Luftfahrt-Bundesamt

Major outage of technical systems at Deutsche Lufthansa - Information from the LBA on passenger rights

Date 2023.02.15

Against the background of a major outage of technical systems at Deutsche Lufthansa, the LBA informs about the application of air passenger rights.

According to Regulation (EC) No. 261/2004, air carriers are obliged to provide care and assistance to passengers in the event of cancellations, denied boarding and delays. This applies in the event of flight disruptions on flights within the European Union (EU) and on flights operated by European airlines from third countries to destinations in the EU.

In the event of flight cancellation or denied boarding, passengers have the choice between full reimbursement of ticket costs and re-routing to their final destination. In the event of a flight delay of more than five hours, affected passengers can choose not to be carried and have their ticket costs reimbursed. The air carriers affected by the disruption must also take care of the passengers in reasonable proportion to the waiting time. This may also include hotel accommodation. Assistance is not required in cases where passengers have agreed to full reimbursement of their ticket costs.

Under certain conditions, in the event of cancellations and arrival delays of more than three hours, there is also provision for the payment of a lump-sum compensation payment depending on the distance. However, there is no right to compensation if the cancellation or delay was caused by extraordinary circumstances beyond the control of the air carrier. Whether extraordinary circumstances exist must be examined in each individual case.

We recommend that passengers check at an early stage on the homepage or at the customer centre of the airline concerned whether their flight is affected and what options there are for alternative transport to their final destination. Passengers who have booked a package tour should contact their tour operator. Passengers who did not receive assistance from the air carrier and had to provide for themselves are advised to keep receipts and invoices and claim the costs from the carrier afterwards.

Claims based on Regulation (EC) No. 261/2004 must be asserted directly by the passengers with the operating air carrier after the flight concerned.

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