What to do if your flight is canceled or delayed in Argentina

In Argentina, flights can be delayed or even canceled from time to time for varied reasons. If you are traveling to or from Argentina and your flight is delayed or canceled, theres no need to panic: the airline has to sort the problem out. Local legislation protects the passengers rights, enforcing air companies to accommodate them accordingly. In such cases, they have to offer alternatives for the passenger to get to their destination, a refund, or provide food, beverages, transportation and even a hotel room if necessary. These services are only provided to passengers who are already in the pre-boarding area in the airport when the modification happens. However, that only applies when the company is responsible for the modification. In cases of force majeure including bad weather conditions or strikes, even those that had been previously informed by unions airlines are not obligated to provide those accommodations. What to do if my flight is canceled or delayed in Argentina? If you learn that your flight suffered any modifications ahead of your trip or when you are already in the airport, the first thing you should do is check for updates from the airline where you bought your ticket. Airlines normally send emails to passengers informing them of any changes.  You can also go to their website and social media to see if they posted any message regarding changes to the flights, or check the state of your reservation in their website or at the Aeropuertos Argentina website here. Contact your travel agency if you got your ticket through one. Airlines generally offer passengers to rebook their flights for free or to get a refund for unused tickets when flights are canceled or delayed due to strikes. However, if the cancellation or delay was determined by the company under their full responsibility, you have the right to request a solution or accommodations, depending on the situation. If your flight is canceled up to 30 days in advance: Airlines must put passengers in the next available flight within the same price range to the original destination. This can be done with planes from the same company or, if there is no availability, from another airline. They can also offer flights taking a different route to the same destination or via another means of transportation, such as buses. If none of those options accommodate to your needs, you can request a refund. If your flight is rescheduled ahead of time: In the case of flights that have been rescheduled by the airline two weeks before the date of departure and not related to events such as strikes, passengers dont have a right to request a free refund nor any other accommodation. If the flight was canceled between two weeks and seven days before departure and passengers have been offered an alternative means of transportation to their destination, they also cannot request a refund or accommodations. Im at the airport and my flight is delayed. What now? Passengers who are in the pre-boarding area in the airport when they learn their flight was delayed due to events under the sole responsibility of the airline have a right to request accommodations, depending on how much time they have to wait for the flight to take off. If your flight is delayed for up to four hours after the original departure time: You cannot request accommodations. The exception is if the modification of your flight happened between 12 and 6 a.m. If that is the case, the airline must provide you with food and beverages. They will likely give you a voucher. If your flight is delayed four to eight hours after the original departure time: The airline has to provide you with food and beverages according to how much time you need to wait. If your flight is delayed for eight or more hours after the original departure time: The airline has to provide not only food and beverages, but also cover transportation to a hotel and pay for your hotel room. This doesnt apply when passengers live in the same city the flight was supposed to take off from. If you miss a connection flight due to the delay, the airline has to arrange to get you on another flight and cover the expenses. If your flight is overbooked and you cannot board, you will receive accommodations depending on how much time you have to wait to get on another flight, following the same rules stated above. What if my flight is canceled? If your flight is canceled under the responsibility of the airline less than 15 days before your trip, they have to make arrangements to make sure you get to your destination. This includes putting you in another flight of the same or another company, or arranging for you to take another flight in case you miss a connection due to the cancellation.