Six days: that's how long the strike should last. This time it was scheduled by employees of the company Wings Handling, which provides apron services for Eurowings at Palma airport. In addition to July 1, they also want to stop working on July 5, 7, 10, 12 and 13.
At the moment, everything seems to indicate that there will be delays and cancellations: according to Wings Handling employee representatives, at the moment it does not seem that the parties will be able to reach an agreement, reports the Mallorca Zeitung.
Multi-day strike at Mallorca airport in July: this is what travelers should know
But passengers do not have to sit back and accept the strike: they have the right to receive compensation, as an expert now explains. She says what travelers affected by work stoppages should know.
Nina Staub, air passenger rights expert at the world's largest passenger rights organization AirHelp, explains what rights travelers have. Although the dates of the strike will cause some chaos among passengers: “The good news: in case of delays of more than three hours or cancellations, they are entitled to compensation of up to 600 euros,” says Staub.
The compensation payment amount is calculated based on the length of the flight route. “Affected passengers can assert their claim for compensation retroactively, up to three years after the date of their flight.”
“Passengers have the right to compensation”
The organization managed to convince the European Court of Justice in a court dispute three years ago that airlines are responsible for announced and unannounced 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 for Eurowings, is on strike, the strike is the responsibility of the airline. Consequently, affected passengers are entitled to compensation.”
Not only that: according to the expert, Eurowings also has to look for an alternative flight. Or the airline has to refund the full price of the flight. “As a rule, airlines offer to change the reservation to an alternative flight. If the airline does not take action on its own initiative or cannot offer suitable alternative transport, the affected passengers can search for an alternative themselves and bill the costs to the airline. Important: Do not rebook without consulting the airline.
Experts advise two things in particular
If there is a delay of more than five hours or if the flight is delayed later, the airline is also obliged to refund the full amount of the ticket, says Staub. “If there are delays of more than two hours, the operating airline must provide food and drinks to passengers at the airport. In addition, two telephone calls or the sending of two emails should be possible.”
If necessary, airlines must also provide accommodation and allow transportation there. The expert advises requesting this benefit from the airline. Staub: “We advise all passengers to retain all receipts in order to obtain reimbursement from the airlines for the costs of food, refreshments, replacement travel and accommodation.”
By Martin Gätke (mg)