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Friday, 21 February 20, 17:23This page was last updated at 17:46h.
The couple was reimbursed 700 euros after a major inconvenience occurred on an Iberia Flight. Facua, a Spanish consumer’s organisation, took up the couple’s complaint after Iberia ignored it. Facua then escalated their complaint to Aesa – Spain’s aviation safety agency – and its Italian equivalent Ente Nazionale per l’Aviazione Civile. The airline finally paid out the claim after the persistent efforts.
The couple was supposed to travel to Madrid from Rome. The passengers had to board the plane after a 40-minute wait at the Italian Airport. They were then told that they would be diverted to El Prat Airport (Barcelona) in the middle. Smoke was coming from the cockpit.
Iberia, at the airport in Barcelona, gave each couple a voucher worth 16 euros for food and drinks, as required by European law. However, they did not guarantee that a new flight would be available. They then bought two AVE tickets to Madrid, and took a taxi from the Sants station to the train station. The pair arrived in Madrid five hours later.
The airline refused to pay compensation. Iberia apologized. Facua then became the couple’s focus.
Facua explained that Iberia had not responded to the complaint filed by the couple. Facua then turned to Aesa which transferred the case to Enac, its Italian counterpart. Iberia accepted the compensation after it became aware of the involvement by these authorities.
According to Regulation EC261/2004, dated 11 February 2004, of the European Parliament & Council and Parliament of Europe, it was a short-distance flight. As such, the couple had a right to receive 250 euros per ticket (500 euros total) for the Rome-Madrid flights.
As stipulated in the article 12 of said regulation, passengers also have the right “to obtain additional compensation” if they have suffered any damages. Facua’s efforts led to a compensation of 706.15 Euros.
