies mean that the operating airline is exempt from the obligation to compensate air passengers.

US Passengers Owed $4.85 Million From Easter Flight Disruptions, How To Get Compensated.

AirHelp, the world's leading flight compensation company, reports that more than 15,800 flights were disrupted at U.S. airports during Easter weekend, and passengers who traveled to the EU between Good Friday and Easter Monday may be entitled to claim approximately $4.85 million due to flight disruptions.

During Easter weekend this year, Good Friday, March 30, 2018, saw the largest airport crowds as many people traveled directly before the holiday weekend.

Below were the flight routes that experienced the highest number of flight disruptions:

1. New York LaGuardia Airport (LGA) to Chicago O'Hare International Airport (ORD)

2. San Francisco International Airport (SFO) to Los Angeles International Airport (LAX)

3. New York LaGuardia Airport (LGA) to Toronto Pearson International Airport (YYZ)

4. Chicago O'Hare International Airport (ORD) to New York LaGuardia Airport (LGA)

5. Boston Edward L. Logan International Airport (BOS) to New York LaGuardia Airport (LGA)

6. Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR) to Orlando International Airport (MCO)

7. New York LaGuardia Airport (LGA) to Boston Edward L. Logan International Airport (BOS)

8. New York LaGuardia Airport (LGA) to Fort Lauderdale/Hollywood International Airport (FLL)

9. New York LaGuardia Airport (LGA) to Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport (ATL)

10. New York LaGuardia Airport (LGA) to Washington Ronald Reagan National Airport (DCA)

Travelore Tips: How To Get Your Share Of $413 million In US Flight Delays Compensation In 2017

AirHelp, the number one flight delays compensation company, has revealed that over 584,000 US passengers have been affected by flight cancellations and severe delays of three hours or more. AirHelp has calculated that the passengers are eligible to claim over $413,000,000 in compensation in 2017.

The busiest travel month in the United States in 2017 was July, unsurprisingly falling on a busy month for tourism. Based on the percentage of disrupted international flights departing from airports around the United States, Leonardo da Vinci - Fiumicino Airport in Rome, Italy experienced the highest volume of flight disruptions, with London City Airport following closely behind.

As the 2017 AirHelp Score unveiled earlier this year, airports in the United States are considered as some of the worst in the world with Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR) and Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) falling into the worst global airports for their quality and service and the number of delayed flights throughout the period.

Henrik Zillmer, CEO of AirHelp comments: "2017 has been an interesting year for air passenger travel, particularly in the US with overbooked flights and cancellations making national headlines month after month. The consistent mistreatment of U.S. consumers paired with the recent decision by the Department of Transportation to scrap a proposal mandating airlines to be transparent about their fees, means it is more important than ever for consumers to fight for their air passenger rights.

"In the event of a delayed or cancelled flight, passengers may be legally entitled to receive up to $700 in compensation fees from airlines. However, despite this less than 2% of travelers will file for this compensation, not knowing that they are eligible.

"We urge passengers who may have been affected by delays or cancellations this year to read up on their rights to ensure that they're not missing out on the compensation that they're legally entitled to. At AirHelp, our mission is to help passengers get the compensation that they rightfully deserve."

For more information, visit: https://www.airhelp.com/en/

Air passengers who have experienced a delayed or cancelled flight can check their eligibility for compensation on the go, and make a claim in a matter of minutes through the free AirHelp mobile app, available for iOS and Android.

About AirHelp

AirHelp is the world's leading flight delays compensation company, helping passengers apply for compensation following a delayed, cancelled or overbooked flight. Since the business was founded in 2013, AirHelp has helped more than five million travelers process airline compensation claims worth more than £300 million in total reimbursement. AirHelp has offices in five cities across Europe, Asia and North America and is available in 30 countries, offering support in 16 languages. The business employs more than 500 employees worldwide.

AirHelp methodology:

AirHelp has the most reliable and most accurate collection of flight data in the world due to their consumption of so many data sources. Their database aggregates multiple data points from a variety of reliable sources such as government agencies, airport databanks, flight-tracking vendors, historical resources and commercial data brokers.

AirHelp are therefore able to maintain an accurate, real-time picture of flight disruptions occurring across the globe, the circumstances around these disruptions and the likelihood of further disruptions occurring.