The mess at Schiphol continues to pile up with huge crowds, missed flights, and abandoned baggage. As a result, thousands of travellers are requesting compensation — and claim clubs are reaping the big bucks. 💸
Claim agencies, such as Aviclaim, EUclaim, and Vlucht-verraagd.nl, have been receiving thousands of requests to arrange compensation for those missing their flights at Schiphol airport. 🛫
Since the beginning of April, the three agencies accepted more than €38 million in claims from these passengers. Echt?! 😯
How much are claim companies acquiring?
Flight-delayed.nl, which mainly received claims for KLM, Transavia, and Easyjet, will submit close to 70,000 claims (worth a whopping €23 million 🤯) to the airline companies!
EUclaim is asking for €10 million in compensation from airlines and €1 million for refunds on cancelled flights.
READ MORE | Schiphol ranked 4th-worst airport globally for delays this summer (surprise, surprise)
As for Aviclaim, they’re currently requesting a total of €4.5 million.
Why are passengers resorting to the claim agencies?
The three big airlines, Transavia, KLM, and EasyJet, are having a hard time dealing with the sweeping number of claim applications.
In particular, EasyJet sees an increase in pressure on customer service due to the problems at the Dutch airport.
“We have therefore hired more staff and extended our opening hours. We always pay compensation when customers are entitled to it”, a spokesperson for EasyJet told the NOS.
READ MORE | Bag brigade! 16,000 suitcases left stranded at Schiphol Airport
Travellers are tired of endlessly waiting for airlines to process their compensations — and as a result, they turn to claim agencies in hopes of getting at least some of what they are entitled to.
Are you entitled to air passenger rights?
Is your flight delayed or cancelled? Has your baggage been damaged or abandoned? Then you’re entitled to air passenger rights if you’re flying under these conditions:
- Your flight is within the EU and is operated either by an EU or a non-EU airline,
- Your flight arrives in the EU from outside the EU and is operated by an EU airline,
- Your flight departs from the EU to a non-EU country operated by an EU or a non-EU airline,
- You have not already received benefits (compensation, re-routing, assistance from the airline) for flight-related problems for this journey under the relevant law of a non-EU country.
The rules on air passenger rights do not apply in the case of denied boarding, cancellations, or delays to flights from the UK to the EU if your flight was operated by a UK carrier or another non-EU airline.
Are you awaiting compensation due to the chaos at Schiphol? Tell us in the comments below! 👇