Basic information
Based on Article 97 of the Law on Obligations and the Basic of Property Relations in Air Transport (“Official Gazette RS” No 87/11 and 66/15), you may enforce protection of your rights by submitting your complaint to air carrier first, within the period of 90 days from the day the flight was performed or scheduled (you should ensure that you have filled in the claim form properly and that you have received confirmation of reciept of your claim with a claim reference number). A large number of companies have special applications for submission of claims at their websites. Submit your application following given instructions.
Where air carrier fails to handle or answer claim within 60 days from the day of submission of all the necessary documents for the claim, the passenger has the right to report violation of provisions of this Law to the competent authority, that is the Directorate.
The Civil Aviation Directorate of the Republic of Serbia, in accordance with the EU regulations, ensures effective application of provisions of the law as regards guaranteed passanger rights in following cases:
Where air carrier fails to handle or answer claim within 60 days from the day of submission of all the necessary documents for the claim, the passenger has the right to report violation of provisions of this Law to the competent authority, that is the Directorate.
The Civil Aviation Directorate of the Republic of Serbia, in accordance with the EU regulations, ensures effective application of provisions of the law as regards guaranteed passanger rights in following cases:
• for all flights departing from any aerodrome in the territory of the Republic of Serbia;
• Or for the flights departing from the aerodrome of the state not specified in Article 8, paragraph 2, point 1 of this law (aerodromes outside ECAA area), under the condition that the final destination aerodrome is in the territory of the Republic of Serbia and that the flight is performed by an air carrier of the signatory of ECAA agreement (the air carriers within EU area).
Submission of complaints :
• Passengers submit complaints regarding performance of aircraft operator and aerodrome operater via form at the website of the Civil Aviation Directorate, page “Passenger rights”: Passenger complaints online form
• By mail: CAD of the Republic of Serbia, 23 Skadarska, 11000 Belgrade.
The ECAA agreement is a Multilateral Agreement between the European Community and its Member States, Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, North Macedonia, Iceland, Montenegro, Norway, Romania, Serbia and the United Nations Interim Administration in Kosovo (in accordance with UN Security Council Resolution of 10 June 1999) on the establishment of a European Common aviation Area.
Cancellation
In case of a cancellation, air carrier is obliged to offer passenger one of the two options: re-routing or compensation of the full costs. The air carrier cancelling the flight should offer passenger re-routing, under comparable transport conditions at the earliest opportunity. Other flight may be of later date in case the passenger finds it acceptable. All passengers whose flight has been cancelled, have the right to compensation except in following cases:
• you are informed of the cancellation at least two weeks before the scheduled time of departure;
• you are informed of the cancellation between two weeks and seven days before the scheduled time of departure and are offered re-routing, allowing you to depart no more than two hours before the scheduled time of departure and to reach your final destination less than four hours after the scheduled time of arrival;
• you are informed of the cancellation less than seven days before the scheduled time of departure and are offered re-routing, allowing you to depart no more than one hour before the scheduled time of departure and to reach your final destination less than two hours after the scheduled time of arrival or;
• the air carrier can prove that the cancellation is caused by extraordinary circumstances which could not have been avoided even if all reasonable measures had been taken.
• you are informed of the cancellation between two weeks and seven days before the scheduled time of departure and are offered re-routing, allowing you to depart no more than two hours before the scheduled time of departure and to reach your final destination less than four hours after the scheduled time of arrival;
• you are informed of the cancellation less than seven days before the scheduled time of departure and are offered re-routing, allowing you to depart no more than one hour before the scheduled time of departure and to reach your final destination less than two hours after the scheduled time of arrival or;
• the air carrier can prove that the cancellation is caused by extraordinary circumstances which could not have been avoided even if all reasonable measures had been taken.
Air carrier’s liability:
1. The passenger will be offered the choice between reimbursement or re-routing
reimbursement: within seven days, of the full cost of the ticket at the price at which it was bought, for the part or parts of the journey not made, and for the part or parts of the journey already made if the flight is no longer serving any purpose in relation to the passenger's original travel plan, together with, when relevant - a return flight to the first point of departure, at the earliest opportunity.
re-routing: re-routing, under comparable transport conditions, to their final destination at a later date at the passenger’s convenience, subject to availability of seats. When, in the case where a town, city or region is served by several airports, an operating air carrier offers a passenger a flight to an airport alternative to that for which the booking was made, the operating air carrier shall bear the additional transport cost.
