Flying|Being late for a flight due to traffic jams is a difficult situation for the consumer, as getting compensation is unlikely.
to Helsinki-Vantaa airport security is congested badly.
Tens of passengers are latecomers from flights due to significantly longer waiting times than usual.
When the damage has already occurred and the flight has left, the situation is difficult from the point of view of the consumer who needs compensation, says the lawyer of the Kuluttajaliitto Timo Niemi.
“It’s a disgusting situation when it’s ultimately the responsibility of the passengers to make it,” says Niemi.
The most common travel insurances cover the expenses caused by being late, if the delay is caused by, for example, a traffic accident. Airport congestion is not mentioned in insurance presentations.
Compensation in such situations must be applied for elsewhere, i.e. from the airline or airport company.
In the event of a flight delay or cancellation, the consumer can usually apply for compensation from the airline.
If the passenger himself misses the plane, the airline is not liable for compensation. Many airlines recommend arriving at the airport two hours before your intra-European flight.
According to Niemi, it is in principle possible to examine whether the two-hour recommendation in itself shows carelessness in this situation.
Eventually not everything is even in the hands of the consumer. For example, Norwegian’s check-in opens two hours before the plane’s departure time, and Finnair’s baggage drop-off point opens no later than two hours before the flight’s departure.
Arriving at the airport, for example, four hours before the departure of the flight does not necessarily help.
If specifically the airline has defined limits for leaving a checked bag, the airline’s responsibility for being late increases.
“Then it can be thought that the airline should have reacted in such a way that the bag can be brought in well in time.”
Appeal- and the compensation route depends on what kind of activity the security check is viewed as.
“From a legal point of view, security checks are some kind of official activity, so you can think about whether you could also file a complaint about that with, for example, the parliamentary ombudsman,” Niemi reflects.
The ombudsman could recommend the payment of compensation, but this procedure is exceptional, according to Nieme.
One possibility would be to find out whether Finavia has acted negligently and thus caused unreasonable congestion.
In practice, however, this would mean settling liability for damages in court, and the burden of proof would be on the consumer, says Niemi.
Now passengers and Finavia have shared differing views, for example, on how many security checkpoints have been open during peak hours.
Finavia has explained the situation with a staff shortage. It says that it started the recruitment process immediately after learning about the European Commission’s new liquid regulations.
According to Niemi, showing a reaction to the changing situation can save Finavia from accusations of negligence here, as the company has tried to solve the problem.
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