(Prague, 8 August 2023) Transport in northern Europe was crippled by severe storms today. Planes, ferries, buses and rail lines are grounded – passengers can find their rights in emergency situations on the free mobile app “ECC-Net: Travel”.

It not only provides detailed information on consumer rights in eight different areas and in common situations such as flight and ferry cancellations or delays, or problems with accommodation, but also offers specific phrases on how to claim your rights in the trader’s mother tongue, in 25 languages. The app is free to download or update on the Google Play Store, Apple App Store and Windows Phone Store.

“If a ferry is cancelled and the ferry is expected to depart after the storms have passed, which could be on the second or third day, people cannot claim free hotel accommodation in the event of bad weather, as is the case in emergency situations for air, rail or long-distance bus services,” warns Ondřej Tichota, director of the European Consumer Centre Czech Republic. “But in all types of transport, the right to free food and refreshments in a quantity proportionate to the waiting time. If a service is cancelled, passengers have the right to be redirected to an alternative service, but also the right to a refund of the fare. The right to refreshments and, in the case of a flight, to accommodation, shall cease upon cancellation of the contract.”

For cancelled and significantly delayed flights, passengers are not entitled to compensation of between €250 and €600, as the carrier is not at fault, the app says. Once the app is launched, the user selects the language in which to use the app and then the country in which they are located. This automatically focuses everything on the destination in question and, in addition to information about his rights, the user is also shown specific sentences to request, for example, free care directly in the official language or languages of the business’s country.

“In the app, the user can read in Czech what they can request in a given situation, for example free care in case of flight delays and cancellations. And the app also quickly provides contact details for the Czech embassy in the EU country where you are located,” says Ondřej Tichota. Other areas covered by the app are shopping in a store, car rental and medical treatment.

If a person finds himself in a situation that he is unable to resolve with a business from another EU country, Norway or Iceland using the app, he can easily find the contact details of the European Consumer Centre, which assists free of charge in such cases.