Procedure to complain to AESA for cancellations, delays, denials of boarding and PMR in air transport for flights after 02/06/2023 included (alternative dispute resolution)

    NOTICE: The deadlines for resolving claims are being delayed due to the high number of complaints received at AESA as a result of several incidents with particular impact on flight delays and cancellations. AESA is working to restore the usual processing deadlines.

    Lodging complaints by means of the Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) procedure of air transport users in the scope of regulations:

    • Regulation (EC) No 261/2004 and concerning refusals of boarding, long delays, cancellations and change of class.
    • Regulation (EC) No 1107/2006 on the rights of persons with disabilities or reduced mobility in air transport.

    This procedure may be used by passengers irrespective of their nationality departing from:

    • an airport located in Spanish territory; or,
    • an airport located in a country that is not a member of the European Union, bound for another on Spanish territory, when a Community air carrier participates in the transport operation.

    Filing a complaint using alternative dispute resolution will prevent you from having to go to court to assert your rights contained in these Regulations. 

    The alternative dispute resolution procedure will not be a prerequisite for access to the courts of law, but a faster and totally free option offered to air transport users to resolve such disputes with airlines and if you are not satisfied with the procedure you can withdraw at any time and finally go to court, if you consider it. 

    Please note that, if you initially go to court, your claim in AESA will be inadmissible for processing.

    The decision by AESA as a result of the ADR procedure shall be binding on air carriers. If after the 1 month period granted to the company to comply with the decision of AESA, the company does not satisfy the rights recognised to the passenger, the passenger may request its execution before the competent court. In the same way if the procedure ends and the passenger is not satisfied with the decision issued by AESA, as it is not binding on him or her he will be able to go to the courts in this case to exercise his rights.

    See below:

     

What can be claimed through alternative dispute resolution


    You may claim by means of Alternative Dispute Resolution if your flight is dated 02/06/2023 or later and you have suffered any of the following incidents:

    • cancelled flight;
    • delayed flight 3 hours or more;
    • advance flight more than one hour;
    • unjustified denial of boarding;
    • class change; or,
    • incidents affecting the rights of persons with reduced mobility (PMR).

    They cannot be claimed by means of alternative dispute resolution before AESA:

    • Claims about rights or incidents other than those mentioned above such as baggage claims, quality of service, contract of carriage and its clauses, damages, fees and fees, business practices, travel agencies, package travel, data protection, and those in which the flight normally operates but the passenger decides not to fly. You can find useful information about how you should claim in these cases at: Other incidents not related to cancellations and delays
    • Claims for cancellations, delays, denials of boarding and rights of persons with reduced mobility (PMR) in air transport for flights prior to 01/06/2023 included. To do this you can complain to AESA using the information channel
    • Nor can AESA claim flights that:
      • have their first exit point in another European Union (EU) country; or,
      • have their first point of departure outside the EU and their last point of arrival is not in Spain; or,
      • have your first point of departure outside the EU and your last point of arrival if you are in Spain, but you are not transported by a Community carrier;

    If the complaint is resolved by another EU Member State, we recommend that you file your complaint directly with the designated authority in that country. To know the procedure to follow click here;

     

When to claim through Alternative Dispute Resolution


    If after having claimed from the company, you consider that your rights as a passenger under the European Regulations (see here your rights) have not been taken care of or more than one month has elapsed since you have made your claim without having received a response from the company, then you can file your claim with AESA.

    Here are the steps:

    1. You must start by making a complaint to the relevant airline. You must do so within five years since the incident occurred and by the means designated by the company for submission (website, email, etc.), through the airline’s own claim sheets, or failing that using the form to complain to an airline that AESA makes available to all passengers. When filing your claim please note that:
      • You can use electronic means if the company has them or in writing to your customer service department. You can consult the addresses if necessary in the Air Companies Customer Service List.
      • It is important that you keep the ticket and other documents used. The complaint must be clear, concise and legible, and it is important to accurately record the data requested in order to identify you and the flight that suffered the incident (including the date, time, place and causes of the claim, as well as the claimant’s personal data and your flight).
    2. If you do not receive a response from the company within one month, or this is not satisfactory, you can then file a claim with AESA at no cost.
    3. The claim to AESA must be filed within one year of your prior complaint to the airline.

     

Where to claim through Alternative Dispute Resolution


    To file a complaint with AESA as an ADR entity, you can do so by:

    1. Telematic presentation: By accessing the “Online Process” button that you can find by accessing the electronic headquarters, clicking on “New Application with electronic identification” and accessing by means of digital certificate or electronic ID card, permanent key, EU citizens and e4F system for foreign people who do not have Cl@ve prior registration.

