Compensation for a delayed or cancelled Air Serbia flight

Compensation for a delayed Air Serbia flight

Passengers can claim compensation of €250 to €600 for a delayed Air Serbia flight if they reach their final destination 3 hours or more late. The arrival delay is counted until at least one of the aircraft doors is opened and passengers can leave the aircraft, not until the moment of landing.

What are your rights when your Air Serbia flight is delayed?

In extraordinary circumstances - for example, severe weather, air traffic restrictions or certain airport problems - Air Serbia may be released from paying compensation if it proves that this particular circumstance caused the delay of that particular flight and that the delay could not have been avoided even if all reasonable measures had been taken. Ordinary technical faults and problems within the airline's own organisation - for example, a crew member suddenly falling ill - are, as a rule, not extraordinary circumstances.

A strike by the airline's own staff - pilots or cabin crew - is, as a rule, not an extraordinary circumstance when it concerns the employees' demands on the airline. Strikes by staff outside the airline - for example, airport security or air traffic control - may be an extraordinary circumstance, but even then Air Serbia owes you care at the airport.

Missed a connection in Belgrade?

Many journeys with Air Serbia from Bulgaria continue with a connection in Belgrade - from Sofia and, in season, also from Varna. If all flights are on a single booking, they are treated as one journey. You are entitled to compensation if you reach your final destination 3 hours or more late - even if the first flight from Bulgaria was only a few minutes late but made you miss the next flight.

Compensation is based on the distance between your departure airport in Bulgaria and your final destination, not Belgrade. So a short delay on the Varna - Belgrade flight that makes you arrive in Zurich 3 hours or more late may mean compensation of €400, and on a journey to New York, €600. On flights of more than 3,500 km, if the delay at the final destination is between 3 and 4 hours, the compensation may be reduced by 50%.

Do you lose your compensation if Air Serbia re-routes you?

If you miss a connection, airlines usually rebook you straight away on the next flight. The new flight, however, does not replace compensation. Your right to compensation depends on when you actually arrive at your final destination: if the new flight gets you there 3 hours or more late, you can claim compensation if the other legal conditions are met, however quickly you were re-routed.

This also applies when the onward flight is operated by an Air Serbia partner airline - for example, Bulgaria Air, ITA Airways, Turkish Airlines, Finnair, Qatar Airways or JetBlue - as long as it is on the same booking. If the flights are on separate bookings, they are, as a rule, treated as separate journeys, and you can only claim compensation for the delayed flight if it reached its own destination 3 hours or more late.

If you miss a connection on a single booking and the conditions of Regulation (EC) No 261/2004 are met, you are entitled to care - meals, refreshments and, if necessary, a hotel and transport between the airport and the hotel.

Example compensation for a journey from Sofia and Varna with a connection in Belgrade

The examples are for a journey on a single booking with a connection in Belgrade. The Varna - Belgrade flights are seasonal, and so are some of the other routes. Distances are calculated using the great circle method, as required by Regulation (EC) No 261/2004. The amount shown is the possible compensation - your entitlement depends on the other conditions of the Regulation, and in certain cases the compensation may be reduced.

When do the European rules apply to an Air Serbia flight, and when do the Serbian rules apply?

Air Serbia is a Serbian airline, and Serbia is not an EU member. So which rules apply depends on the airport where your journey starts:

The Serbian law governs denied boarding, cancellation and delay along the lines of Regulation (EC) No 261/2004 and provides for the same compensation amounts - €250, €400 and €600. For delays, the law expressly governs care and ticket refunds. In its answers to frequently asked questions, the Civil Aviation Directorate of Serbia states that a passenger arriving at the final destination 3 hours or more late may also be entitled to compensation, even though the law does not expressly provide for it in the case of delay. Under the Serbian law, a complaint must be sent to the airline in writing within 90 days of the date on which the flight was operated or should have been operated.

Compensation for a cancelled Air Serbia flight

When Regulation (EC) No 261/2004 applies to an Air Serbia flight and passengers are told about the cancellation less than 14 days before the scheduled departure, they can claim compensation of €250 to €600, unless the airline proves that an extraordinary circumstance caused the cancellation of that particular flight and that the cancellation could not have been avoided even if all reasonable measures had been taken, or it offered re-routing that meets the conditions of Regulation (EC) No 261/2004. Besides financial compensation, the Regulation also gives you the right to choose between a refund of the ticket price and re-routing to your final destination, as well as the right to care - meals, refreshments and, if needed, accommodation. Care is owed even when the cancellation is due to extraordinary circumstances.

If the cancelled flight is part of a journey on a single booking - for example, with a connection in Belgrade - the compensation is based on the distance to your final destination.

How much compensation does Air Serbia have to pay?

Under Regulation (EC) No 261/2004, the amount of compensation depends on the flight distance:

If you are re-routed, the airline may, under certain conditions, reduce the compensation by 50%.

Check how much compensation you can get for your Air Serbia flight

What else does Air Serbia owe you besides compensation?

If your flight is cancelled or you are denied boarding, the airline must offer you a choice between re-routing to your final destination and a refund of the ticket price. The choice is yours - Air Serbia cannot force an alternative flight on you instead of a refund. If your flight is delayed by 5 hours or more, you have the right to give up the trip and ask for a refund of the ticket price.

When can you ask Air Serbia for a refund of your ticket?

• your flight was cancelled and you chose a refund instead of re-routing;
• your flight was delayed by 5 hours or more and you decided not to travel;
• you were denied boarding and chose a refund instead of re-routing.

The refund covers the price of the unused parts of the ticket and is due within 7 days. It is paid in cash or by bank transfer, and a voucher or credit for a future flight can only be given with your written agreement.

A ticket refund is not compensation. These are two separate rights, and getting one does not cancel the other. If your flight is cancelled or you are denied boarding, you do not lose your right to compensation under Regulation (EC) No 261/2004 just because you accepted a refund of your ticket or re-routing.

What other expenses can you claim from Air Serbia?

• the cost of meals, refreshments, hotel accommodation and transport if you waited for the delayed or replacement flight, including in Belgrade after a missed connection, and Air Serbia did not provide them;
• the costs you incurred to reach your final destination if you were not offered a choice between re-routing and a refund and had to arrange the journey yourself.

How does the process of collecting your compensation work?

You can follow the progress of your claim in your personal account, and we email you whenever there is a change in your case. If you have any questions, you can always contact us by phone too.

Did the airline refuse to pay you?

The airline’s refusal does not necessarily mean that you are not entitled to compensation. The reason given in the refusal is not always sufficient to release the airline from liability.

See why airlines refuse to pay compensation and how you can proceed.