Air Travel Bill of Rights
SECTION 1. APPLICABILITY
1. This bill shall establish the rights of passengers and the duties of airlines in case of:
a) Flight delays
b) Flight cancellations
c) Overbooking and boarding denials
d) Unwillful class upgrades and downgrades
e) Lost, damaged or delayed luggage
2. The regulations established by this act shall apply to:
a) All domestic flights within the Republic of Atlasia
b) All international flights departing from the Republic of Atlasia
c) All international flights arriving to the Republic of Atlasia and flown by an Atlasian airline
3. The regulations established by this act shall not apply to passengers who did not check in on time to their flight
SECTION II. FLIGHT RIGHTS
1. The right to assistance shall be defined as the right for passengers to be provided by airlines:
a) Adequate food and drink vouchers
b) A stay at a hotel and transportation to and from said hotel and the airport, if an overnight stay is required for the passengers to be transported to their destination
2. The right to economic compensation shall be defined as the right for passengers to demand, and the duty of airlines to pay within 14 days to passengers:
a) 250$ for flights shorter than 900 miles
b) 400$ for flights between 900 and 1900 miles
c) 600$ for flights longer than 1900 miles
3. The right to reimbursement or re-routing shall be defined as the right of passengers to demand to airlines, and for the airlines to provide a choice between:
a) Reimbursement of their flight tickets, and if applicable, a return flight to the airport of departure
b) Re-routing to their final destination at the earliest opportunity
SECTION III. FLIGHT DELAYS
1. Air passengers shall be granted the right to assistance as specified in Section II.1 by airlines if their flight is delayed by at least:
a) 2 hours, in cases of a flight distance shorter than 900 miles
b) 3 hours, in cases of a flight distance of between 900 miles and 1900 miles
c) 4 hours, in cases of a flight distance of at least 1900 miles
2. Passengers shall also receive the right to economic compensation as specified in Section II.2 if their arrival at their final destination at least 3 hours after their initial scheduled arrival time:
3. Section III.2 shall not apply if the delay is caused by extraordinary and unavoidable circumstances.
4. Passengers shall also be given the right to a full reimbursement of their flight costs instead if the delay is of at least 5 hours.
SECTION IV. FLIGHT CANCELLATIONS
1. A flight cancellation shall be defined as:
a) Whenever the original flight is abandoned and passengers are transferred to another scheduled flight
b) Whenever the aircraft takes off but was forced to return to the airport of departure and passengers are transferred to another flight
c) Whenever the flight arrives at an airport which is not the final destination indicated in the passenger's ticket, unless said airport also serves the same city
2. In the case of a flight cancellation, passengers shall be granted the right to reimbursement or re-routing as specified in Section II.3
3. Passengers shall also get the right to assistance as specified in Section II.1
4. Passengers shall also get the right to the compensation specified in Section II.2, unless they were informed at least 14 days before the departure of the flight or the flight was cancelled due to extraordinary and unavoidable circumstances
SECTION V. OVERBOOKING AND BOARDING DENIALS
1. Passengers who are denied boarding shall have the following rights:
a) Economic compensation as specified in Section II.3
b) The right to choose between reimbursement or re-routing as specified in Section II.2
c) The right to assistance as specified in Section II.1
2. Section V.1 shall not apply if passengers are denied boarding for the following reasons:
a) Safety, security or health reasons
b) Not having the correct travel documents
SECTION VI. UNWILLFUL CLASS UPGRADES AND DOWNGRADES
1. Passengers who are upgraded against their will can't be requested any additional payments by airlines
2. Passengers who are downgraded against their will shall have the right to reimbursement of a percentage of the price of their ticket as follows:
a) 30% for flights shorter than 900 miles
b) 50% for flights between 900 and 1900 miles
c) 75% for flights longer than 1900 miles
3. Passengers on connecting flights can only be reimbursed for the flight which was downgraded and not for the entire journey.
SECTION VII. LOST, DAMAGED OR DELAYED LUGGAGE
1. If a passenger's checked-in luggage is lost, damaged or delayed, the airline is liable and the passenger shall be entitled to compensation up to 1300$.
2. If a passenger's flight is a departure flight starting at an airport closer to their home than their arrival airport, airlines may instead provide compensation of 50$ per day and per passenger whose luggage got lost; until:
a) Said luggage is returned to the passenger,
b) The airline gives up on finding the luggage, at which point passengers shall have the right to luggage compensation specified in Section VII.1
c) 15 days from the departure of the flight have passed, at which point passengers shall have the right to luggage compensation specified in Section VII.1.
SECTION VIII. ENACTMENT
1. This bill shall become enacted immediately after passage
