These are the rights of passengers

Venezuela has fulfilled its threat and has revoked the flight concession to several international airlines, between them Iberia, by accusing them of “joining the actions of terrorism” promoted by the US, which increases pressure in the Caribbean where it maintains its unprecedented military deployment.

Hours after the deadline granted by the Venezuelan authorities to the airlines expired, the Ministry of Transportation and the National Institute of Civil Aeronautics (INAC) announced their decision, which It affects, in addition to the Spanish airline, TAP, Avianca, Latam Colombia, Turkish Airlines and Gol.

These companies had canceled trips to and from Caracas after last Friday the Federal Aviation Administration of The US will urge commercial airlines to “exercise caution” when flying over Venezuela and the southern Caribbean in the face of what it considers “a potentially dangerous situation in the region.”

The consequence of this decision is that thousands of passengers have been left stranded at various airports, including the Adolfo Suárez Madrid-Barajas. Without any specific date to get out of this situation, those affected remain attentive to any information that may shed some light on their exasperating wait.

“All these cancellations are derived from what is known as a cause of force majeure or beyond the control of the airlines, so Airlines are not obliged to financially compensate their passengers affected,” they explain from the claimer.eslegal company on-line with more than 10 years of experience in airline claims.

Although such compensation is not applicable, “the affected people who yes they have the right to a refund of that plane ticket that has been canceled or alternative transportation when possible, although, given that this is a unilateral decision of the Venezuelan government, We don’t know when they will be able to fly again. airlines that have had their license to operate in that country revoked.

Regulations include the rights of those affected

The application of the regulations that include passenger rights largely depend on the place of departure of the flight and the nationality of the airline. When it comes to flights leaving the EU, claimador.es assures, “regardless of the nationality of the airline, the European Regulation 261/2004where compensations are clearly stipulated and for flights between Spain and Venezuela it would be 600 euros, although these compensations only apply in cases where It can be determined that the responsibility for the cancellation of the flight lies with the airline itself.“This is not the case, so the affected people will not be able to claim said amount.”

Regarding flights arriving in the European Union, if the airline is European, European Regulation 261/2004 also applies, while if it is a non-European airline, for flights arriving in an EU country the Montreal Convention would apply. “The Agreement does not set a specific amount per journey, only a maximum compensation is set. It is up to the judges to estimate or not the financial compensation requested by the passenger, based on the damages proven case by case.”

In both cases, whether the Montreal Convention or the European Regulation applies, affected people can ask the airline to reimburse them for the cost of the ticket of canceled plane.