Can I cancel an EU trip after the airline significantly changed my flight?

Can I cancel an EU trip after the airline significantly changed my flight? - Top view of crop anonymous person holding toy airplane on colorful world map drawn on chalkboard

My SO and I decided to take a trip from Brussels to Nice. We booked and paid two flights with Brussels Airlines: one on August 14th and one on August 20th around 6 AM.

Since then, my SO broke her leg really badly and can't take any flight (according to the doctors), so we thought of that flight as a loss.

But two days ago, the company changed that flight from 6 AM to 1 PM (the flight number is even different from the previous one). The email we got doesn't explicitly say that we can cancel the flight or trip on that basis. They just say: "oh, by the way, we changed your flight".

Technically I was supposed to get back to work right after the flight, but this change would have forced me to take an extra leave day, which I didn't have anymore.

Can we take that flight change as an opportunity to get a refund for the whole or part the trip?

I tried to call them three times already but everytime it was a paying line with like 10 minutes waiting before they hung up (before I even had the chance to speak to a human).






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Can I cancel my flight if it was changed?

Except in the case of "minor flight schedule change", you can get a refund when the airline modifies the schedule of your flight. In other words, you're entitled to a refund in cases of "significant flight schedule change" and flight cancellations. Note that the airline may offer you a rerouting instead of a refund.

Do you have to accept flight changes?

When an airline makes a significant change- which is generally defined as any departure or arrival change over an hour, a date change, a routing change or an aircraft change, you don't have to accept what they give you.

What is considered a significant flight change?

According to Keyes, the timeframes that qualify for a \u201csignificant change\u201d range anywhere from a 30-minute change (United), to 60 minutes (JetBlue, Alaska), 90 minutes (Delta), all the way to four hours (American, although that's for a full refund; shorter delays might allow for free flight changes).

Can I get a refund if my flight is rescheduled?

In case your domestic flight is delayed over 6 hours, the rescheduled time will be informed to you before your original scheduled departure time. Also, the airline is entitled to offer you an alternative flight within that time or a full refund of your ticket.



Airline Refunds - Flight Cancelled? Know Your Rights!




Sources: Stack Exchange - This article follows the attribution requirements of Stack Exchange and is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.

Images: Andrea Piacquadio, Andrea Piacquadio, Andrea Piacquadio, Andrea Piacquadio