AirHelp: Greece Flight Delays, Cancellations Up by 7%

Three in 10 flights departing from Greece were either delayed or cancelled in the first seven months of the year, according to data released this week by legal services provider AirHelp.

There were 30,000 delays or cancellations in the January-July 2019 period creating inconvenience to some 3.2 million passengers, the AirHelp report reveals.

Of the 110,000 flights under consideration, 27 percent failed to take off on time, up by nearly 7 percent compared to last year’s data.

At the same time, approximately 15,400 passengers traveling out of Greece faced 140 flight disruptions.

The report goes on to note that more than 3.2 million passengers of the nearly 12 million in total who traveled in the first seven months of the year from Greece, experienced a flight delay or cancellation.

Despite having been ranked third in May in AirHelp’s 7th annual listing of the world’s best airports and airlines for 2019 with an overall score of 8.38/10 based on quality of service, on-time performance, and choice of food & shopping, Athens International Airport (AIA) recorded the largest number of problems with flights among Greek airports, with over 35,000 passengers who traveled from the Greek capital in the first seven months of 2019 entitled to compensation in accordance with EU regulation, AirHelp said.

“What’s interesting is that despite the fact that Greece has not been affected by strikes, there is a significant number of flights departing from the country that are delayed,” said Panagiotis Divanis, a passenger rights specialist at AirHelp.

Divanis goes on to refer to the possibility of strike activity in Greece and in other European countries this month citing airline union announcements.

This said, Divanis advises travelers to be aware of their rights so that they know what they can claim if they encounter a problem with their flight. Passengers who encountered a problem with their flight, can find out if they are entitled to compensation through AirHelp’s website by simply entering flight details.

Photo Source: AirHelp / Erik Odiin

It should be noted that according to a 2018 European Court of Justice (ECJ) ruling, airlines are obliged to recompense air passengers for flight delays and cancellations, even if a strike has previously been announced and on condition that the departure airport is within the EU, or that the flight is run by an EU-based carrier.

Additionally, the airline should be responsible for the delay. Storms or medical emergencies are exempt.