    For this purpose, users must have one of the identification and signature systems supported by:

    • The General State Administration, in particular systems based on electronic certificates recognised as Digital Certificate or Electronic DNI, Permanent Key, EU Citizens.
      Users will be able to consult the supported browsers, as well as the identification and electronic signature systems supported in:

    https://sede.seguridadaerea.gob.es/sede-aesa/informacion-general/identificacion-y-firma

    • AESA for foreign persons who do not have Cl@ve prior registration, the system of agreed keys E4F. The E4F keys expire a year after they have been obtained and an email will be sent to the interested party reminding them that, in order to continue using them, they must be renewed. More information and how to request it at:

    https://sede.seguridadaerea.gob.es/sede-aesa/contenido/claves-concertadas-e4f-esignature-foreigners

    In case you fail to use your certificate, the user can start by checking in a practical way, the validity of your digital certificate/DNIe and the possibility of using it on your computer by means of the following link (e.g. to determine that the user’s certificate is not expired or revoked):

    If the result of these tests is positive, but you cannot submit your claim you can contact the CAU mailbox (cau.aesa@seguridadaerea.es) attaching the PDF with the result of the previous test.

    In the following link you can see how to obtain a digital certificate of natural person of the FNMT by means of video identification, in person or with your ID:

    https://www.sede.fnmt.gob.es/certificados/persona-fisica

    The telematic or entirely electronic processing is the one that is carried out without the need to print documents or manual signatures and is processed entirely in the electronic office of AESA. This is the recommended system for faster processing of your claim.

    This method of handling is the only way of lodging complaints for representatives of passengers other than natural persons or acting in the exercise of a professional activity: entities, consumer associations, natural persons representing legal and professional persons in the performance of their duties.

    ATTENTION: The Cl@ve PIN system does not allow the submission of claims in electronic headquarters or submission of arguments in the proceedings of the hearing since this system does not allow signature, so it will not be possible to complete the submission of the claim in full at the headquarters and it will be necessary to print and send it by post. However, by allowing Cl@ve PIN a valid identification, access to the file and receipt of notifications will be allowed through this system.

    1. Semi-presence presentation: By accessing the “Online Process” button that you can find by accessing the website and later clicking on “New Application without electronic identification” that without the need for the means indicated above will allow you to enter your claim telematically for subsequent printing, manual signature and face-to-face presentation in the places provided for in the following section.

    NOTICE: In case of not reaching the final screen of submission of the claim, the draft with the data and documents that have been uploaded will be lost. Similarly, if the claim form is not downloaded before finalising the submission for signature, you will not be able to recover it.

    In this case within 10 days from the date of telematic upload of the request must send the aforementioned signed document to AESA, otherwise the complaint will be deemed not submitted.

    This route is recommended for those passengers who do not have a digital certificate since it allows a faster processing than the fully face-to-face presentation described in the following section.

    The mode of processing is available only to passengers or their representatives with the status of natural persons who do not act in the exercise of their professional activity, this mode of presentation being not available to entities, consumer associations, natural persons on behalf of legal persons and professionals in the performance of their duties.

    Claims that have been submitted semi-face-to-face will not be visible in "My Claims" until the signed form arrives at AESA. This means that if a passenger uploads the claim without electronic identification before the signed form arrives at AESA, if he/she enters "My Requests", he/she will not be able to consult the claim generated with the ANON code.

    Thus, the passenger or his representative will only see the semi-face-to-face complaint in "My requests" when the signed form has arrived at EASA, the date of registration has been entered in the Agency's internal application and the complaint has been assigned a definitive file number.

    1. Face-to-face presentation (on paper): You must send to the address:
      State Aviation Safety
      Agency. Passenger Rights Division. Paseo de la Castellana 112, 28046, Madrid,

    Presenting in:

    1. In the register of:

    a) AESA;

    b) agencies of the AGE;

    c) bodies of the Autonomous Communities;

    d) local government bodies;

    e) public universities;

    f) other institutional public sector entities;

    2. At Post Offices, in the form established by regulation;

    3. In the diplomatic representations or consular offices of Spain abroad;

    4. At the registries assistance offices; Y

    5. On the online dispute resolution platform of the European Union (https://ec.europa.eu/consumers/odr).

    Attaching the following documentation:

