If the departure of a flight from the airport is delayed and the passenger has to wait 2 hours or more for the flight to depart, the airline must provide the passenger with care.

The rights to care include:

• Meals and refreshments,
• The opportunity to make two free phone calls, send two telex or fax messages, or send two emails (in reasonable relation to the waiting time);
• If the departure time is at least the next day after the originally scheduled departure time, the airline must provide hotel accommodation and transportation to the hotel.

The application of these rights depends on the duration of the flight delay and the distance.

If the flight delay exceeds 5 hours, the passenger is entitled to request a refund for the purchased ticket.

Right to Compensation

According to the Court of Justice of the European Union’s ruling on November 19, 2009, in joined cases C-402/07 and C-432/07 (https://curia.europa.eu/juris/document/document.jsf?docid=73703&doclang=lv), passengers of delayed flights may be treated the same as passengers of cancelled flights in terms of compensation rights if they reach their destination three or more hours later than the originally scheduled time by the airline.