Delayed or canceled flight in Mexico: your rights as a passenger

If your flight is delayed

In Mexico, what the airline owes you for a delay attributable to it depends on how many hours it lasts:

• More than 1 hour and less than 4: the airline compensates you under its own compensation policy, which at least includes discounts on later flights, food and drinks, or a combination.
• More than 2 hours and less than 4: those discounts can't be less than 7.5% of your ticket price.
• More than 4 hours: you also get the same options and the same indemnity as if your flight were canceled.

In any delay, the airline has to give you access to phone calls and email. And it has to tell you about itinerary changes at least 24 hours in advance or, if they come up later, as soon as it knows they can't be avoided.

If your flight is canceled

If the cancellation is attributable to the airline, you choose between:

• a refund of the ticket price, or of the part of the trip you didn't make;
• replacement transport on the first available flight, with calls, meals depending on the wait and, if you have to stay the night, a hotel and transport to the airport;
• flying to the same destination on another day that suits you.

If you choose the refund or another day, you're also owed an indemnity of at least 25% of the ticket price or of the part of the trip not made.

If you're denied boarding because of overbooking

When more tickets are sold than there are seats, the airline must first ask for volunteers, with benefits no lower than what the Law sets. If you're denied boarding, you get the same three options as with a cancellation and, with the refund or another date, an indemnity of at least 25%.

It doesn't apply if you were flying free or on a reduced fare not available to the public, or if you didn't check in on time.

Your bags

The Law sets a minimum of 25 kg of free baggage on aircraft with 20 seats or more (15 kg on smaller ones) and, in the cabin, up to two pieces of 55 × 40 × 25 cm weighing no more than 10 kg together. If you choose to fly without a checked bag, the airline may offer you a preferential fare.

On a domestic flight, if your checked bag is lost or damaged, the indemnity is 150 UMA (Mexico's official Units of Measure and Update), and up to 80 UMA for hand baggage. Claim with the airline within 15 days of delivery, or of the date it should have been delivered.

On an international flight, baggage is governed by international treaties, as in Europe.

If you change your mind

You can ask for a refund of your ticket if you tell the airline within 24 hours of buying it. After that, the airline sets the conditions.

Where to claim

First with the airline: it must have a passenger service desk at every terminal where it operates, and pay indemnities within 10 calendar days of your claim (meals and hotel, at the time). If it doesn't, the authority is the Federal Consumer Protection Agency (Profeco), which penalizes breaches of passenger rights.

No clause in your contract can take these rights away or lower the indemnity: it would be void.