Flights canceled or delayed due to the failure of the Enav network, what are the rights of passengers

Black Friday of air travel has arrived. But not for the strike of EasyJet pilots and flight attendants, but for a more structural cause. And above all, more impactful. The failure of the ENAV transmission network - the body responsible for civil aviation - is currently causing cancellations or delays of 50% of scheduled flights.

There are therefore many travelers who don't know if or when they will be able to leave, and the fact that it is Friday - when many return home or leave for a weekend - certainly doesn't help.

Travellers' rights

The first thing to clarify is that a technical problem with the monitoring body's equipment is a typical exceptional circumstance. In short, airlines suffer this situation and cannot take any measures to remedy it.

What does all this mean? That the traveler cannot request any financial compensation for delay or cancellation. These compensations vary between 250 and 600 euros depending on the route but, it is important to reiterate, not in this case.

All other rights remain intact: full refund of the ticket price if the flight does not depart and you give up traveling, or the obligation to be repositioned on the first possible alternative flight and assistance at the airport.

"In the event of a delay of more than 5 hours - recalls the expert Maria Pisanò, from the European Consumer Center - the passenger has the right to renounce the trip and receive a full refund. However, for all the hours spent at the airport, the companies still have the duty to assist their customers".

A new ruling in favor of travellers

Beyond today's facts, the European judges have just a few days ago put together a ruling (C-108/2026) which will take away the power of airlines to decide whether it is right or wrong when it comes to justifying a delay or cancellation.

The ruling is from the Court of the European Union, but modified by the EU Court - "which has the power to do so when a ruling risks jeopardizing the uniformity of community law" specifies Pisanò.

In essence, the text now provides that the company cannot justify an exceptional circumstance with a generic "air traffic restriction".

“It's no longer enough - explains the lawyer - because now the reason why the supervisory body took that decision is decisive, which is not necessarily a cause of force majeure”.

To give an example, borrowed from the events that triggered the case, the flight had arrived an hour late due to bad weather, and instead of leaving immediately it accumulated a further two hours of delay due to a technical problem with the plane. At that point, the institution gave priority to other slots. But for a specific reason, that is, a responsibility of the airline. Therefore, two out of three hours of delay were attributable only to the company.

"It is positive news for travelers - concludes Pisanò - also because when the Court interprets a sentence it directly affects the regulation itself. From now on everyone will have to adapt to the new principle: it is not enough to appeal to generic limitations of air traffic because the decision to move a flight could have causes that are anything but exceptional".