The Civil Aviation Board is pushing for more compensation for travelers whose flights are delayed or cancelled without prior notice, starting May 20.
In a Bangkok post report, the Civil Aviation Authority of Thailand (CAAT) on Monday said that “assistance will be improved for affected travellers who have already arrived at airports and are not informed of flight delays or cancellations beforehand”.
In addition, if international flights are delayed for more than two hours, the serving airline must provide food and beverages suitable for the waiting time and offer free communication channels, including phones and emails.
For delays lasting more than five hours, the serving airline must not only provide the benefits coming from the two hour delay, but in addition must give 1,500 baht in cash compensation, a credit shell, travel vouchers, flyer miles or the equivalent within 14 days. Travellers can also choose to refund their tickets if they wish to cancel. Accommodation and shuttle service should also be available for those passengers who need them.
For delays lasting longer than 10 hours, airlines must provide the basic amenities mentioned and give additional cash compensation ranging from 2,000 to 4,500 baht, a credit shell, travel vouchers, flyer miles or equivalent within 14 days.
In an event of canceled flights, the serving airline must provide the same assistance as for flight delays longer than 10 hours unless they cancel flights at least seven days in advance.
In case of shorter notice, airlines will not provide the assistance if they will arrange for optional flights to the same destination within three hours before or after the scheduled flight.
For domestic flights, cash compensation may range from 600 to 1,200 baht for delayed flights, 1,200 to 1,500 baht for flights longer than five hours.
These new assistance will also include passengers delayed on the tarmac. For such cases, the passenger’s cabin must be ventilated and air conditioned. Passengers should also be given access to toilet use and must offer immediate medical services to passengers who need it.
If tarmac delay is longer than three hours with no take-off time given, passengers have the right to leave the aircraft unless it will affect safety and air traffic control.