When a flight is cancelled or delayed more than three hours, you have rights to compensation and assistance. What you're entitled to, how much, and where to file a complaint in Macedonia.
When a flight is cancelled or delayed by hours, the first instinct is frustration, and the second is the feeling that you’re powerless. You aren’t. There’s a clear legal framework defining your rights as a passenger — and in Macedonia that framework is harmonised with the European one. This article explains what exactly you’re entitled to and how to claim it.
The legal basis — and why it applies here
Air passenger rights in the European Union are defined by Regulation (EC) No 261/2004. The key point for us: Macedonia has harmonised its national legislation with this regulation. This isn’t informal — the regulation is transposed into domestic law (the Law on Contractual and Real Right Relations in Aviation Transport), under the country’s membership of the European Common Aviation Area (ECAA).
In practice, that means as a passenger you have essentially the same rights as a passenger in the EU — for flights that fall within the scope of the regulation.
When you’re entitled to compensation
The right to monetary compensation is triggered when:
The flight is cancelled and you were informed less than 14 days before departure, or the flight is delayed more than three hours at the final destination, or you are denied boarding because the flight is overbooked.
An important limitation: compensation is not paid when the cancellation or delay is due to “extraordinary circumstances” the airline couldn’t control — extreme weather, security risks, strikes outside the airline. Technical problems with the aircraft, in most cases, are not considered an extraordinary circumstance.
How much the compensation is
The amount depends on the length of the flight:
€250 for flights up to 1,500 kilometres. €400 for flights within Europe longer than 1,500 kilometres, and for other flights between 1,500 and 3,500 kilometres. €600 for all other, longer flights.
This is compensation — a monetary payment for the inconvenience. It’s separate from the right to assistance and to a refund, which follow.
The right to assistance and care
Regardless of compensation, when a flight is cancelled or significantly delayed, the airline is obliged to provide care while you wait: food and refreshments appropriate to the waiting time, accommodation if an overnight stay is needed, transport to and from the accommodation, and the means to communicate (a phone call).
And you have a choice: either a refund of the full price of the ticket (if you abandon the trip), or rerouting to your final destination on another flight, at the earliest opportunity or later at your convenience.
The scope — when these rights apply
This is the part most often misunderstood. The regulation applies to: all flights departing from an airport within the scope (EU/ECAA, which includes Macedonia), and to flights towards such an airport if operated by a carrier registered within the scope.
So a Skopje–Zürich flight is covered. A flight from a third country to Skopje operated by an airline outside the scope — possibly not. This exact distinction is something the websites don’t explain to you, but an agent knows.
How to file a complaint in Macedonia
The procedure is defined and has an order:
First, to the airline. Any claim for compensation is first submitted to the airline that operated the flight. They must review it.
If you’re not satisfied — to the Civil Aviation Agency (CAA). If the airline refuses or doesn’t respond satisfactorily, you have the right to file a complaint with the CAA, which is the competent national body for enforcing these rights. The CAA has a dedicated form for that purpose on its website.
Keep all documentation: the boarding pass, confirmations, every communication with the airline. That’s your evidence.
Where we come in
Let’s be honest about the limits: compensation is paid by the airline, not the agency, and the complaint procedure is your right, pursued by you or through the CAA. We aren’t lawyers.
But what we do when a flight we issued for you is cancelled or delayed: we tell you what you’re entitled to, help with rerouting or a refund, and take over the communication with the airline in the language it operates in. When you’ve bought through us, you aren’t alone with the airline’s automated system — you have someone who’ll answer.
If a flight we issued is delayed or cancelled, call us and we’ll start from there.
This article is informational, not legal advice. Regulations and amounts change. For binding information, the Civil Aviation Agency (caa.gov.mk) and the applicable legislation are authoritative. This is a sensitive topic — if you need help with a specific case, get in touch.