Can you get compensation for a 3-day flight delay?

Canadians at home and abroad are enduring extraordinary delays at the hands of Greek airline SkyGreece.

A 7 a.m. Thursday flight from Toronto Pearson International Airport was delayed, starting what looked like a fourth straight day with no takeoffs.

A SkyGreece flight finally pulled into Pearson  around 2:30 p.m.Thursday, and the airline is apparently up and running again.

The carrier is also offering refunds to those who want them. However, all those frazzled and frustrated passengers likely aren’t eligible for any other compensation.

What are your options when airlines keep you in a holding pattern?

You’re entitled to some compensation for airline delays, but it depends on the situation and the airline. Every airline has a tariff, also known as a “contract of carriage,” which is basically the fine print you agreed to when you bought the ticket. A tariff doesn’t let an airline off completely, but it limits what compensation you can get.

Delays

Generally speaking, there’s no Canadian law that obligates airlines to compensate you for delayed flights.

Most big Canadian carriers like Air Canada, Sunwing or WestJet offer meal or hotel vouchers depending on the length of a delay, but you’re not entitled to any compensation for stress, inconvenience, loss of income or loss of vacation time.

READ MORE: Flight delays: What are your rights as a passenger?

Canada, Greece, and dozens of other countries are signatories of the Montreal Convention, an international treaty that spells out airline liability. The treaty — and SkyGreece’s own tariff — says that passengers can get monetary compensation for delays, but only if the airline didn’t take “all measures that could reasonably be required” to avoid the problem, or the problem was impossible to fix.

SkyGreece has blamed its problems on “operational considerations.” Some passengers said they were told that a pilot was sick or that maintenance issues were to blame.

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European airlines can pay a stiff price for delays, though. The 2005 Flight Delay Compensation Regulation requires airlines to pay passengers between 250 to 600 euros, depending on the distance of the flight that was delayed.

Cancellations

Many airline tariffs view cancellations the same way as delays, meaning that they don’t owe you anything as long as they did their best to prevent the cancellation.

Some Canadian airlines will do a little better. The country’s largest carriers – Air Canada, Air Transat and WestJet – all signed on to the federal government’s 2008 “Flight Rights” code, that says they’ll make certain efforts if a flight is cancelled. If that happens, the airline must:

• Find you a seat on another flight they operate;
• Buy you a seat on another carrier with which it has a mutual interline traffic agreement (a partnership between airlines that allows one to issue tickets on another’s behalf);
• Refund the unused portion of your ticket.

Overbooking and bumping

Many airlines overbook their flights, and it’s common to hear announcements offering special deals and vouchers for people willing to give up their seats. When no one volunteers, the airline resorts to involuntary “bumping.”

Bumping is also a standard part of an airline’s tariff, and each carrier has its own compensation scheme. Most airlines will try to get you on another flight, or will sometimes offer travel vouchers or cash.

Airline bankruptcy

A rare, but not unheard-of travel snag is when your entire airline is suddenly cancelled. It happened in 2005 when Canadian carrier Jetsgo abruptly ended service during March break, leaving thousands stranded.

READ MORE: Flyer beware: is a direct flight really direct?

Obviously a non-existent airline can’t do much to compensate you, so you have to help yourself. Contact your travel insurance provider, travel agent or other providers to figure out your way home.

If you have an unused ticket, you could get a refund from your travel agent, credit card company, insurance provider or possibly government transportation authorities.