Turkish Airlines has canceled a significant part of its flight schedule this week due to adverse winter weather in Istanbul, which has disrupted airport operations.
The problem continues, and many flights are canceled or significantly delayed. Passengers may have been rebooked on alternate flights days out.
You can access Turkish Airlines here.
Turkish Airlines has the following notice on its website:
The airline’s website does not clearly state its obligations to passengers when their flights are canceled or significantly delayed.
It has the following passenger notice PDF that is based on the legislation in Turkey:
You have to remember that passengers departing from EU/EEA are covered by the EC 261/2004, which probably offers better protection for displaced passengers than the legislation that is in place in Turkey:
The above version is from Thai Airways, but the rights are identical regardless of the airline for flights departing from EU/EEA.
The adverse weather in Istanbul can be considered an extraordinary event when delay and cancellation compensation don’t apply, but the Duty to Care always does.
The passenger has the right to rebook to their destination as soon as possible, even if this means that Turkish Airlines needs to rebook the passenger on another airline. They can always opt for a refund if the flight is canceled, even on non-refundable tickets.
Turkish Airlines must also provide accommodation and meals for those passengers whose flights have been canceled or significantly delayed.
They most likely won’t do this, but you must book and pay these by yourself first and later seek reimbursement for these expenses from Turkish Airlines.
Conclusion
These adverse effects in Istanbul have now lasted for a few days, and once everything is operating smoothly, it will probably take a week or so until the passenger backlog has been cleared.
I always advise trying to get the airline to rebook you on operating services. This is your right for departures ex-EU/EEA, but it can be challenging if phone lines are busy and the airport doesn’t have a proper ticketing desk.
Remember that the airline must cover reasonable accommodation and meal expenses for these ex-EU/EEA departures, so save those receipts.
