Passenger rights

Dear passengers,

If your flight has been cancelled or significantly delayed, or if you have been denied boarding on a flight for which you have a confirmed booking, you are entitled to the rights set out in Regulation (EC) No. 261/2004, which came into force on 17 February 2005. The airline on which flight the disruption occurs is responsible for granting your rights.

The Regulation shall apply to

• passengers whose scheduled flight departs from an EU Member State or to passengers whose scheduled flight departs from a third country with an EU airline scheduled to arrive in an EU country, provided that the passengers have not received compensation or financial assistance in that third country,
  
• only on condition that you have a confirmed reservation for the flight in question,
  
• only (except in the case of a cancelled flight) on condition that you present yourself at check-in at the time indicated or, if no time is indicated, no later than 45 minutes before the posted departure time,
  
• only on condition that you are travelling on a fare offer that is open to the public.

According to Regulation (EC) 261/2004, a delay is deemed to have occurred if the scheduled departure time is delayed by at least four hours for flights of more than 3,500 km, by at least three hours for flights between 1,500 and 3,500 km and for flights of more than 1,500 km within the EU, and by two hours for flights of up to 1,500 km. If your flight is likely to be significantly delayed, you have the right to receive care from the airline.

This includes: Meals and refreshments (in reasonable proportion to the waiting time), potentially hotel accommodation including transport costs and the opportunity to make two short telephone calls or send two faxes or emails. The airline is not obliged to do this if you are responsible for a further delay to your departure. In the event of delays of more than five hours, you are entitled, within seven days, to a refund of the price of the ticket in the amount of the tour not taken or in the amount of the tour already taken if the purpose of the tour could not be achieved due to the delay and, if applicable, to a return flight to the first departure location at the earliest possible time.

You are entitled to compensation if your arrival at your destination airport is delayed by more than three hours and the delay cannot be attributed to extraordinary circumstances that could not have been avoided by taking all reasonable measures. Such circumstances include poor weather conditions, political instability, strikes, security risks and unexpected deficiencies in flight safety.

If you are involuntarily denied boarding on a flight you have booked in the event of overbooking, you have the right to assistance from the airline as described above under “Delays”. In addition, you will be offered re-routing to the final destination of your booked flight. This re-routing shall take place at the earliest opportunity and under comparable conditions.

Subject to seat availability, you may instead travel to your final destination at a later date of your choice. In this case, the costs for meals/refreshments, hotel and transport between the hotel and the airport are at your expense.
If you are denied boarding involuntarily or voluntarily, you have the right to an alternative flight or to reimbursement and compensation, which can also be made by cheque or bank transfer or, with your consent, in the form of a gift card. The amount of this payment depends on the distance of the planned route and the re-routing offered to you: In the case of flight distances

• of up to 1,500 km, the compensation amounts to €250.00,
  
• between 1,500 and 3,500 km and for flights of more than 1,500 km within Europe
  
• the compensation amounts to €400.00, for more than 3,500 km the compensation amounts to €600.00.

The distance is calculated based on the last destination to which the passenger arrives later than the scheduled arrival time because the passenger was denied boarding or the flight was cancelled.

If you are offered an alternative flight and the arrival time is no later than two hours after the scheduled arrival time of the originally booked flight for flights of up to 1,500 km, no later than three hours after the scheduled arrival time for flights of between 1,500 and 3,500 km and no later than four hours after the scheduled arrival time for flights of more than 3,500 km, the compensation will only be 50% of the above amounts, i.e. €125.00, €200.00 or €300.00.
You are not entitled to the compensation described above if you are justifiably denied boarding through your own fault, for health or safety-related reasons, or due to missing or insufficient travel documents.

If the flight for which you have a confirmed booking is cancelled, you have the same rights to re-routing, assistance, reimbursement and compensation as described above.

However, you are not entitled to compensation as per the EU Regulation if the incident can be attributed to extraordinary circumstances that could not have been avoided even if all reasonable measures had been taken. Such circumstances include bad weather conditions, political instability, strikes by third parties, security risks and unexpected shortcomings in flight safety, for example.

You are also not entitled to compensation if

• you were informed of the cancellation at least 14 days before departure,
  
• you were informed of the cancellation between 14 and 7 days before departure and your flight departs no more than two hours before the original departure time and/or you arrive no more than four hours after the scheduled arrival time,
  
• you were informed of the cancellation less than seven days before departure and your flight departs no more than one hour before the original departure time and/or you arrive no more than two hours after the scheduled arrival time.

If you are downgraded to a lower class, you have the right to receive compensation within seven days. The amount of this payment depends on the planned route and the ticket price paid per segment; in the case of flight distances

• of up to 1,500 km, the compensation is 30% of the ticket price paid per segment
• between 1,500 and 3,500 km and for flights of more than 1,500 km within Europe, the compensation is 50% of the ticket price paid per segment
• of more than 3,500 km, the compensation is 75% of the ticket price paid per segment.

If you believe that you can make a claim against Lufthansa based on the before mentioned requirements, you can do so here: 

A list of the relevant authorities responsible for ensuring the legal rights of passengers can be found under Europa.eu.

If your journey is of a private nature, then, in the case of flight disputes, you have the right to contact the ‘Schlichtungsstelle für den öffentlichen Personenverkehr e.V.’ (SÖP), Germany’s independent arbitration board for public passenger transport that oversees all carriers.

You may do so if you have concerns relating to

• denied boarding, long delays, or the cancellation of flights;
• the destruction, damage, loss, or delayed transportation of baggage, or
• breaches of duty in the transportation of disabled passengers or passengers with reduced mobility, or
• breaches of duty in the conclusion of carriage contracts,

provided that

• you have already contacted Lufthansa about your concerns and have not received a reply within two months or
• you are dissatisfied with the way your concern has been handled or disagree with how your claim has been processed by Lufthansa.
• your concern is not already pending before a court or at one point was pending before a court or has been settled.
• your trip is a private trip.

The European Commission also provides a platform for Online Dispute Resolution (ODR).