2. Right to care
The passenger will be offered:
• meals and refreshments in a reasonable relation to the waiting time; two telephone calls free of charge, telex or fax messages, or e-mails; in case of re-routing, where reasonable expected time of departure of a new flight is at least one day after the cancelled flight, hotel accommodation, where necessary.
• where a stay of one or more nights is necessary or where a stay additional to that intended by the passenger, transport, free of charge, between the airport and the place of accommodation (hotel or other).
3. Right to compensation :
• EUR 250, for all flights of 1 500 kilometers or less;
• EUR 400, for all flights between 1 500 and 3 500 kilometers;
• EUR 600, for all flights of more than 3 500 kilometres.
• EUR 400, for all flights between 1 500 and 3 500 kilometers;
• EUR 600, for all flights of more than 3 500 kilometres.
When passengers are offered re-routing to their final destination on an alternative flight, the arrival time of which does not exceed the scheduled arrival time of the flight originally booked :
• by two hours in respect of all flights of 1 500 kilometres or less;
• by three hours, in respect of all flights between 1 500 and 3 500 kilometres;
• by four hours, in repsect of all flights of more than 3 500 kilometres;
• the operating carrier may reduce the compensation by 50%.
Delay
When your flight has been delayed beyond its scheduled time of departure: for two hours or more (for flights of 1 500 kilometres), for three or more hours (for flights between 1 500 and 3 500 kilometres) and for four hours or more (for flights of more than 3 500 kilometres), you have the right to:
• meals and refreshments free of charge and in a reasonable relation to the waiting time;
• two telephone calls free of charge, telex or fax messages, or e-mails.
When reasonable expected time of departure is at least one day after the previously announced one, you will be offered:
• hotel accommodation free of charge where a stay of one or more nights is necessary or where a stay additional to that intended by the passenger is necessary;
• transport, free of charge, between the airport and the place of accommodation (hotel or other).
• transport, free of charge, between the airport and the place of accommodation (hotel or other).
In case of delay, the air carrier is not liable to pay compensation.
Provisions of Article 7 of Reguation 261/2004 (EC) establishing common rules on compensation and assitance to passengers in the event of denied boarding and of cancellation or long delay of flights, transposed in national legislation by the Law, do not stipulate the right to compensation in the event of delay.
However, in respect to EU Member States, decision of the European Court of Justice of 19 November 2009 referring to Joined Cases C-402/07 and C-432/07 Sturgeon and Others, it has been decided that Articles 5.6 and 7 of Regulation 261/2004 have to be construed in such manner that passengers are entitled to compensation, as in the event of cancellation, where their flight is delayed and they reach their destination three hours or more after the arrival time originally scheduled by the airline. Accordingly, in the event of delays of three or more hours, air carriers from states signatories of the ECAA Agreement where the delay is due to their fault, should have in mind the abovementioned practice when handling passenger claims
Denied boarding
When you have the plane ticket, you have checked in on time, or you have gone through all check points and reached the gate- you have the right to board the plane.
However, the passenger may be denied boarding by the air carrier for various reasons :
Reasonably justified denied boarding :
• Health issues: passengers with symptoms of some infectious diseases that must be retained at the airport and quarantined, expectant mothers in the late pregnancy (after 34 or 36 weeks of pregnancy depending on the air carrier policy), passengers displaying signs of aggression caused by a disease, passengers with inadequate medical documentation suffering from a serious illness, etc. Where officers of the air carrier find, based on the passenger’s appearance and posture, that there are any potential health issues, the officers have the right either to refer the concerned passenger to additional medical check at the airport doctor’s, or to deny boarding to that passenger. Symtoms that are specially monitored and that require an immediate reaction are: fever, shivering, skin rash, excessive sweating, sneezing, cough and scratching.
• Disruptive behaviour: physically abusive passengers, intoxicated passengers, passengers that are making jokes on explosive devices or terrorist attacks, or those who support such inappropriate behaviour.
• Administrative reasons: Where passenger fails to have valid travel documents, he/she may be denied boarding at the chek-in counter. Expired passport, invalid visa or any other violation of emigration or immigration rules, may be the cause of denied boarding. Above all, the COVID-19 documents have become primary reason for denied boarding.
Unjustified denied boarding :
due to overbooking when the number of sold plane tickets is larger than the number of available plane seats. Air carriers calculate a risk factor when forming the ticket price or releasing the tickets for sale. For each planned flight, there is a number of passengers that do not show up at the check-in, and they still have a valid plane ticket and a reservation that has not been re-booked or cancelled. Their seats cannot be sold, and they stay vacant at the scheduled time of departure.
