What customers need to know Air Berlin insolvency and passenger rights
Bonn · A flight delayed by several hours resulted in some unhappy customers. What is the current situation at Air Berlin and what do passengers need to know?
Sunny days in Mallorca - far away from rainy Bonn. That was the plan for a young woman from Bonn who was ready for her vacation flight Monday evening on Air Berlin. But the display board at Düsseldorf Airport showed her flight had been delayed from 5:10 pm to 9:30 pm. “No one really gave us any information about it,” said Jennifer Metaschk to General Anzeiger. She said passengers were upset because they couldn’t get any information and didn’t know the reason for the delay. It was a difficult situation especially for families with small children.
Only when they were on board the machine did the pilot apologize for the delay. During the wait, passengers were given a coupon for five euros to get something to eat and drink,
Are refunds possible at Air Berlin?
Can passengers hope for compensation? On their homepage, Air Berlin says that the possibility exists despite the insolvency. Passengers who want to file any compensation or damage claims can so by filling out the form atwww.airberlin.com/beschwerde. But due to the current situation, processing these forms could take some time.
The European Consumer Center, however, informs that such claims cannot be registered
until the insolvency proceedings are opened. This also applies to missing luggage. The center advises passengers to not check baggage on Air Berlin flights as they will probably be saddled with any costs in the event of loss, damage or delays.
Ticket refunds
Vouchers for tickets can no longer be redeemed or paid out. But the situation may change following the opening of the insolvency proceedings. Tickets which have already been purchased with a voucher remain valid.
Airline tickets which were issued before August 15, on the day Air Berlin filed for bankruptcy, cannot be reimbursed, according to Air Berlin. For tickets issued after that, valid tariff conditions apply, and a change of booking is still possible.
Air Berlin receives loan
The EU Commission has cleared the way for a federal loan of around 150 million euros. This is expected to keep Air Berlin afloat until the end of November so operations can remain as normal in the coming weeks. The goal of Air Berlin is to sell the airlines by the end of November. Interested buyers include Lufthansa, Condor, Easyjet and the entrepreneur Hans Rudolf Wöhrl as well as Berlin hotel operator Alexander Skora and former EnBW boss Utz Claassen.
Orig. text: Alexander Hertel
Translation: ckloep
