What will happen to flights canceled due to the strike of air traffic controllers?

The board of the president of Corpac announced the lifting of the air traffic controllers strike that affected dozens of airlines that had to cancel flights this morning, in to the detriment of thousands of passengers who were unable to travel on this holiday for Easter.

Since the early hours of this morning, different airlines reported the cancellation of their flights due to the closure of the airports of Cusco, Ayacucho, Arequipa, Tacna and Trujillo for this measure of strength of the Corpac workers, which had the approval of the Ministry of Labour and Employment Promotion, however, an agreement was reached and normalcy would return in the next few hours to Jorge Chavez, where hundreds of passengers are waiting for information.

So far, it has only been indicated that flights canceled earlier would have a rescheduling, but airlines have not been clear whether this will be done in the next few hours or days, since on dates like these, on long holidays, there is a large movement of flights, even, there are several that are full, so there would be an overload that managers will have to solve.

“We have left family, children and now it turns out, it is disappointing us and beating us in the pocket. No one is responsible. In my country, he shows his face,” said Mexican tourist in the middle of the problem at Jorge Chávez airport.

Latam Peru, in an earlier statement, indicated that “flexibilities were offered to our affected passengers for exchanges and/or returns without any penalty”, but many passengers demand that their flights be rescheduled for today, as they have pre-purchased reservations.

WHAT WILL HAPPEN TO CANCELLED FLIGHTS?

According to Latam, if a flight of your airline is canceled or has a change in the itinerary, the user can choose between any of the following options:

- Advance the flight date up to 7 days or postpone it up to 15 days from the original date, without penalty in Reschedule your flight.

— Change the route of the flight, respecting the validity of the ticket, paying any differences in fares. You can do it through the Contact Center.

But in cases of force majeure such as the stoppage of air traffic controllers, the airline must communicate the steps to be followed for the rescheduling of flights.

Likewise, if the contact center does not answer calls, as reported by affected users, Latam recommends:

- Reschedule the flight, to change the date of your trip at no cost, to the same destination.

- If the flight has not been altered, but you want to postpone it, you can review your alternatives and enter Change of tickets.

- If you definitely won't be able to fly this year, you can cancel your trip and leave your ticket open subject to the conditions indicated in the “COVID-19 Change Policy”.

INDECOPI COULD INTERVENE

According to the National Institute for the Defense of Competition and the Protection of Intellectual Property (Indecopi), in cases where there is airline liability for the delay or cancellation of flights, the passenger may demand additional compensation for the replenishment of their ticket.

Flight delays: If it is between 2 and 4 hours, the airline must provide refreshments and allow a phone call. If it is 4 to 6 hours, a snack, a phone call and meals (breakfast, lunch, dinner) must be provided.

But if it is longer than 6 hours, you must provide a snack, provide food (breakfast, lunch, dinner), compensation equal to 25% of the value of the missed trip, lodging, transportation to and from the airport, and allow a phone call.

In the case of flight cancellation, the airline must refund the net value of the ticket to the passenger or get them a replacement flight for the same day. If this does not happen, you must provide food (breakfast, lunch, dinner) and transportation to and from the airport.

If the airline does not comply with these regulations, you can file your complaint or complaint with Indecopi.

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