Excuses used by airlines to avoid compensation payouts revealed

Airlines often reject valid claims for compensation, by passengers, by citing vague or hard-to-prove circumstances

EU law states that passengers reaching their destination at least 3 hours after schedule can be eligible for up to Euro 600 (approx Rs. 51,000), barring extraordinary circumstances.

Backed by a Europe-wide network of experts in passenger rights, however, refund.me offers a bureaucracy-free solution to claiming. Based on claims from 98 countries and 201 airlines, here are the top reasons refund.me has received from airlines for rejecting claims.

One excuse that airlines use is severe weather conditions, which can be a legitimate excuse in some cases, however, the interpretation of "severe" is often too loosely applied.

Second excuse is technical problems, which are generally not accepted by European Courts as a valid reason for not to compensate passengers, as the good upkeep of the aircraft is considered a part of the carrier's contractual obligations.

Another excuse that airlines give is bird strikes but it remains the airline's responsibility to prove it.

Eve Buechner, Founder and CEO of refund.me said that passenger rights exist to ensure passengers get treated fairly and airlines hold up their end of the contract.

She said that extraordinary circumstances do occur sometimes, but we have to be vigilant to make sure this is not abused as an excuse to avoid paying passengers what they are rightly due.