The 2022 travel chaos has affected more than a million travelers.

Just today, Lufthansa cancelled more than 600 flights. It’s a very big deal, even for the summer of 2022. It affected more than 100,000 passengers. And this is just one day. One example. There have been many more similar travel mishaps this summer. A lot of people have suffered the consequences.

Can you get compensation from airlines for any of this?

In many situations, yes, you can.

1. The 2022 Travel Chaos

Before we continue, let’s understand the problem.

Why is this happening all of a sudden? Why aren’t airlines and airports up to the job anymore? In most cases, the reason is – not enough staff.

We just had a 2-year global pandemic. For 2 years, people were traveling very little compared to 2019. A lot of people working in the air travel industry were laid off. And then, travel restrictions were lifted, and travel bounced back. It happened very quickly. No one was ready for that. Airlines weren’t ready for that.

And this is what led us to where we are right now.

A lot of people want to travel.

And not enough people work/want to work in the industry.

What does it mean for you as a traveler?

2. Can You Get Flight Compensation?

Yes, in many situations, you can get compensation.

Not enough staff, bad planning, and airport strikes, all of this is considered the airline’s fault/airline’s problem. Accordingly, you can get compensation for delays and cancellations caused by that. Same way, you can get compensation for delayed or lost baggage. We talk about that in our guide to baggage rules on connecting flights (the same applies to direct flights).

2.1 What Situations Apply?

Here are situations when you can get compensation:

• Your flight is delayed. 3+ hours at the moment of arrival to your final destination — when the doors of the airplane are opened.
• Your flight is cancelled. It includes all cancellations that have happened up to 2 weeks or 14 days before the departure.
• You are denied boarding. Applies only to overbooking. You can’t get compensation if, for example, you need a visa for a connecting flight and you don’t have it. One such example is the USA — you always need a visa or ESTA for a connecting flight in the USA.

Here’s how it applies to connecting flights.

For example, you have a connecting flight with KLM. You have just landed at Amsterdam Schiphol Airport. You have one more flight. And now, because of a KLM strike, your flight is delayed. Or cancelled. Or you are denied boarding because of overbooking. Or, you are going to miss a connecting flight due to the delay of one of your flights. That means you may be entitled to compensation.

2.2 What Airlines Does It Apply to?

These rules apply to all airlines.

EU airlines. Non-EU airlines. British airlines.

• If it’s a European airline, the rules apply to all flights departing or arriving in Europe. That, basically, means all flights operated by European airlines.
• If it’s a non-European airline, the rules apply only to flights departing from Europe. But they don’t apply to other flights and other routes. You won’t get compensation from American Airlines for a flight from New York to London, but you may get for a flight from London to New York.

When in doubt, check the flight with a flight compensation agency.

2.3 What Airlines Does It Apply to?

These amounts are regulated by law in the EU/UK.

The longer the flight, the more you can get.

Here’s how much you can claim:

• 250 EUR – if the flight distance is less than 1500 km;
• 400 EUR – if the distance is between 1500 and 3500 km;
• 600 EUR – if the distance is more than 3500 km.

The best part is that you don’t need travel insurance for this.

3. Baggage Compensation

Here we are talking about checked baggage.

What if your baggage is lost or delayed in 2022?

This is a bit tricky. Generally, it’s your airline’s responsibility. If they lose your bag, they have to pay for that. The same is true in many situations in 2022. You can get baggage compensation from the airline. At least, it’s worth trying. These things are regulated by the Montreal Convention. You can get up to around €1,750.

The amount of lost baggage compensation depends on what you had in your bag that got lost. Plus, the bag’s own value. This is what you can claim.

General rules that most airlines have to comply with:

• If the bag hasn’t been found within 21 days, it’s considered lost. In this case, the airline has to pay baggage compensation to its customer.
• If your bag is delayed, you may have a right to reimbursement of expenses. This applies specifically to essentials. You can buy essentials (as a replacement for what you had in your bag), and then get a reimbursement from the airline. Don’t forget to keep all the receipts.

Here comes the tricky part. Not all baggage delays right now are happening due to the airline’s fault. So, not always it will be airline’s responsibility that your bag got lost somewhere on the way. It might be hard to prove anything.

Having good travel insurance might be very helpful.

What’s your experience in 2022? Have you missed any flights? Have you ever missed a flight due to an airport strike? How was it? Did you get a new flight? Did the airline pay compensation for the missed connection?