Airline passengers who miss flights due to queues at security checkpoints are not likely to receive compensation, according to the Consumers' Union of Finland.
The firm that operates the security checks, Finavia, is not liable for people's missed flights because it is carrying out mandatory tasks, according to Juha Beurling-Pomoell, the union's secretary general.
And generally, he said, airlines aren't liable either.
"Although the security check is a mandatory part of getting on a flight, airlines are not responsible for organising it," he said in a press release.
Many passengers at Helsinki Airport missed flights due to long queues caused by the reintroduction of carry-on liquid limits and low levels of security staff at the beginning of this month.
Last week the consumers' union said it would look into who is ultimately responsible for passengers missing flights in such situations. It turns out that for the most part, responsibility lies with passengers.
"Air passengers do not have a consumer relationship with Finavia, if they have not purchased services from them," Beurling-Pomoell noted.
Consumer relationship is with airline
Citing the Consumer Protection Act, he said the consumer relationship in this case is between passengers and airlines.
If an airline did not adequately provide such information, and there were exceptionally long security queues, the airline could be liable to pay compensation to affected passengers, according to Beurling-Pomoell.
"Consumers have the burden of proving what caused a missed flight. Consumers should be able to prove that it was caused by a lack of information from the airline, and not for example, by their own negligence," he said.
Compensation options
The consumers' union has advised those who missed flights due to getting stuck in security queues to contact their airline. If the response is unsatisfactory, the next step would be to file a complaint with the Consumer Disputes Board. The final step in disagreements would be handled by a district court.
However, in this case travel insurance policy holders might be eligible for compensation.
"Usually, travel insurance delay compensation is related to, for example, your car breaking down on the way to the airport, or a late bus. Travel insurance didn't seem to help in this matter, but since it was such an exceptional case, it's still worth asking your insurance company," Beurling-Pomoell said.
According to the consumers' union, if people are dissatisfied with an insurance company's decision they can take their cases to the Consumer Disputes Board or the Finnish Financial Ombudsman Bureau.
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