Pravo.ru: Flight Cancelled Due to Contingency Plan – How to Claim Ticket Refund and Other Damages

As Pravo.ru reports, due to heightened security protocols now in place at airports, flight delays or cancellations have become less of an exception and more of a routine occurrence. At the same time, passengers are left with no choice but to buy other tickets, miss important engagements, and lose paid-for hotel stays. In such cases, the cost of tickets and associated losses can be recovered from airlines and tour operators. However, practice does not always side with the consumer, since the contingency plan constitutes force majeure. To improve the odds of successful recovery, lawyers recommend documenting all communications with the tour operator or carrier and carefully collecting evidence to confirm that the consumer's rights have been violated.

When the carrier must refund the money. In the event of a flight delay, a passenger has the right to refuse the flight if it no longer serves their purpose. This constitutes a forced cancellation, in which case a full refund of the ticket price can be demanded, even if the fare was originally marketed as non-refundable. The same rules apply if the flight is outright cancelled (Clause 2, Article 108 of the Air Code; Clause 227 of the Federal Aviation Regulations; Clause 2, Article 13 and Article 15 of the Consumer Protection Law). Furthermore, if the airline offers vouchers for future flights instead of a cash refund, the customer is entitled to demand actual money (Clause 6, Article 13; Article 15; and Clause 5, Article 28 of the Consumer Protection Law).

Victoria Arutyunyan, Partner at FBK Legal, notes:

If the airspace closure is due to aviation security requirements, the cancellation of a flight in itself does not generally indicate unlawful conduct by the airline. Nonetheless, the airline remains fully bound by its obligation to timely refund the passenger's money and consider their claims. Therefore, the centre of gravity in such disputes is gradually shifting away from assessing the legality of the flight cancellation itself to assessing the airline's post-cancellation response.