When a flight is canceled, the airline must offer the passenger the choice between a refund of the ticket or a rerouting to the final destination, under comparable conditions and at no extra cost.
But in certain situations, the traveler may find themselves needing to seek a solution on their own in order to continue their journey.
Expenses can cover a new flight, a train or bus journey, a rental car, or even a ride-sharing option.
Those costs average 224.57 euros per passenger during a flight disruption, according to Flightright.
The specialist in compensating air passengers has therefore launched Ticket Refund+ to complement its existing service of assisting with compensation requests.
Compensation and Refund: two distinct procedures
The reimbursement of alternative transport constitutes a process separate from the standard flat-rate compensation provided by European regulation.
For a cancellation, the compensation can reach 250, 400, or 600 euros, depending on the distance of the flight and provided that the conditions are met. It may notably not be due when the cancellation is linked to extraordinary circumstances.
The right to re-routing, however, does not disappear because of extraordinary circumstances. The airline must always propose a solution allowing the passenger to reach their destination under the rules governed by the regulation.
Ticket Refund+ therefore targets situations in which the passenger had to organize and pay for replacement transport themselves.
Flightright then seeks reimbursement of these expenses from the airline, upon presentation of the supporting documents. “Until now, a passenger forced to advance the cost of a new flight or train often had to fight on two fronts: obtaining compensation and recovering the costs incurred to continue their journey. With Ticket Refund+, we now handle both procedures simultaneously,” explains Jan-Frederik Arnold, CEO of Flightright.
European rules set to evolve
The question of re-routing is also expected to gain more prominence in the coming years.
A new European regulation adopted in September 2026 notably provides that a passenger may organize their own re-routing if the airline has not proposed a solution within three hours of their request.
The necessary, reasonable, and appropriate costs could then be reimbursed, up to a limit of 400% of the ticket price.
However, this provision is not yet in effect: the regulation will enter into force on 22 October 2026, but its new rules will apply from 23 October 2027.
In the meantime, passengers should, in particular, keep receipts of their expenses when they have had to arrange replacement transport.
