By Global Travel Worldwide
When we have customers looking for a bargain, we always insist that they package their holiday and get the maximum protection in case of disruption. The NATS issue on August Bank Holiday saw thousands of travellers stranded in airports and resorts, communication was poor from the airlines and CAA and the frustration felt quickly turned to anger and the ruin of many holidays.
At Global Travel Worldwide, we package every holiday we sell, ensure you have adequate insurance cover and when a crisis occurs, we are there for you with the latest information we have available. Stranded customers were contacted by us and given alternative arrangements, availability of hotels and, when they arrived home, we assisted in insurance claims and their rights under the CAA.
Some airlines are holding out on compensation payments and thousands of travellers have suddenly realised that their cheap breaks, purchased online, aren’t covered by either ATOL, ABTA or both leaving them thousands of pounds out of pocket. It’s worth knowing a few rules that airlines and travel operators must abide by.
Stuck at the airport or abroad? You should be given assistance. If your flight is delayed and you’re stuck at the airport or it’s been cancelled and you’ve opted to be re-routed at the earliest opportunity but you’re stuck at the airport or abroad, your airline is responsible for providing a so-called ‘duty of care’.
This includes:
Regular travel updates via email, website, app or social media platforms.
Your airline should provide food and drink (or vouchers to buy them) if you’re delayed more than two hours on a short-haul flight, three hours on medium haul (for example, Manchester to Malaga) or four hours for long haul. In our experience, these vouchers don’t cover the cost of a meal, snack or even a soft drink and so we advise all customers to keep their receipts and send copies to their insurance company when making their claim. Always check your airline’s website for any guidance on what it’ll cover.
Accommodation, if needed, is always a concern and if the flight is delayed overnight you’re entitled to a hotel, and the airline must also provide transport to and from it. Ideally it will arrange the hotel for you, so always check before you book somewhere. In our experience, airlines will provide a taxi service, which won’t cover the number of people needed and they will insist that you make your way to the appointed hotel. When it happened to us, our hotel was 70kms away from the airport and the transfer cost was £135 return. Some customers would be faced with sleeping at the airport, that’s happened to us also, and airlines won’t compensate you for that.!!
An important point to consider is your airline doesn’t have a duty of care if your flight is cancelled and you’ve chosen not to fly or to be re-routed at the earliest opportunity.
Receipts. To show how much you spent on food and/or a place to stay. Remember only reasonable expenses are covered; it’s unlikely you’d be able to claim for alcohol. Check if your airline’s website has any guidance on what it’ll cover. If it does, you can include this information in your claim alongside your receipts.
It sounds obvious but you’ll need to have proof of delay. It can be useful to include how long your flight was delayed by, your compensation is based on how long you had to wait. Include any updates you received by text or email, or screenshots of updates posted on the airlines website or social media.
If your flight is delayed for more than five hours and you no longer wish to travel you can ask for a refund, which will include any unused parts of your booking, such as your return flight.
Flight cancelled? You’re entitled to a refund or alternative flight when a flight is cancelled, however long before it was due to take off, you have a legal right to choose between a refund for the flight that was cancelled or an alternative flight (airlines call this re-routing) to your destination. If your flight’s delayed for more than three hours, you may be entitled to between £210 and £520 in compensation. The same rule applies to some cancelled flights too.
To claim compensation the cause of the delay or cancellation must be the airline’s fault. Air traffic control problems are not the fault of airlines, so it’s unlikely you’d be entitled to compensation if your flight has been cancelled or delayed as a direct result of these problems.
If you’re on a package holiday contact your travel agent, if your flight is cancelled or delayed and you’ve booked a package holiday, you’re have the same travel, refund and compensation rights we’ve outlined above.
If your flights can’t be rearranged, or the new flights cause a “significant change” to your holiday, your travel operator must offer you an alternative holiday or a full refund. We can, and have, helped customers change their booking whilst delayed at the same time. According to ABTA, a significant change is generally of a delay of 12 hours or more on a 14-night holiday.
Be aware that you may need to pay an ‘excess’ before your insurer will pay out, so check if it’s worth claiming first.
The August Bank Holiday NATS issue was another example of why it’s better to book with an established travel agent rather than either online or a DIY holiday.
For more information, call us today on 01978 350850
For more information call us today on 01978 350850
