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In the past month, Swiss Airlines operated 21,450 flights according to Airportia. Of these flights, 11% were delayed with an average delay time of 14 minutes, and 0.32% were cancelled. Flight disruptions are a regular part of travel, but regulations in the EU have provided passengers with world class protections for flight delays, cancellations, and denied boarding allowing you to claim as much as €600 in airline compensation. So what do you do when you experience flight disruptions with Swiss? Keep reading because we’re going to walk you through it.
Your Rights as a Swiss Air Passenger
You don’t have to be a resident or citizen of the European Union to be protected by their air passenger rights. Because Swiss is an EU airline, all passengers who fly with them are protected by the regulations in EU 261/2004 as long as the flight was:
- Leaving from an EU airport
- Arriving in an EU airport
- Travelling within the EU
Interestingly, the United Kingdom has nearly identical regulations as the EU, and these rights are described in UK 261.
EU261 (also known as EC261) protects passengers when they experience delayed, cancelled, or overbooked flights. The following table will help you understand your entitlements.
Swiss Airlines Compensation in EU | ||
Flight Delays | Flight Cancellations | Denied Boarding |
Up to €600 in monetary compensation Care & Assistance | Up to €600 in monetary compensation Rebooked flight OR Refund Care & Assistance | Up to €600 in monetary compensation Rebooked flight OR Refund Care & Assistance |
If your flight was delayed, canceled or overbooked within the last 3 years, you could be eligible for up to €600 in compensation.Check Your Flight
Swiss Flight Delays and Compensation
When you have a delayed flight with Swiss Airlines, you could be eligible for two kinds of compensation: Care compensation and financial compensation between €250 to €600.
Some passengers will be unhappy to learn that financial compensation will only be made available if your flight is delayed by a minimum of 3 hours at your final destination. In addition to the time requirement, the precise amount you receive depends on the flight distance. Lastly, your flight will have to depart from, arrive in, or travel within the EU to be eligible.
Care Compensation
If your Swiss flight delay causes you to wait at the airport for 2 hours or more, then the airline is required to provide you with:
- Written explanation of your passenger rights and
- Free access to communication via phone, FAX, emails and
- Care and assistance in the form of meals, refreshment, accommodation, and
- Transport to and from hotel accommodation
If your flight is delayed by 5 hours or more, then you’re entitled to the compensation listed above PLUS a ticket refund. If you decide not to continue on with your travel arrangements, then Swiss will also provide you with a return trip to your starting airport.
“SWISS today is strong, stable and competitive – which are the best credentials we could have for continuing our success. At the same time, we must improve in areas such as our punctuality and our customer satisfaction; and we must continue to help make air travel more sustainable. And to these ends, we’ll be investing up to CHF 5 billion in our aircraft fleet, our customer experience, our employees and our sustainability between now and 2027.” - Dieter Vranckx, Swiss CEO (Travel and Tour World).
Swiss Airlines Cancelled Flights
When Swiss Airlines cancels a flight, you must be given at least 14 days notice. If you're notified of the cancellation with fewer than 14 days notice, then the airline is required to compensate you as long as the reason was something within their control like airline strikes and staffing issues.
Whether or not Swiss is to blame for the cancellation, they must provide you with an alternate flight or a refund. Say you accept a rebooked flight, and the new flight leaves hours later. If you have to wait more than 2 hours, you have a right to care compensation. This includes meals, refreshments, and even hotel accommodation if your flight doesn’t leave until the next morning. You’re also entitled to transportation to and from the hotel. If you’re not given vouchers for these expenses, be sure to keep your receipts so you can include them in your compensation claim.
Beyond care and assistance, you’re also entitled to financial compensation up to €600 (£520). As with flight delays, the amount you receive is determined by how many hours late you arrived at your destination combined with the flight distance.
In some cases, Swiss will offer their passengers vouchers for future travel. Here at AirAdvisor, we recommend you exercise caution in accepting these because they tend to come with lots of exclusions, and they may eliminate your chances of getting cash compensation. Just remember that you have EU passenger rights. You don’t have to accept or sign anything.
Read more about cancelled flight compensation. Need help with your Swiss cancelled flight compensation claim?
Let AirAdvisor do the work so you don’t have to. Start by entering your flight information below and we’ll show you how much you’re eligible to receive.Check Your Flight
Denied Boarding with Swiss Airlines
Many airlines will oversell their flights, ensuring that every aircraft is full. They take a gamble that some passengers won’t show up on time or at all, in which case, they still have a full flight. When everyone shows up on time, Swiss has to figure out who to bump. Many airlines will choose to bump those who have checked-in late and/or arrived last at the gate. For this reason, it’s important to always arrive and check-in early.
Nonetheless, if this happens to you on a Swiss flight, then you are due the following:
- A full ticket refund or
- An alternate flight and
- Care and assistance and
- Up to €600 (£520)
Learn more in our denied boarding compensation guide.
Swiss Airlines Compensation Amounts
We mentioned in the sections above that the amount of cash compensation you receive from Swiss will depend on how long your flight was (kilometres) and how many hours you were delayed at your destination. The following table should help explain the amounts.
Swiss Delay Compensation | |||
Delay Time | Flight Distance | ||
Flights under 1,500km | Flights between 1,500-3,500km | Flights over 3,500km | |
Over 3 hours | €250 | €400 | €600* |
Under 3 hours | €0 | ||
* Swiss might try to reduce this amount by as much as 50%, but AirAdvisor always works to get the full amount.
Extraordinary Circumstances
There will be occasions when Swiss is exempt from paying you cash compensation. These situations, known as extraordinary circumstances, are times when the airline cancels or delays a flight for reasons entirely beyond their control. Some extraordinary circumstances are:
- Severe weather
- Air traffic control restrictions
- A manufacturer’s defect with the plane
- Civil unrest
- Airport Strikes
PRO TIP: An airline strike is within the airline’s control, while an airport strike is beyond their control. So, if you have a flight disruption with Swiss as a result of an airline strike, you’re eligible for compensation.
Submitting Swiss Compensation Claims
The claims process with any airline can be a frustrating and time consuming undertaking that involves some paperwork and a lot of patience. To file a flight compensation claim with Swiss, you will need to write to them and include the following as well as any supporting documents you can muster.
- Boarding pass
- Ticket receipts
- Booking confirmation documents
But you don’t have to take on the airline by yourself. That’s why we’re here to help!
You Can Trust AirAdvisor
We can handle the entire process for you, from start to finish, so you have a better chance of winning your compensation claim.
- We have a 98% success rate
- Over 450,000 people have trusted us with their claims
- Our team of legal professionals has been fighting for passenger rights since 2017
- We don’t get our fee unless you get your compensation. No win, no fee.
If you’ve had a flight delay or cancellation with Swissc, don’t leave money unclaimed! Get your compensation claim started today. Start by entering your flight information below.Check Your Flight
FAQ
What happens to your checked luggage if your Swiss flight is cancelled?
If Swiss cancels your flight after you’ve checked in, then they will either send your belongings to your final destination (if you rebooked your flight), or they will return them to you if you opted for a refund.
How do you know if your cancelled flight with Swiss was caused by extraordinary circumstances?
We always tell our clients to ask airline staff what caused the flight disruption as soon as it happens. When they tell you, remember their response so you can use it as evidence in your claim.
Can you get compensation or a refund if you cancel a Swiss flight yourself?
Unfortunately, no. You can’t receive compensation if you cancelled your flight, but you may be able to obtain a refund. Check your ticket details to see if it is refundable.
