PASSENGER RIGHTS

Denied boarding, cancellation, delay and class change

1             General considerations

Regulation EC 261/2004 of the European Parliament and the Council, dated 11 February 2004, in force since 17 February 2005, establishes common rules on compensation and assistance to passengers in cases of denied boarding, cancellation, long delay of flights or class change.

This Regulation applies:

Whenever passengers have a confirmed reservation on the flight and, except in the case of cancellation, have arrived on time for check‑in as indicated on the ticket or, if no time is indicated, at least 45 minutes before the scheduled departure:

• Passengers departing from an airport located in the territory of a Member State of the European Union (or, where applicable, Switzerland, Norway or Iceland).
• Passengers departing from an airport located in a third country bound for another located in the territory of a Member State of the European Union, unless they have already received benefits or compensation or have been offered assistance in that third country.
• It will not apply to passengers traveling free of charge or with a reduced-fare ticket not directly or indirectly available to the public.
• Air carriers will give priority and special attention—as we always do at LEVEL—to the needs of passengers requiring special consideration and their companions.

2             Denied boarding

If a flight has more passengers with confirmed reservations than available seats, provided they have completed the check‑in process within the required minimum time, LEVEL will request volunteers to give up their confirmed seat in exchange for compensation and/or certain benefits, under conditions agreed with the interested passenger; and volunteers will receive the assistance mentioned in section 2.2.

If not enough volunteers are found and boarding must be denied to other passengers against their will, those passengers will be entitled to immediate compensation mentioned in section 2.1 and to receive the assistance described in section 2.2.

When there is a justified reason for denying boarding, such as any of those listed below, passengers will not be entitled to any compensation and/or assistance. Thus, boarding may be denied when any of the following situations occur:

1. When the transport of the Passenger and/or their Baggage may endanger the safety, health, comfort, or the integrity of the aircraft or any of its parts, or the comfort of other Passengers or crew members. In particular, if the Passenger uses intimidation, behaves aggressively, or uses insulting language toward ground staff and/or crew.
2. When the physical or mental condition of the Passenger—including a state caused by alcohol, drugs, or medication—may pose a danger or even a risk to themselves, other Passengers, the crew or property.
3. When the Passenger has disturbed safety, order and/or discipline during flight check‑in or on a previous flight, and the Carrier has reasonable grounds to believe such behavior may be repeated.
4. When the Passenger has refused to undergo required security controls and/or has refused to properly prove their identity.
5. Any other similar situation based on health or safety reasons, or the lack of adequate travel documents, provided it is duly justified and could pose a danger to the health of the passengers and/or the crew, the safety of the passengers and/or the crew, or when the passenger does not present the travel documents required by any competent authority in accordance with the legislation in force in each State.

2.1             Compensation for denied boarding

Compensation may be paid by bank transfer, in cash, by check or, upon a signed agreement with the passenger, through vouchers redeemable on LEVEL flights.

Compensation will be reduced by 50% when passengers are offered the possibility of being transported to their final destination on an alternative transport, with a difference in arrival time—compared to the originally scheduled flight—that does not exceed 2 hours (flights included in section A), 3 hours (flights in section B), or 4 hours (flights in section C).

2.2             Assistance for denied boarding

The passenger may choose between:

• Transport to their final destination, under comparable transport conditions, as soon as possible; or, at their choice, on a later date convenient for the passenger depending on seat availability; or
• Refund within 7 days of the full cost of the ticket at the price it was purchased, corresponding to the unused portion(s) of the journey, and the portion(s) already made if the trip no longer serves its purpose; along with, when applicable, a return flight to the first point of departure as soon as possible.

In addition, if the passenger opts for alternative transport to the final destination as soon as possible, they will receive free of charge:

• Sufficient food and beverages depending on the waiting time required.
• Two telephone calls or access to email.
• If an overnight stay is necessary: accommodation, when applicable, and transport between the airport and the place of accommodation.

3             Flight cancellations

3.1         Compensation for cancellation

In the event of flight cancellation, passengers will be entitled to receive compensation as indicated below.

However, the Regulation states that the air carrier operating the flight is not required to pay compensation to the passenger:

• If it can be proven that the cancellation is due to extraordinary circumstances that could not have been avoided even if all reasonable measures had been taken, such as cases of political instability, weather conditions incompatible with the operation of the flight, safety risks, unexpected deficiencies in flight safety beyond the control of the airline, and strikes or other collective labor conflicts external to the airline that affect the operations of a carrier responsible for operating a flight.
• If the passenger is informed of the flight cancellation at least two weeks before the scheduled departure time.
• If the passenger is informed of the flight cancellation between two weeks and seven days before the scheduled departure time and is offered an alternative transport allowing them to depart no more than two hours earlier than the original flight time and arrive at their final destination with less than four hours of delay compared to the originally scheduled arrival time.
• If the passenger is informed less than seven days before the scheduled departure time and is offered another flight allowing them to depart no more than one hour earlier than the original flight time and arrive at their final destination with less than two hours of delay compared to the originally scheduled arrival time.

