Up to 70% of flights were canceled on Saturday May 25 and Sunday May 26 departing from Orly airport, due to the air traffic controllers’ strike. If travelers left behind are not eligible for compensation, they are nevertheless entitled to a refund of their ticket.
The air traffic controllers’ unions had warned: on Saturday May 25, serious disruptions could be observed in traffic at Orly airport. The mobilization is expected to continue on Sunday. Up to 70% of flights in total are expected to be canceled, leaving many travelers sheepish, who cannot even claim compensation for the inconvenience caused.
For good reason, the air traffic controllers’ strike is considered an extraordinary circumstance which is not the fault of the company, explains BFMTV.
Right to reimbursement of the ticket
Users will be entitled to “at least a refund of their ticket”, recalled the Ministry of the Economy on its site.
In the case of a European flight – operated by a European company within the confines of theEuropean Union –, travelers benefit from special rights. The company must offer a refund of the ticket within seven days or offer another flight, under travel conditions comparable to the initial reservation. In the latter case, it must then cover all of the traveler’s costs: hotel and catering, until arrival at the destination.
In the absence of extraordinary circumstances such as this strike, the cancellation of a flight within the European Union gives the right to compensation of 250 euros for flights of less than 1,500 km, 400 euros for flights of 1,500 to 3,000 km and 600 euros for other flights over 3,500 km.