Passenger rights

We regret that you have been affected by a flight irregularity. Below, we provide you with an overview of your key rights under the European Air Passenger Rights Regulation, as well as the contact forms and addresses of the airlines offering flights from Saarbrücken Airport, as a special service provided by Saarbrücken Airport. This is only a preliminary overview; in individual cases, further legal advice should be sought.

If you have booked a package tour, you may have additional claims against the tour operator. Please keep your boarding passes, invoice/travel confirmation, receipts for your own expenses (e.g., hotel, taxi, meals) and, if possible, note the name and address of one or more witnesses who did not book with you.

Claims must be directed to the airline that actually operates your flight. The contact forms and addresses of the airlines offering flights from Saarbrücken Airport can be found under Complaints. If the airline refers you to a third party, please note that if you assign your rights to this company, you will no longer be able to enforce your rights independently of this company.
You can obtain legal advice and assistance from Dr. Caroline Gebhardt, attorney at law, at the email address fluggastrechte@rae-gebhardt.de. Further information can be found on the website of the law firm Gebhardt & Kollegen www.rae-gebhardt.de.

delay

cancellation

denied boarding

complaints

If your flight is delayed by at least the following:

by 2 hours for flights of 1,500 km or less;
for intra-Community flights of more than 1,500 km and for all other flights of between 1,500 km and 3,500 km, by 3 hours or more;
for all other flights of more than 3,500 km, by 4 hours or more,

You will receive the following free support services:

Meals and refreshments in reasonable proportion to the waiting time Hotel accommodation, if necessary
Transportation between the airport and the place of accommodation
2 free phone calls or 2 telexes or 2 emails

Special attention must be paid to the needs of persons with reduced mobility and their accompanying persons, as well as unaccompanied children, when providing assistance. If the delay is at least 5 hours, you have the same rights as in the case of denied boarding. You are also entitled to compensation as described under the heading Denied Boarding if your arrival at the destination airport is delayed by 3 hours or more and the airline cannot prove that there were extraordinary circumstances.

In the event of cancellation, you have the same rights as in the event of denied boarding.

In the event of re-routing, where the expected departure time is on the day after the scheduled departure time of the canceled flight, you are also entitled to hotel accommodation and transportation between the airport and the place of accommodation.

You are not entitled to compensation if the airline can prove that the cancellation was due to extraordinary circumstances that could not have been avoided even if all reasonable measures had been taken.

Claims may also be excluded if you were informed of the cancellation at least 14 days in advance or if the flight times of your replacement flight differ only slightly from those of the original flight.

In the event of denied boarding, for example due to overbooking, the airline may initially offer you a voluntary compensation package in exchange for giving up your seat. If you do not accept this offer, you have the following rights to choose from:

Assistance services (see the section on delays) Refund of the ticket price within 7 days
Return flight to the initial point of departure at the earliest possible time, or
Alternative transportation to the destination under comparable travel conditions at the earliest possible time, or
Transportation to the destination on the desired date under comparable travel conditions (subject to available seats) or

In addition, you are entitled to compensation (you do not have to accept a voucher). The amount depends on the planned route and is as follows

For flight distances up to 1,500 km: €250.00
For flights of more than 1,500 km within the EU and all other flights between 1,500 km and 3,500 km: €400.00
For flight distances over 3,500 km: €600.00

If you are offered an alternative flight, the arrival time for all flights of up to 1,500 km must be no later than 2 hours, for all intra-Community flights of more than 1,500 km and for all other flights between 1,500 km and 3,500 km no later than 3 hours, and for all other flights over 3,500 km no later than 4 hours after the scheduled arrival time of the originally booked flight, the compensation shall be 50% of the above amounts.