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Coverage

Flight disruption

Ecuador — Ley de Aviación Civil and consumer protection

NationalECUnverified — check before relying on it

Ecuador

Rule id
air.ec-dgac
Version
0.1.0
In force from
August 5, 2026
Last read against its sources
August 5, 2026
Countries bound
Ecuador

In plain language

What this regime says.

Ecuador protects air passengers through the Ley de Aviación Civil and the civil aviation authority’s resolutions, with consumer remedies under the Ley Orgánica de Defensa del Consumidor. Consumer complaints go to the Defensoría del Pueblo rather than to a dedicated consumer agency.

Who is covered

Passengers on air services operating to, from and within Ecuador.

What you get

Assistance during a significant delay, and rerouting or reimbursement on cancellation and denied boarding.

Where claims go wrong

  • Looking for a consumer agency. In Ecuador the Defensoría del Pueblo performs that role.
  • Assuming figures are indexed. Ecuador is dollarised and amounts are nominal.
The official claim route

Authority

Every citation,
with its pinpoint.

A claim that cites “EU law” gets filed. A claim that cites Article 7(1)(c) gets answered. These are the exact coordinates this entry rests on.
  1. Ley de Aviación Civil (Ecuador)Codificación de la Ley de Aviación Civil del EcuadorURL verified 2026-08-05
  2. Ley Orgánica de Defensa del ConsumidorLey Orgánica de Defensa del Consumidor (Ecuador)URL verified 2026-08-05

Sources

Where a figure is indexed, converted or published by a regulator rather than fixed in the instrument, the provenance is recorded separately. Anything marked as a modelled estimate is exactly that — a model, not a statutory number.

What it imposes

Clocks, defences and the ladder.

A rule module builds these while it evaluates, because a limitation period depends on which forum is open to you. What follows is the structure this regime produces — deliberately with no dates and no figures, because those belong to your facts rather than to the law.

The clocks it starts

  • Montreal Convention two-year bar (international carriage)Fatal if missedThis is international carriage between States Parties, so Art. 35 of the Montreal Convention extinguishes the right to damages two years after arrival, the date the aircraft ought to have arrived, or the date carriage stopped. It is a hard cut-off. Local consumer legislation may give a longer period for some heads of claim, but do not rely on it.Montreal Convention 1999, Art. 35 — Art. 35Limitation period

What it entitles you to, beyond money

  • Care while you wait, and rerouting or a refundEcuador's regime obliges the carrier to look after you during a significant delay — food, drink, a means of communication, and accommodation where the wait runs overnight — and to offer either carriage on the next available service or the return of your money. Ask for it at the airport, in writing if you can, and keep receipts for anything you have to buy yourself. Those receipts are recoverable under general consumer law even where a specific aviation figure is unclear.
  • A written statement of the reasonAsk the carrier, in writing, for the reason for the disruption and for the compensation figure it says applies under the national regime. Whatever the answer, you now have it in writing, which is what every later step needs.

What the other side will say

Each of these is a refusal this regime lets a counterparty attempt, paired with the answer to it. Reading them before you write is worth more than any amount of polish on the letter itself.

"There is no compensation scheme here"

medium likelihood

The carrier says the country has no passenger-rights regime, or that its conditions of carriage are the only thing that applies.

What answers it

That is not right: Ley de Aviación Civil (Ecuador) and Ley Orgánica de Defensa del Consumidor govern this. Ask the carrier to state, in writing, which provision it says applies to your flight and what it provides. A carrier that will not answer that question in writing is one you take to the regulator.

Ley de Aviación Civil (Ecuador)

"Only the Montreal Convention applies"

medium likelihood

On an international flight the carrier says the Montreal Convention is the exclusive source of its liability, so no national consumer remedy is available.

What answers it

The Convention governs claims for damage — death, injury, baggage, and damage occasioned by delay — and it is exclusive for those. It does not displace a national regulator’s power to require assistance, rerouting or a refund, which are regulatory obligations rather than claims in damages. Plead them separately.

Montreal Convention 1999, Art. 35 — Art. 35

Where to take it next

  1. Reclamo ante la aerolíneaClaim in writing and keep the response; every later step will ask for it.Claim directtypically 15 days
  2. Dirección General de Aviación CivilThe DGAC supervises carriers and handles passenger complaints about breaches of the aviation regulations.Regulatortypically 60 daysofficial page
  3. Defensoría del PuebloConsumer protection in Ecuador runs through the Defensoría del Pueblo, which receives complaints under the Ley Orgánica de Defensa del Consumidor and can pursue them on the consumer’s behalf.Ombudsmantypically 90 daysofficial page

Documents

What this regime can produce.

Every one of these is a document you send yourself, in your own name. Duesday never writes to anybody on your behalf and is never anyone’s agent.

The same claim type elsewhere

Belarus — Air Code of the Republic of Belarus and the Department of AviationBYNational — BelarusВоздушный кодекс Республики БеларусьConfidence: lowEU Regulation 261/2004 (air passenger rights)EUSupranational — 31 countriesRegulation (EC) No 261/2004Confidence: highGermany — contractual damages beyond the Article 7 sum (BGB)DENational — GermanyRegulation (EC) No 261/2004, Art. 12(1)Confidence: mediumItaly — ruined-holiday damages (danno da vacanza rovinata)ITNational — ItalyRegulation (EC) No 261/2004, Art. 12(1)Confidence: lowMoldova — air passenger rights under the EU–Moldova Common Aviation Area AgreementMDNational — MoldovaEU–Moldova Common Aviation Area Agreement, Annex IIIConfidence: mediumRussian Federation — Air Code Art. 120 (carrier liability for delay)RUNational — RussiaВоздушный кодекс Российской Федерации, ст. 120 (Ответственность перевозчика за просрочку доставки пассажира, багажа или груза)Confidence: highSpain — further damages beyond the Article 7 sumESNational — SpainRegulation (EC) No 261/2004, Art. 12(1)Confidence: lowTürkiye — SHY-YOLCU air passenger rights regulationTRNational — TürkiyeSHY-YOLCU, Kapsam (scope)Confidence: medium

Does this one reach your facts?

The engine runs every regime that could apply at once and reconciles them, rather than making you guess which page to read.

Run your factsBack to the catalogue

Not a law firm. Not legal advice. You send it yourself. This page describes a law; it is not advice about your situation and no outcome is promised.