RIYADH — Saudi Arabia's Consumer Protection Association (CPA) has revealed the types of compensation that the air carriers are obliged to pay in the event that they cause delays of passenger's baggage during flights. The CPA stated that the air carrier is required to pay compensation to the passenger in SDR units in the event that they delay baggage delivery. For domestic passengers, the air carrier is obligated to compensate the passenger the equivalent of 20 SDRs for each day of delay. The maximum limit of compensation is 100 SDRs for domestic flights. As for international flights, the compensation is the equivalent of 40 SDRs for each day of delay, with a maximum limit of 200 SDRs. The SDRs (special drawing rights) are units of account for the IMF (International Monetary Fund) and other international organizations. Though not a currency per se, it is rather a potential claim on the freely usable currencies of IMF members. When the air carriers will be required to pay the compensation in SDRs units, here it will be converted into Saudi riyals (SR). The ministry also revealed the consumer's rights if his seat on the plane was reduced by the air carrier. When alternative seats are available on the same flight in a lower class and the passenger agrees, he has the right to receive compensation for the entire price difference between the original passenger class and the class in which he traveled. "The refund equals the difference between the original class and the alternative lower class on which a passenger is boarded during the flight based on the lowest price in the class to which he is lowered," the CPA said "The consumer deserves additional compensation equal to 50% of the refund and it should not be an alternative for any other compensations or refunds for damages resulting from lowering the class," it added. The CPA said if the consumer decides to terminate the contract, he is entitled to the value of the ticket (the unutilized itinerary) in addition to a compensation equivalent to 100% of that refund. "The additional compensation should not be an alternative for any other compensations or refunds resulting from the rejection of boarding," the CPA clarified.
