If you want to get on a plane this summer, you need strong nerves: As reported, airports and airlines throughout Europe are complaining about a shortage of staff. The result is numerous flight cancellations and delays throughout Europe, and important hubs such as Frankfurt Airport are also severely affected (read here how Vienna Airport and the airline AUA deal with the problem). At the same time, after two and a half years of the corona pandemic, Austrians are very keen to travel: 68 percent of Austrians want to travel this year, reports the ÖAMTC motoring club.
How should vacationers deal with this flight chaos? “Consumers should be well-informed during this holiday season, keep up to date even after booking and approach the trip with serenity and flexibility,” says Ulrike Weiß, Head of Consumer Protection at the Upper Austrian Chamber of Labor (AKOÖ). The consumer advocate has never experienced a situation like this summer. The problem: The travel season only really begins with the start of the holidays at the beginning of July: “The light-heartedness of the past is gone.”
“We advise people to keep their hands off the booking platforms for flights,” says Weiß: “During Corona, it has been shown that they cannot be reached as soon as it becomes problematic.” People are well advised, either directly with the airlines or book through the travel agency. There is a direct contact here.
The problem for many passengers is that they arrive at the airport with a long lead time but cannot check in because there are no staff to process it on time: “We have a case in which the family was at the airport four hours earlier and still didn’t catch the plane,” says Weiß. If you miss the plane, if it takes off with a long delay or if it doesn’t work at all, the first way is to go to the counter of the responsible airline: “However, there is a high probability that there are too few employees available to contact.”
Right to food and compensation
The airline is fundamentally obliged to continue transporting the stranded passenger. Passengers are also entitled to food and, if the compulsory break lasts longer, to overnight accommodation. In practice, however, according to Weiß, it can be difficult to enforce these claims: “Here, too, there may be a lack of staff at the counters.” A claim for compensation can also be asserted afterwards: the amount is between 250 and 600 Euro and depends on the waiting time and the duration of the flight. Anyone who has booked a package holiday is entitled to a share of the price paid. “These services are a bit like a plaster,” says Weiß: The pain about the vacation that could not be taken as desired is still there.
“Consumers should consider whether they really want to fly this year or whether there is an alternative,” says Weiß: If you take the plane, you should try to get to your destination as directly as possible and avoid changing planes. “And you should have a lot of composure and understanding for the employees at the airport.”
Source: Nachrichten
