• The Passenger Rights Ombudsman by the President of the Civil Aviation Authority has been entered into the register of entities entitled to resolve consumer disputes out of court.
• The Ombudsman will help consumers if airline does not want to accept their complaint about a delayed or cancelled flight or refuses to take them on board*.
• The proceedings are free of charge for both consumers and enterprises.

On 10 January 2017, the Act on Out-of-Court Consumer Dispute Resolutions entered into force. If consumers are dissatisfied with how their complaint was handled, now their dispute can be resolved alternatively (Alternative Dispute Resolution, ADR). Alternative dispute resolution is faster than court proceedings as it lasts a maximum of 90 days and is usually free of charge. Currently, consumers can resolve their dispute with the help of one of 10 authorized entities, both public and non-public. For example, the Trade Inspection deals with disputes related to the sale of goods and services, the Financial Ombudsman and the Arbitration Court at the Polish Financial Supervision Authority helps resolve financial disputes. All authorized entities can be found in the register available at the following address: https://www.uokik.gov.pl/rejestr_podmiot_uprawnionych.php.

The Ombudsman by the President of the Civil Aviation Authority has become one of entities conducting ADR proceedings. The Ombudsman will help reach an agreement between passenger and air carrier, tour operator or ticket vendor. Proceedings before the Ombudsman may be conducted in Polish or English, on-line or traditionally, and do not require the presence of parties or their representatives. The procedure is free of charge for both passengers and airlines. It is also voluntary, which means that it can be conducted only with the consent of both parties to the dispute. Detailed information on ADR proceedings before the Passenger Rights Ombudsman by the President of the Civil Aviation Authority, application instructions and forms are available at: http://www.pasazerlotniczy.gov.pl/.

Information on the principles behind and advantages of ADR proceedings, web search engine of authorized entities and answers to frequently asked questions can be found at: http://polubowne.uokik.gov.pl/. Consumers may also send an e-mail to the ADR Contact Point address: [SCODE]a29udGFrdC5hZHJAdW9raWsuZ292LnBs[ECODE].

*Dispute referred to in Regulation 261/2004/EC and Regulation 2111/2005/EC.