My flight from Bari to Munich with Lufthansa was cancelled twice. The second cancellation happened just 10 minutes before departure while we were waiting to board. Since I urgently needed to travel, I booked an alternative flight with Wizz Air to another destination that would connect me to Munich.
While waiting, I was automatically rebooked onto a later Lufthansa flight, which eventually did operate. However, I had already arranged to collect my checked luggage and moved it to my new flight. After several calls with the airline due to the codeshare situation, I was told to check out of the rebooked flight in order to get a refund.
I never explicitly accepted the rebooking, but the system still treated it as accepted. By the time I completed the refund request, my alternative Wizz Air flight had already departed. In the end, my refund claim was denied because checking out did not count as declining the rebooking, and I was marked as a no show.
Even after explaining the situation and asking them to verify that my luggage was not on that flight, the claim was rejected. The call center gave incorrect advice, which led to the refund being denied.
If you are in a similar situation, clearly state that you do not accept the rebooking and ask to be marked as having declined the offer, not just checked out.
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