February is traditionally a strong travel month. The APF takes this opportunity to inform about travelers' rights with regard to problems that most often lead to arbitration proceedings: cancellations and delays in air and rail traffic. Short-term flight cancellations often mean considerable inconvenience for travelers. According to the Air Passenger Rights Regulation, passengers can choose one of three options in such cases: It is important that passengers contact the airline on their own initiative if the airline has not previously contacted them. If the cancellation is not notified in a timely manner, they are also entitled to compensation payments of up to 600 euros per person, depending on the flight distance. Airlines are exempt from paying compensation if "extraordinary circumstances" exist. However, these must be explained in a comprehensible manner in the arbitration proceedings. During the 2023 semester break, most cases of cancellations (39 percent of all proceedings) concerned Austrian Airlines, Lufthansa and Turkish Airlines. Flight delay: Another annoyance for travelers If the arrival at the destination is delayed by three hours or more, travelers are also entitled to compensation of up to 600 euros. In this case, the amount also depends on the flight distance. 36 percent of the APF's cases with a departure date in February 2023 dealt with flight delays. Most of these cases concerned Austrian Airlines, Wizz Air and Iberia. Be careful when traveling to the airport by train During the semester break, there were an increasing number of fines in the rail sector, especially on the route between the city limits of Vienna and Schwechat Airport. Passengers were often denied boarding due to incorrectly booked tickets.