Flight delayed or canceled due to drone nuisance? You won't receive any compensation.

Copenhagen in Denmark, Oslo in Norway, Aalborg in Denmark, and just last night, Munich in Germany. Drones temporarily halted air traffic at these airports.

Extraordinary circumstances

This is particularly inconvenient for passengers flying to or from such an airport. They are not entitled to compensation. Because these are "extraordinary circumstances that could not have been avoided." And if the airline has taken "all reasonable measures" to prevent inconvenience to passengers, this is considered force majeure.

This means that airlines do not have to compensate passengers if their flight is delayed, or at all.

It's certainly inconvenient for passengers. But they're not the only ones with a problem; airlines are too, says Mirjam de Witte of the Consumers' Association. "You can't just blame them for that."

KLM: one flight cancelled

So far, KLM, by far the largest airline at Schiphol, has had to cancel one flight due to disruption caused by drones, according to KLM spokesperson Elvira van der Vis. That was last night, with a plane scheduled to fly to the German city of Munich.

If a flight is delayed or canceled, passengers aren't left completely empty-handed. They can choose between a refund or being rebooked on an alternative flight, even one operated by a different airline.

Duty of care

Airlines also have a duty of care. This means they must ensure their passengers have enough food and drink while waiting at the airport. And, if necessary, they can provide a hotel stay, including transportation to and from the airport.

Another situation arises when a plane has to divert to a different airport due to one or more drones. This has already happened twice to KLM: last night, a plane bound for Munich diverted to Stuttgart, also in Germany.

A similar situation occurred last week. A KLM plane bound for Aalborg, Denmark, landed in Billund . KLM reimbursed passengers for expenses incurred in reaching Aalborg. Passengers were also provided with food and drinks, and a hotel stay if necessary.

Compensation must be realistic

Be sure to check your entitlements, says De Witte of the Consumers' Association. "The compensation for food and drinks must be reasonable. A ten-euro voucher won't get you very far at an airport."

At Transavia and EasyJet, the second and third airlines at Schiphol, no flights have been delayed or cancelled in recent weeks due to nuisance caused by drones.

In this video you can see how drone incidents overshadow the EU summit in Copenhagen: