How do other countries compensate passengers for delayed and cancelled flights?

Australian airline passengers can expect to have some protection against delayed and cancelled flights as part of measures included in the federal government's newly released Aviation White Paper. But how do protections look for travellers in other countries?

Various countries have different measures in place to compensate travellers for delayed or cancelled flights. Source: Getty / Christof Stache/AFP

The news Australians can expect better protections when flying was no doubt welcomed by travellers on Monday as the federal government released its Aviation White Paper.

Included in the white paper were recommendations for stronger consumer protections, including compensation or refunds for delayed or cancelled flights in Australia.

In other parts of the world, passengers are often monetarily compensated for delayed and cancelled flights that are the fault of the airline.

Let’s take a look at some places where these consumer protections are already in force:

Europe

The European Union (EU) has laid out the EU Regulation 261/2004 which spells out the rules that airlines must follow to compensate passengers.

If your flight is cancelled, depending upon the distance of your journey, this legislation entitles you to compensation of up to 600 euros per person.

If your flight is delayed, you can expect a similar compensation as above.

The UK

Airlines may have to compensate passengers if their flight arrives at the destination with a delay of over three hours.

Passengers can only expect compensation if the delay is the fault of the airline. The UK Civil Aviation Authority website states: "...if it wasn't the airline's fault, don't expect to receive any compensation".

Examples of circumstances deemed outside of the airlines' control include: extreme weather, strikes by airport or air traffic control employees or any other extraordinary circumstances.

Compensation is determined by the length of your flight.

Under UK law, travellers have rights:

— on flights departing from an airport within the UK

— arriving at an airport in the UK on an EU/UK airline

— arriving at an airport in the EU on a UK airline

Canada

Airlines are required by law to compensate passengers if their flights are delayed by three hours or more for a reason within their control and not related to safety.

In the case of cancellation, passengers can apply for compensation if they were not notified at least 14 days in advance.

The US

The US Department of Transportation states on its website: "Contrary to popular belief, for domestic itineraries airlines are not required to compensate passengers whose flights are delayed or cancelled."

Overbooking of flights is fairly common on US airlines, which often results in passengers with valid tickets being "bumped off" flights. US law provides for compensation only in this case on domestic flights.

On international flights, passengers in the US "may be able to recover reimbursement under Article 19 of the Montreal Convention for expenses resulting from a delayed or cancelled flight by filing a claim with the airline," the website states.

In case the claim is denied, passengers can take the matter to court .