AHS Köflach reaches agreement with Lufthansa on EUR 6,000 compensation
The Agency for Passenger Rights reaches an agreement in the arbitration procedure
(Frankfurt/Köflach/Vienna) The Agency for Passenger Rights reaches an agreement in the arbitration procedure between a class at AHS Köflach and Lufthansa. The airline pays the students a total of EUR 6,000 due to denied boarding.
A school class of 22 students and two teachers spent an English language week in London in July. The journey to the United Kingdom went smoothly, but the return flight turned out to be a test of patience.
The booked open-jaw flight from London to Graz via Frankfurt took off more than an hour late on Saturday evening. However, when they wanted to change to the connecting flight in Frankfurt, the gate was already closed - the onward flight to Graz was operated by Lufthansa without passengers.
As there were no more counters manned at Frankfurt Airport so late in the evening, there was no way for the students and the two teachers to continue their journey. The group was offered neither accommodation nor meals. So the young people spent the night in Terminal 1 of Frankfurt Airport.
The next morning, they realized that they still couldn't book an equivalent connection to Graz. They finally agreed on a flight to Linz and a bus transfer to Köflach.
Lufthansa did not respond in time to a complaint about the denied boarding. So AHS Köflach turned to Agency for Passenger Rights, which was finally able to reach an agreement between AHS Köflach and Lufthansa.
"The apf has determined that in this case, in accordance with the EU Passenger Rights Regulation, the airline must make a compensation payment totaling 6,000 euros. In our view, there were no justifiable reasons for denied boarding. If passengers are denied boarding against their will, care and assistance services, such as meals and other transportation options, as well as a compensation payment are provided for. If the airline does not fulfill its obligation to provide care, the apf recommends keeping all invoices and receipts in order to be able to prove the costs and be reimbursed," says Maria-Theresia Röhsler, Managing Director of the apf.
The amount of compensation depends on the route booked: for flights of up to 1,500 km, as in the case of AHS Köflach, this is 250 euros per person.
apf helped AHS Köflach, like all parties to the proceedings, free of charge and commission.