Flight change, delay and cancellation
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Delays, cancellations and flight interruptions are situations that can occur in air transport anywhere in the world due to several factors, such as technical problems, weather issues, air traffic, among others. They cause inconvenience for passengers, but also for airlines and airports, as well as incurring extra costs for everyone.
Cases of delays, cancellations and service interruptions must be reported immediately by the companies, which must keep passengers informed every 30 minutes of the expected departure of delayed flights.
The airline must offer assistance, according to the waiting time at the airport, from the moment of the delay, cancellation, or interruption.
For delays of more than 4 hours, cancellations and service interruptions, the company must offer passengers the following options to choose from: re-accommodation on another flight; a full refund; and re-accommodation on another modal of transport (a bus, for example).
Re-accommodation is free of charge and must take place on your own flight or that of another airline at the earliest opportunity, i.e. on a new flight whose date and time are closer to the delayed, canceled or interrupted flight.
If this alternative is not convenient for the passenger, they can choose another flight, on a date and time of their convenience, but only on their own airline and within the remaining validity period of the ticket.
Denied boarding occurs when the airline fails to transport a passenger who has shown up on time to travel, fulfilling all the boarding requirements. This can happen in several situations, such as:
- the company had to change the planned aircraft for a smaller one (with fewer seats);
- the aircraft needed to fly lighter for operational safety reasons; or
- tickets were sold above the aircraft’s capacity (overbooking).
In these cases, the company must look for passengers who voluntarily agree to board another flight, by offering advantages (money, extra tickets, miles, hotel nights, etc.), freely negotiated with the passenger and, if the passenger accepts this advantage, the company can ask them to sign a receipt proving that the offer has been accepted.
If there is no negotiation and not enough volunteers, the company must immediately pay a financial compensation to each deprived passenger of 250 SDRs for domestic flights or 500 SDRs for international flights. SDR stands for “Special Drawing Right”, which is a basket of International Monetary Fund currencies, the price of which varies daily. The value of the conversion to national currency can be found on the website of the Central Bank of Brazil.
In addition to this financial compensation, the company must offer the passenger who was denied boarding the alternatives of re-accommodation, full reimbursement, or offer the service by another modal of. Material assistance is also due, if applicable.
Material assistance, applicable only to passengers in Brazil, must be offered in cases of delay, cancellation, flight interruption and denied boarding, regardless the reason and whenever the passenger is at the airport. It applies both to passengers waiting in the terminal and to those on board the aircraft with the doors open.
Assistance must also be offered in situations in which the passenger has had their flight changed in advance by the airline (change of flight schedule), but has not received any notice of the change, only becoming aware of it once they are in the airport to board.
The assistance must be offered free of charge by the airline, according to the waiting time at the airport, from the moment a problem with the flight occurred, according to the following rules:
- From 1-hour-delay: communication (internet, telephone, etc.);
- From 2-hours-delay: right to food (voucher, meal, snack, etc.);
- From 4-hours-delay: the right to accommodation (only in the event of an overnight stay at the airport) and transportation to and from the place of accommodation.
If the passenger is at his/her hometown, the company may only offer transportation to and from the airport.
Passengers requiring Special Assistance and their companions will always be entitled to accommodation, regardless of the requirement to stay overnight at the airport.
The company may suspend the provision of material assistance in order to proceed with immediate boarding.
Had a problem with the airline? Contact the company through its customer service channels.
Have any questions? Contact ANAC on 163 (the call is free toll from any state in the country, every day from 8am to 8pm).
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