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Reporting a flight cancellation, delay, denied boarding, upgrade or downgrade

Service Description

As a passenger, you have the option of filing a complaint if your rights have been violated in the following events during air travel:

  • Cancellation
  • delay
  • denied boarding
  • Upgrading and downgrading

Depending on the severity of the situation, the air carrier must provide you with compensation and assistance. Airlines are also obliged to inform passengers about their passenger rights.

If you feel that your passenger rights have been violated, you can file a complaint with the Federal Aviation Office. Please provide all the necessary details in the notification form.

In the event of proven violations of the regulation, the Federal Aviation Office can impose sanctions in the form of fines on the air carrier. The fines are intended to prevent future infringements.

Your possible civil law claims, such as the payment of compensation, are independent of this.

The Luftfahrt-Bundesamt is neither authorized to support you in enforcing civil law claims against the air carrier under the regulation, nor to advise you in this regard. You must assert individual claims against the air carrier yourself in a free arbitration procedure or, if necessary, in court.

Process flow

To file a complaint about a flight due to cancellation, delay, denied boarding, upgrading or downgrading, please proceed as follows:

  • You first submit the complaint to the air carrier concerned.
  • If you do not receive a response from them within a reasonable period of time or if the response is not satisfactory to you, you can file a complaint with the Luftfahrt-Bundesamt (LBA).
  • Go to the federal portal verwaltung.bund.de and complete the online form.
  • You can upload your documents directly. Alternatively, you can send your notification and documents to the LBA by e-mail, fax or post.
  • Upon receipt of your complaint, the LBA will send you a confirmation of receipt with a reference number.
  • If another national complaints and enforcement body is responsible for your case, the LBA will forward your complaint and inform you accordingly.
  • The LBA will check the facts of the case and contact you if anything is unclear or information is missing.
  • If the investigation reveals a possible violation, the LBA may initiate administrative offense proceedings against the company concerned.
  • A fine may be imposed in the event of proven violations.
  • You will be informed by the LBA when the procedure has been completed.

Requirements

You can file a complaint if one of these cases has occurred and you have not been compensated or cared for sufficiently in this connection:

  • in the event of the cancellation of the entire flight
  • in the event of a departure delay of at least 2 hours or delayed arrival of the flight at the final destination by at least 3 hours
  • in the event of denied boarding, i.e. refusal to carry you on the flight you have booked
  • in the event of downgrading, i.e. transportation in a lower class of carriage than that booked without having received a corresponding refund
  • in the event of upgrading, i.e. transportation in a higher class of carriage than that booked in return for an additional payment

In addition, the following conditions must be met:

  • You have already sent a written complaint to the air carrier and there has been no or insufficient response. The air carrier should have sufficient time to process your complaint before you contact the Luftfahrt-Bundesamt.
  • The flight date is no longer 2 years ago.
  • You agree that your complaint may be used as a witness statement against the air carrier in the context of administrative offense proceedings.

The report can be made by any natural or legal person.

With authorization, the complaint can also be made by proxy.

Which documents are required?

To avoid additional inquiries and to clarify the facts and provide evidence, you should enclose the following documents with the notification:

  • Booking or travel documents
  • Correspondence with the airline
  • Proof of costs incurred

Documents required in the case of authorization:

  • Power of representation

Please refer to the notification form to find out which documents may be required in your case.

What are the fees?

There are no costs.

What deadlines do I have to pay attention to?

Application Deadline: 2 Years
The Luftfahrt-Bundesamt (LBA) can only take action within 2 years of the date of the incident.

Processing duration

More than 6 months for cases involving legal proceedings.

Processing Time: 3 - 4 Months
for clear cases

Processing Time: 5 - 6 Months
for complex cases

Legal basis

Applications / forms

There is no legal remedy.

What else should I know?

There are no indications or special features.

Further Information

Author

Forwarding service: Deep link to the original portal

Luftfahrt-Bundesamt (LBA)

The text was automatically translated based on the German content.

Technically approved by

Federal Ministry for Digital and Transport Affairs (BMDV)

Professionally released on

27.05.2024

Source: Zuständigkeitsfinder Thüringen (Linie6PLus)

Start your request directly online:

Competent Authority

Luftfahrt-Bundesamt (LBA)

Address
Hermann-Blenk-Straße 26
38108 Braunschweig
Telephone
+49 531 2355-0
Fax
+49 531 2355-9099
E-Mail
Contact us
WWW
Website of the Luftfahrt-Bundesamt (LBA)

Further Authorities