For that reason, the number of tickets that air carriers sell always exceeds the capacity of an aircraft. In exceptional cases, all passengers have been registered for flight which results in overbooking.
Where necessary, air carriers ask for volunteers willing to surrender their reservations. These passengers are offerred compensation within seven days, of the full cost of the ticket or re-routing, under comparable transport conditions, at the earliest opportunity.
Passenger that voluntarily surrenders reservation, besides all these rights has the right to negotiate benefits with the representatives of the air carrier.
If one opts for re-routing on an alternative flight, the passenger has the right to airport assistance in a reasonable relation to the waiting time for a new flight. This assistance covers, free of charge, meal, refreshments, telephone call (fax, SMS, email), accommodation and transport between the airport and place of accommodation.
Passenger who voluntarily surrenders his/her reservation has no right to compansation.
In case there are no passengers willing to surrender their reservation, officers of operating air carrier have the right to deny boarding to some of the passengers.
These are usually passengers last registered for flight. Passengers with disablities, passengers connecting flights, travelling in pair or as a part of a group, or passengers flying on business, are not denied boarding.
Where passengers are denied boarding against their will, they have the same rights as in case the flight has been cancelled.
In case a passenger decides to surrender the reservation, the air carrier offers the passengers compensation within seven days, of the full cost of the ticket, or other, when boths sides have agreed.
The passenger has the right to receive compensation amounting to:
• EUR 250 for all flights of 1 500 km or less;
• EUR 400 for all flights between 1 500 and 3 500 km (within European Common Aviation Area – ЕСАА);
• EUR 600 for all other flights.
Baggage Problems
In case your checked baggage (the baggage you have registered at the departure airport) has not arrived at your final destination or it has been damaged, follow the process of submitting your complaint:
Passenger reports missing baggage at the specially designated counter (LOST AND FOUND/ LOST LUGGAGE/ LOST BAGGAGE). The passenger reporting missing baggage must enclose the plane ticket with the baggage tag of his/her checked baggage. A check-in officer attaches the appropriate baggage tag to the plane ticket. This tag may be damaged during baggage handling procedure, or due to inclement weather, or it may be detached and lost, resulting in baggage mishandling.
After the passenger reports missing baggage, baggage handling service draws up “a report on missing baggage“ (PIR). The report includes information on the size, shape and content of the bag as well as passenger contact information. As a result of electronic baggage tracing, each checked baggage has a baggage tag with a destination mark and a barcode associated to personal details of its owner. In case the baggage is missing, and it is carried to the other airport, a written note and a detailed description have to be made and entered into the repository. The resposnible service at the destination airport where the baggage was reporetd missing, can find information on the said baggage in the repository.
Damaged baggage, or possible theft of the baggage content, must also be reported in the appropriate form at the same counter.
In most of the cases, missing baggage is found within 24 hours, in rare cases later than this. Found baggage is sent on the first flight to the final destination where it is usually delivered to the passenger’s home address, hotel or place of residence.
In case of damaged or lost baggage, the passenger has the right to compensation from the air carrier. The Montreal Convention lays down maximum amount of baggage compensation. The passenger has the right to compensation in the amount of 1131 Special Drawing Rights* (EUR 1 200 approximately).
Most air carriers compensate for the unexpected costs of buying necessary clothes in case the passenger’s bagggage has been delayed for several days. This is applicable only when the passenger is at the destination other than his place of residence. Air carriers also define the amount of refund and accept only reasonable costs.
Complaint is submitted via portal of operating air carrier, or in writing, and with the enclosed most important details, report from the airport, photos of the damaged baggage, purchase receipt for necessary items from your delayed baggage.
In case of damage to checked baggage, the passenger must submit a complaint to air carrier within seven days, and in the event of delayed baggage, within 21 days. The timeframe for complaint starts from the day the baggage is returend to the passenger.
Complaint for compensation may be filed to competent court within two years from the date the aircraft landed or was scheduled to land.
Listed provisions of Article 32 of the Law, are based on the Montreal Convention of 28 May 1999, and ratified by the Law on Ratification of the Convention for the Unification of Certain Rules for International Carriage by Air (“Official Gazette of RS”, No 38/09).
In accordance with the abovementioned, pursuant to provisions of the Law, in cases of damage to, loss of or delayed baggage, passengers submit the complaint to air carrier first. If the air carrier fails to fulfill the requirements, the passenger may address the Directorate pursuant to the Article 97 of the Law, and the Directorate may request further information of the case. Please note that the Directorate cannot exert direct influence on the air carrier as regards decisions on complaints.