Behind the statistics on air passenger rights are real people left stranded, out of pocket and without answers. Drawing on testimonies from the consumer helplines of Altroconsumo, Test-Achats/Test-Aankoop, OCU and DECO PROteste, this paper shows how EC261 works in practice: passengers denied boarding despite confirmed check-in, flights cancelled without explanation, contradictory excuses to refuse compensation, months-long reimbursement delays, unequal treatment on the same booking and complaints closed or vanishing without resolution. These first-hand experiences reveal a persistent gap between passengers’ rights on paper and the reality they face.
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