From June 12 to June 24, NATO is launching a major exercise in three airspaces over Germany: 24 nations are rehearsing with 220 aircraft for emergencies. Whether or not the military turmoil in the skies over Germany will result in massive restrictions on civil air traffic is currently a matter of debate. In any case, passengers should familiarize themselves with their passenger rights if they are affected by the manoeuvre.
Julián Navas, passenger rights expert at the world's largest organization for air passenger rights, AirHelp, explains the rights of potentially affected passengers: "The Air Defender 2023 exercise will temporarily block airspace in the north, west or east of Germany. Although opinions differ as to how badly civil aviation will be affected, it is still important to be aware of your passenger rights: Since the exercise is beyond the airlines' sphere of influence, affected passengers are not entitled to compensation under the European Air Passenger Rights Regulation . This means that they are not entitled to compensation of up to 600 euros per person for canceled or severely delayed flights due to the manoeuvre.
Passengers are entitled to compensation
“Passengers affected by flight cancellations are entitled to alternative transportation or a full refund of the fare. As a rule, the airlines offer a rebooking on an alternative flight. Domestic flights can optionally be rebooked to a train ticket. If the airline does not act on its own initiative or if it cannot offer suitable alternative transport, the passengers concerned can seek an alternative themselves and charge the airline for the costs. However, in order to ensure reimbursement of their costs, affected passengers should under no circumstances make any rebookings on buses, trains or other flights without consulting the airline. If the delay is more than five hours or carriage is carried out at a later point in time, the airline is also obliged to reimburse the full ticket price. In the case of delays of more than two hours, the operating airline must provide passengers with meals and drinks at the airport. In addition, two telephone calls or the sending of two e-mails must be possible. If necessary, the airlines must also provide accommodation and facilitate transportation there. In any case, it is advisable to request this service from the airline. We advise all passengers to keep any receipts in order to obtain a refund from the airlines for food, refreshments, replacement travel and accommodation costs.”
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