Muscat: Flight delays and cancellations topped the list of complaints received by the Civil Aviation Authority in 2023.
According to the statistics released by the authority, of the 379 complaints received last year, 93 of them were related to flight cancellations, 90 of them on flight delays, 69 on delay or loss of baggage losses, and 62 on denied confirmed seats.
Four of them were related to travel tickets and three were due to flight route changes.
Passenger rights
According to details available on the CAA website as per the Civil Aviation Law, in case of cancellation or delay of a flight, the air operator must inform the passengers of the cancellation or delay at least two weeks before the scheduled time of departure.
If the air operator does not inform the passengers of the cancellation or delay at least two weeks before the scheduled time of departure it should offer the choice between reimbursement within seven days, the full cost of the ticket at the price at which it was bought or re-routing, under comparable transport conditions, to their final destination at the earliest opportunity.
It should offer free of charge telephone calls, telex or fax messages meals, and/or refreshments in a reasonable relation to the waiting time;
hotel accommodation in cases where a stay of one or more nights becomes necessary, or where a stay additional to that intended by the passenger becomes necessary;
Transport between the airport and place of accommodation (hotel or other).
Compensation by Article 4, after determining the distance, the basis shall be the last destination at which the delay of passenger's arrival after the scheduled time.
The air operator shall not be obliged to pay compensation following Article 4 if it can prove that the cancellation/delay is caused by extraordinary circumstances, which could not have been avoided even if all reasonable measures had been taken. The Authority will be responsible for determining whether circumstances are extraordinary.
The liability of an air operator in respect of passengers and their baggage shall be governed by all provisions of the Montreal Convention relevant to such liability, which include the carriage of baggage, the liability of the carrier in the case of destruction, loss, damage or delay is limited to 1,311 Special Drawing Rights for each passenger.
If the passenger has made, at the time when the checked baggage was handed over to the carrier, a special declaration of interest in delivery at destination and has paid a supplementary sum if the case so requires. In that case, the carrier will be liable to pay a sum not exceeding the declared sum, unless it proves that the sum is greater than the passenger's actual interest in delivery at the destination.
The sums mentioned in terms of Special Drawing Rights in this Convention shall be deemed to refer to the Special Drawing Rights as defined by the International Monetary Fund.
Conversion of the sums into national currencies shall, in case of judicial proceedings, be made according to the value of such currencies in terms of the Special Drawing Right at the date of the judgment.
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