If none of these circumstances apply, passengers with a confirmed reservation for a flight that is cancelled will be entitled to:

• 125 euros for flights up to 1,500 km when the offered alternative transport has an arrival time no more than two hours later than the originally scheduled time; or 250 euros if the delay exceeds two hours.
• 200 euros for all intra‑community flights over 1,500 km and all other flights between 1,500 and 3,500 km when the offered alternative transport has an arrival time no more than three hours later than originally scheduled; or 400 euros if the delay exceeds three hours.
• 300 euros for all flights not included in the categories above when the offered alternative transport has an arrival time no more than four hours later than originally scheduled; or 600 euros if the delay exceeds four hours.

Compensation may be paid by bank transfer, in cash, by check, or—upon agreement with the passenger—through vouchers redeemable on LEVEL flights.

3.2             Assistance for cancellation

The passenger may choose between:

• Transport to their final destination, under comparable transport conditions, as soon as possible; or, at their choice, on a later date convenient for the passenger depending on seat availability; or
• Refund within 7 days of the full cost of the ticket at the price it was purchased, corresponding to the unused portion(s) of the journey, and the portion(s) already made if the trip no longer serves its purpose; along with, when applicable, a return flight to the first point of departure as soon as possible.

In addition, if the passenger opts for alternative transport to the final destination as soon as possible, they will receive free of charge:

• Sufficient food and beverages depending on the waiting time required.
• Two telephone calls or access to email.
• If an overnight stay is necessary: accommodation, when applicable, and round‑trip transport between the airport and the place of accommodation.

4             Flight delays

4.1          Compensation for delay

Regulation EC 261/2004 does not provide for the right to compensation for flight delay.

However, according to the case law of the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU), passengers may claim the right to financial compensation, according to the amounts established in Regulation EC 261/04, when they suffer a loss of time equal to or greater than three hours upon arrival at their final destination. The operating air carrier will not be required to pay compensation if it can prove that the delay is due to extraordinary circumstances that could not have been avoided even if all reasonable measures had been taken.

4.2             Assistance for delay

When LEVEL foresees a delay of:

• Two hours or more on flights up to 1,500 km.
• Three hours or more on intra‑community flights over 1,500 km and on all other flights between 1,500 and 3,500 km.
• Four hours or more on all other flights. Passengers will be offered free of charge:
  • Sufficient food and beverages depending on the waiting time required.
  • Two telephone calls or access to email.
  • If an overnight stay is necessary: accommodation, when applicable, and round‑trip transport between the airport and the place of accommodation.

When the delay is at least five hours, the passenger may choose to receive a refund, within 7 days, of the full cost of the ticket at the price it was purchased, corresponding to the unused portion(s) of the journey, and the portion(s) already completed if the trip no longer serves its purpose; along with, when applicable, a return flight to the first point of departure as soon as possible.

5             Class downgrade

If LEVEL seats a passenger in a class lower than the one for which the ticket was purchased, it will reimburse the passenger within seven days the following proportions of the price of the segment(s) affected:

• 30% for all flights of 1,500 km or less.
• 50% for all intra‑community flights of more than 1,500 km, and for all other flights between 1,500 and 3,500 km.
• 75% for all flights not included in the previous points.

6             Additional information

The rights described here are mandatory for LEVEL, in accordance with Regulation EC 261/2004 of the European Parliament and the Council of the European Union.

In accordance with Article 14.2 of Regulation (EC) 261/2004, we inform you that the authority in Spain responsible for enforcing this Regulation is: the Spanish Aviation Safety and Security Agency (AESA)

• Quality and user service division: www.seguridadaerea.gob.es
• Paseo de la Castellana, 112 Madrid 28046

In the case of claims made under the scope of Law 7/2017 of 2 November, and Order TMA/201/2022 of 14 March, you are informed that:

• For claims related to the European Union regulations on the protection of air transport users [Regulation (EC) 261/2004 and Regulation (EC) 1107/2006], before initiating an alternative dispute resolution procedure, the passenger must submit a prior claim to LEVEL or, where applicable, to the airport operator.
• The deadline to submit the prior claim is five years from the date of the incident that may give rise to the claim.
• LEVEL or, where applicable, the airport operator to whom the prior claim is addressed, is required to acknowledge receipt and respond to the prior claim as soon as possible and, in any case, within a maximum period of one month from its submission.
• If the resolution of your claim by LEVEL or, where appropriate, the airport operator is not entirely satisfactory, or if no response is received within one (1) month from its submission, you may submit your case to the Spanish Aviation Safety and Security Agency (AESA, www.seguridadaerea.gob.es) for alternative dispute resolution (“ADR”) for matters covered by the European Union regulations on air passenger protection [Regulation (EC) 261/2004 and Regulation (EC) 1107/2006], expressly EXCLUDING claims related to baggage, damages or losses beyond the objective compensations established in such regulations, or other clauses of the transport contract.
• A claim submitted to AESA will be deemed inadmissible if more than one (1) year has passed since the submission of the prior claim to LEVEL.
• The decision issued by AESA in ADR procedures will be binding for LEVEL.
• For online dispute resolution (ODR), you are also informed that you may submit a claim through the European Commission’s Online Dispute Resolution (ODR) platform.