Cancelled flight: your rights and the next steps
Cancelled flight: your rights and the next steps
Practical information from Jetnify
Your flight has been cancelled? Keep the airline’s notice, verify the flight number and decide whether you still need to travel. Where EU air-passenger rules apply, you generally have a choice between reimbursement, rerouting at the earliest opportunity and rerouting at a later convenient date under the applicable conditions. Cash compensation is a separate assessment.
What to do first
- Save the cancellation email or screenshot, including when you received it, your booking reference and flight number.
- Confirm the status with the operating airline, not only with a general flight tracker.
- Decide whether you need the trip to go ahead. Do not accept a refund impulsively if you want the airline to arrange transport to your destination.
- Ask the carrier about alternative flights and assistance while you wait.
- Keep reasonable receipts for meals, transport or accommodation if the carrier fails to provide care it owes.
Which flights are covered by EU 261?
Broadly, flights departing from the EU are covered regardless of the carrier, while flights arriving in the EU from outside are covered when operated by an EU airline. Related regimes cover some additional European states. Connecting journeys, separate tickets and mixed carriers require case-by-case checks.
Refund or rerouting: choose with care
Reimbursement is appropriate when you decide not to travel on the cancelled service. Depending on where you are in the journey, a return to the original departure airport may also be relevant if the trip no longer serves its purpose.
Earliest rerouting is the option to request comparable transport to the booked destination as soon as reasonably available. Ask about airport changes and onward transfers before accepting.
Rerouting later can suit a flexible trip, subject to available seats. These are alternative options, not three separate benefits you automatically receive together. Your selection affects what follows.
When might cancellation compensation be payable?
If you were told less than 14 days before departure, compensation may apply, but it is not automatic. The exact notification period, timing of an offered alternative and arrival time matter. A carrier may also avoid paying standard compensation by proving extraordinary circumstances that could not have been avoided even with reasonable measures.
| Flight-distance category | Standard amount |
|---|---|
| Up to 1,500 km | €250 |
| Intra-EU over 1,500 km; other flights 1,500–3,500 km | €400 |
| Other flights above 3,500 km | €600 |
Certain rerouting outcomes can reduce compensation by 50%. Severe weather or air-traffic restrictions may qualify as extraordinary circumstances. Ordinary maintenance-related technical faults generally do not automatically qualify; the airline must substantiate its position.
Care is different from compensation
When you have to wait for an alternative, the airline may owe food, refreshments and communication, and, if an overnight stay is necessary, hotel accommodation and transport. These care duties may still apply even when extraordinary circumstances mean no standard cash compensation is owed. Ask the airline first and retain evidence of reasonable expenses.
If you booked with Jetnify
For immediate airport assistance, speak to the operating airline. Also inform Jetnify of your booking reference and the alternatives offered. Avoid buying a replacement ticket before understanding the carrier’s options; if circumstances require urgent spending, document why and keep receipts. Agency service charges and airline passenger-rights claims are distinct matters.
Frequently asked questions
Must I accept a voucher?
Do not agree before reading the terms. Where a monetary refund is due, a voucher is generally an alternative requiring your consent.
The airline says the weather caused it. Is that the end of the claim?
No. Ask for a specific explanation and supporting information. The extraordinary-circumstances test is case-specific, and care obligations do not necessarily disappear.
Who handles complaints?
Start with the operating airline. If unresolved, check the national enforcement body responsible for your flight; for relevant Bulgarian cases, this may be the Bulgarian Civil Aviation Administration.
Remember: refund, rerouting, care and compensation are distinct rights. Check each before accepting a proposal.
