Flight Compensation. 11 April 2020 at 6:38PM in Flight delay compensation 3 replies 61 views

AlansGuinness

My wife and me booked flights with KLM from Norwich to Abu Dhabi which took place without any issues and were scheduled to return to the UK via Schiphol Airport departing at 02.00 on 18th March. The day before we received a notice that the connecting Amsterdam to Norwich  flight had been cancelled so were offered another flight from Abu Dhabi on the 19th leaving at the same time. However the connecting flight was not until 16.00 which meant a ten hour delay in Schipol which was, in effect, shut down. I tried, without any success, to contact KLM to discuss any possible alternative arrangements. Both my wife and me, since our return have forwarded a number of messages to KLM to establish what, if any, is our entitlement to compensation under EU regulations. 
Neither of us have received any replies clarifying the situation. Strangely, I think that KLM is a great airline and most of my experiences with them are excellent. So my motivation is no more than trying to get some form of gesture from them an not necessarily the full compensation, if is due. 
Finally, it is my understanding that the earlier flights from Schiphol on both the 18th and 19th were cancelled for commercial reasons although the decision to do so would have arisen because of the tragic circumstances surrounding Covid19.
What,if any, entitlement might I have?
Many Regards
Alan Brooks

bradders1983

None, probably.

Caz3121

https://ec.europa.eu/transport/themes/passengers/news/2020-03-18-covid-19-guidance-eu-passenger-rights_en
"If passengers face the cancellation of their journey, for example, they can choose between reimbursement of the ticket price or re-routing to reach their final destination at a later stage. At the same time, the guidelines clarify that the current circumstances are “extraordinary”, with the consequence that certain rights – such as compensation in case of flight cancellation less than two weeks from departure date – may not be invoked."

SashikoStitcher

Hi Alan. I’m presuming that you took the flight offered and so your complaint is about the 10 hours in Schiphol? 

When a flight is cancelled the airline’s obligation is to reimburse or re-route at the earliest possible opportunity. They did this and although it was unfortunate that the new flight had this long delay, as @Caz3121 says above, the fact that the cancellation was Covid-related means that no compensation will be payable. 

However KLM should have provided care and assistance for you during the long wait at Schiphol- if it was completely closed such that there were no catering outlets then they should probably have arranged for you to be taken to the nearest local restaurant, or you could have made your own choice and claimed back a reasonable amount for food. Was this not the perfect chance to hop on the train into Amsterdam for the day or was it already on lockdown by 19 March?