Consumer rights explained: Can an airline refuse to refund me if it changes the date of my flight?

Q: I was booked to fly from Rome to Nice on the 30th of April at 11:50am with Wizz Air. However, the airline recently changed the flight to the 29th of April at 16:00. 

I contacted the airline and was told that by EU regulation, I have no right to a refund because the change was made over 14 days in advance of the flight. I booked this flight through Kiwi, and can cancel the flight through them with a cancellation fee of €30. The flight was only €31 so I am essentially getting no money back here, even though they changed the flight to the previous day.

Any help in this matter would be greatly appreciated. 

Eoin, by email

It can be extremely frustrating when travel plans are disrupted like this outside your control. Unfortunately, airlines will often reserve the right to change the time and date of your flight provided within their terms and conditions, which you will have agreed to when you booked your flight. 

However, as your flight departure time has been brought forward by more than one hour, this schedule change would be considered a flight cancellation. It’s worth noting that flights that are pushed back are not considered as cancellations. 

When this happens, consumers have three options under EU regulations. They can accept the flight time change, change flight for free or apply for a refund. This is true, even if they let you know more than 14 days before the flight.

When Wizz Air notified you of the flight change, it should also have informed you of these options. If you did not accept the schedule change, you would be entitled to apply for a refund directly with the airline. While the flight was booked through Kiwi, Wizz Air is still responsible for providing the options above, meaning you should not have to cancel through Kiwi.

It’s also worth noting that airlines are required to reimburse you within seven days, once you cancel and apply for the refund. As third parties do not have the same time limits, going directly to the airline for your refund would usually be the fastest way to get your money back.