Delayed airline passengers in Turkey able to receive more than 7 mln liras per day

ISTANBUL

AFP photo

Airline passengers in Turkey will be entitled to compensation when their flight is canceled or delayed by more than three hours, according to a newly launched website, ucakgecikmeleri.com. On average, it is estimated that airline passengers in Turkey are able to claim over 7 million Turkish Liras on a daily basis, equaling more than 2.5 billion liras a year, it said.

Ucakgecikmeleri.com claimed that it was now possible to receive compensation due to delayed flights.

“Our expertise in the area of airline passengers’ rights makes it easier for us to claim the compensation on behalf of our clients. By pooling claims from many passengers at once, we also keep down the legal costs, which is important as we often have to pursue the claim in court,” said Johan Fugmann, the founder of ucakgecikmeleri.com. 

The company was founded in Denmark and the concept has proven to be a success in Scandinavia as well as many other European countries. As the clients are offered a no cure-no pay option, there is no risk in filing one’s case, said the statement. 

The costs are limited to 25 percent of the sum of the compensation which covers all legal actions that might be necessary in order to obtain compensation, it added. 

In a year, more than 165 million passengers pass through the airports of Turkey. Of these, approximately 3 million have either been delayed by more than three hours or their flight has been canceled, said the company. 

These passengers are entitled to compensation due to the Regulation on Air Passenger Rights (SHY-passenger) being issued in parallel with the Regulation (EC) 261/2004 of the European Parliament, it added.

The regulation has been in effect in Turkey since 2012, but few airlines hand out compensation willingly, according to the company’s release. 

The company, which has just entered the Turkish market, has claimed airline passengers’ rights to compensation in Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Poland, Germany, the Czech Republic and Canada since 2012, according to the statement.