United States tarmac contingency and delay service plan
We know that any type of interruption to your schedule can be challenging and inconvenient. To minimize any inconvenience, we will do our best to keep you informed, and get you on your way as quickly and safely as possible.
The following details comprise our contract of carriage and customer service plan in accordance with the Enhanced Protections for Airline Passengers U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) regulations (14 CFR Part 259). It outlines our U.S. tarmac delay service plan in the event of delays, cancellations and diversion for flights departing, arriving or diverted to the U.S.
Delays at the airport
If you have not yet boarded your flight and a delay caused by Swoop exceeds three (3) hours, we will issue you a food voucher. Likewise, if Swoop causes an overnight delay and you did not start your journey at the airport where the delay has occurred, we will provide you with a hotel voucher, airport transfers and food vouchers. Please note that we will only issue a maximum of three (3) meal vouchers per traveller, per day.
Flight status changes on the day of your flight (in effect for delays, cancellations or diversions)
We will inform you of changes to your flight's status within 30 minutes of the time we are notified of the change. This information will be available through our flight status or travel advisories page. We also provide updates at the boarding gate area, and continue to provide updates every 30 minutes. Also, if you provided your email address in your flight reservation you will be eligible to receive flight status notifications automatically via email.
On-board departure and arrival delays
During an extended delay on board the aircraft, we will provide you with:
Notifications beginning 30 minutes after the departure time (including any revised departure time that travellers were notified about before boarding) and every 30 minutes thereafter to identify the reason for the delay and provide a tentative departure time.
Notifications every 30 minutes that you have the opportunity to disembark from the aircraft that is at the gate or another disembarkation area with the door open if the opportunity to disembark actually exists. If you choose to disembark you should be aware that you are doing so at your own discretion and the flight could depart at any time without you.
Functioning lavatory facilities.
Access to medical attention (if or when necessary).
Food and water. This is provided no later than two (2) hours after the aircraft leaves the gate (for departures) or touches down (for arrivals and diversions), unless the pilot-in-command deems that safety or security precludes such service. Depending on aircraft catering provisions adequate food may be a snack item.
If your vacation package is impacted (transfers, hotels, etc.) please contact your third-party tour operator for options.
Plan requirements
Swoop’s contingency plan states that travellers will be given the opportunity to disembark a tarmac delayed flight within four (4) hours unless the pilot-in-command determines that a safety-related concern prevents the aircraft from returning to the gate or air traffic control advises that a return to the gate or disembarking at another location is not possible.
The plan also ensures that Swoop has sufficient resources that meet the United States Department of Transportation's (U.S. DOT) requirements for extended tarmac delays in the United States, including diversions. Swoop’s Operations Control Centre is responsible for managing the plan and ensuring that it meets all required standards. Swoop will also handle oversight of the plan in the instance of an event and have coordinated implementation of the plan with airport authorities, U.S. Customs and Border Protection and the Transportation Security Administration at each U.S. airport that we serve, including diversion airports. Swoop customer service agents, flight operations personnel and inflight staff will carry out the plan at the airport and flight level.
Offering our lowest available fare
Swoop will always offer you the lowest available fare. There are no minimum or maximum stay-over requirements and fares are quoted on a one-way basis including applicable taxes, fees and charges. For more information, please see our fares.
Allowing you to cancel within 24 hours of booking without a fee and providing a prompt refund
Cancellations made within 24 hours of booking for travel outside of seven days are fully refundable to original form of payment. Bookings cannot be cancelled if the departure date is within the following seven days. They can be changed and regular change fees apply to any changes on any booking. Your refund will be processed based on how your reservation was made, and the fare you purchased. For details on how the refund will be processed, please see our service fees. We will refund fees paid for unredeemed optional services due to an oversale situation (resulting from a schedule change or unforeseen circumstances) or flight cancellation.
Disclosing your travel itinerary, other policies and information that may affect your travel
We will provide you with information on the policies and promises that affect your travel including:
Our aircraft configuration
Information on our aircraft configuration is available on our website under our fleet. We provide details about the seat width and the pitch of the seat (which is a fancy way of saying how much legroom you'll get).
Handling oversold flight situations
In the event where we can no longer accommodate you on a flight to/from or within the United States, we will put you on the next available flight or offer you a Swoop credit or a refund of your fare. We will also provide a refund for any pre-paid optional/ancillary services lost due to a cancellation or overbooking.
Notifying you of flight delays, cancellations and diversions and how we mitigate inconveniences that result from these flight interruptions
We know that any type of interruption to your schedule is inconvenient. We strive to keep you informed, provide you with information and minimize the inconvenience. Our website will disclose flight delays of 30 minutes or more, cancellations and diversions within 30 minutes of Swoop becoming aware of the disruption. In the event of a delay over three hours or cancellation, Swoop will send the options available to the email address provided at the time of booking.
Accommodating travellers with special needs including tarmac delays
We're happy to provide additional service for our travellers with special needs, including transportation to, from or between gates (by wheelchair). From assistance at the airport, on our aircraft, boarding and deplaning to assistance during delays, cancellations or diversions, we will ensure that your needs are properly accommodated.
Delivering your baggage on time
Swoop will make every effort to return mishandled baggage within 24 hours. We will also provide compensation for reasonable expenses related to delayed delivery, and reimbursing passengers for any fee to transport a lost bag. Please see our delayed, damage and/or missing baggage page for more information.
Giving us feedback
We appreciate hearing about your experience with us. If you would like to provide us with feedback, please see our contact us page.
U.S. Department of Transportation
For more information about your rights when travelling to, through or within the United States, please contact the U.S. Department of Transportation.
https://www.transportation.gov/airconsumer
Aviation Consumer Protection Division, C-75
U.S. Department of Transportation
1200 New Jersey Ave, SE
Washington, DC 20590
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