    1. The form to complain to AESA, which can be downloaded by accessing the website and clicking on the “Download Documents” button at the end of this section, correctly completed and signed;
    2. Copy of your identity document and that of the passengers represented together with the corresponding proofs of representation (signed authorisation or family book in the case of minors).
    3. A legible copy of your communications with the air carrier. (Claim made further response from the company if it had received it and otherwise indicated that it did not receive it);
    4. A copy of your air ticket or boarding pass and other documentation of interest;
    5. If you claim expenses must be borne by copy of the food and beverage invoices claimed according to the waiting time; hotel invoice, in case it would have been necessary to stay overnight one or more nights, and, where applicable, transport bills between the airport where the incident took place and the place of accommodation; as well as a copy of the invoices for telephone calls or claimed emails;
    6. Copy of the transport ticket if you have purchased an alternative transport on your own showing the cost of the transport ticket.

    The mode of processing in person is only available to passengers or their representatives with the status of natural persons who do not act in the exercise of their professional activity, this mode of presentation being not available to entities, consumer associations, natural persons on behalf of legal persons and professionals in the performance of their duties.

    In the event that the same complaint is received in AESAby more than one way, only the first one received in AESA will be processed, and the subsequent ones will not be accepted.

     

Required documentation


    Claim form, prior claim to the airline, identity documents of all passengers, accreditation of representatives where applicable, documentation related to the contract of carriage (tickets, boarding passes, etc.) and invoices of expenses if applicable.

Access to the State of a complaint


    The passenger may access at any time to consult the status of processing his claim using any of the following means of electronic identification: Digital certificate or electronic ID card, PIN keys, permanent key and EU citizens and e4F system

    To do this you must access the link below

    Access to consultation status of processing

     

Action by AESA


    After lodging a complaint with AESA through the alternative dispute resolution procedure, AESA will analyse whether there has been a breach of the Passenger Rights Regulation (EC) 261/2004 and will open a hearing procedure to the claimed air carrier that is obliged to participate by requesting information on the facts, hearing the passenger, collecting the necessary additional information and examining whether or not the air carrier has complied with the provisions of the European Regulations. 

    Once analysed, AESA will send the applicant and the air carrier, within 90 to 180 days from the full receipt of your complaint, a decision on it, highlighting what your rights are. 

    The period of 90 calendar days may be extended for the time necessary to resolve when there is special complexity in the dispute. The beginning of the deadline will be counted from the submission in AESA of the complete documentation that allows the complaint to be processed (if correction is required from the submission of the corrected documentation). For the calculation of deadlines it must be taken into account that the procedures of hearing and evidence suspend in any case the deadline of AESA to resolve. 

    The outcome of the decision is binding on airlines. If after the 1 month period granted to the company to comply with the decision of AESA, the company does not satisfy the rights recognised to the passenger, the passenger may request its execution before the competent court. In the same way if the procedure ends and the passenger is not satisfied with the decision issued by AESA, as it is not binding on him or her he will be able to go to the courts in this case to exercise his rights. 

     

Effects of administrative silence (depending on the starting form)


    Rejection

Deadline for submission


    The passenger may submit his claim to AESA within a maximum period of one year from the submission of the previous claim to the company.

    We remind you that prior to the presentation at AESA, the passenger must submit a previous claim to the company responsible for the non-compliance that causes the claim. The deadline for submitting the previous claim to the company is five years from the day the incident occurred.

    The company will be obliged to acknowledge receipt of your submission and will respond to the previous complaint as soon as possible and, in any case, within a maximum period of one month from its submission. If after a month you do not receive a response or it does not satisfy you, you can submit your claim to AESA, in any case within one year of the submission of the previous claim to the company.

Possible resources


    The decision of the Director of the Agency is binding on the air carrier which is obliged, in the event of a total or partial acceptance of the complaint, to comply with it and to submit to the Agency the proof proving it as soon as it occurs, indicating whether it has challenged the decision before the competent court.

    If, within one month of the date of notification of the decision, the air carrier has failed to deal with it, and regardless of whether the decision has been challenged, the passenger may seek enforcement by lodging an enforceable action before the competent court. The decision itself is already considered duly certified by AESA and the parties can verify their authenticity by comparing the copies using the Secure Verification Code (CSV, a set of characters that uniquely identify any of the documents issued electronically by AESA ) that is included in the decision itself, using the electronic office of AESA (https://sede.seguridadaerea.gob.es/CID/).

    The decision of the Director of the Agency is not binding on the passenger who may, in any event, take any civil action against the air carrier.

     

     

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