Travel
Flight delayed or cancelled due to strikes or storms? Your compensation rights explained
Travel disruption is in the air, but knowing your rights could help you secure a refund, compensation or alternative flight.
It’s the busiest time of the year for air travel, but not all summer flights will get off the ground quite as planned.
With imminent or threatened strikes across Europe – from the UK’s Birmingham Airport to Belgium – it’s worth double checking your journey before you fly.
Other conditions could lead to another summer of travel chaos, Eurocontrol, the organisation that manages Europe’s airspace has warned.
The sheer number of flights – an estimated 33,000 flights per day over the next eight weeks – means that airports and air traffic controllers have a challenging season ahead.
If you’re hit by a perfect storm of travel disruption – or an actual storm – it’s important to consider your options.
Here’s what to do if you’ve got flights booked this summer and how to get your money back if your trip is cancelled or delayed.
Should I cancel my flight?
If you’ve already booked travel plans, it’s probably best to keep them – though it depends on the airline you are flying with.
The UK’s Travel Association (ABTA) has urged would-be travellers not to cancel their flights.
“While it is really disappointing if you do experience a delay or cancellation, you do have rights, including for a replacement flight or refund, plus significant compensation in most cases when flights are cancelled less than 14 days before departure,” an ABTA spokesperson said.
“If you are thinking of cancelling in advance or postponing your trip, make sure you check the terms and conditions of your booking before doing so as you are likely to incur some costs.”
Most airlines will charge a hefty cancellation fee if you cancel your flight unless you’ve purchased a refundable option
However, if you decide you do want to cancel, keep an eye on timings – providers may offer a partial refund before a certain date. You don’t want to miss this deadline.
What should I do if my flight is cancelled?
If your flight is cancelled you have the right to choose between a refund, rerouting or return. If you choose any of these three options you no longer have rights to the other two.
The airline is required to try and get you to your destination as soon as possible even if this involves travelling with a different carrier.
During strike chaos, the airline might not be able to offer to reroute you or provide you with a return under comparable transport conditions at the earliest opportunity. In this case, it has to reimburse your flight cost.
If the airline does not give you the choice to rebook your ticket but you buy another ticket to get home under comparable transport conditions, they have to give you the price difference between your original ticket and the costs of the new ticket.
You are still entitled to the choice if the cancellation happens after the aircraft took off but was forced to return to the airport of departure.
If you accept rerouting it is no longer considered a cancellation, but a delay. Don’t forget that you can choose the date; you do not have to take the earliest possible journey.
Airlines are also required to give you a choice when reimbursing you between cash or a voucher.
What if my flight is delayed?
You have slightly different rights if your flight is delayed and some of them depend on the duration of the delay and the distance of your trip.
You have the right to assistance when the delay is at least two hours at departure, and to reimbursement and a return flight when the delay is at least five hours.
If your flight is delayed at departure by two hours for journeys of less than 1,500km long, three hours for flights between 1,500 and 3,000km or four hours on any other flight, then you have the right to additional assistance.
The airline must offer you meals, refreshments, accommodation and transfers to accommodation if needed. You also have the right to free telephone calls, emails or, yes, faxes.
If you have to pay for any of these, the airline should reimburse you – just remember to keep the receipts.
What can I do if my flight is overbooked?
If you are denied boarding because your flight has been overbooked then you have a few options.
If you presented yourself on time and had a valid ticket but were denied boarding because the flight was overbooked or for operational reasons, you have the right to compensation and assistance from the airline.
You also have a choice between reimbursement, rerouting, or rebooking for a later flight – the same as if your flight is cancelled.
Can I get compensation if my flight is cancelled?
If your flight is cancelled less than 14 days before the scheduled departure date you could be entitled to compensation.
This amounts to €250 per person for flights of 1,500km or less, and €400 for flights between 1,500 and 3,500km. For all flights longer than 3,500km, it’s €600.
It also means that if two weeks prior to your trip you do not get a notification to say it has been cancelled, the chances that your flight will take off are higher.
You could also be entitled to compensation if you arrive at your destination with more than a three hour delay. Like with cancellations, the amount depends on the flight distance.
Which flights can I get compensation for?
Whether you are protected by EU regulations depends on a number of factors but it might not be as clear-cut as you think.
EU Regulations apply when:
- Your flight is within the EU, no matter what airline operates it
- Your flight arrives in the EU from outside and is operated by an EU airline
- Your flight departs from the EU, no matter what airline operates it
For any kind of complaint or claim to be successful, it’s essential that it wasn’t your fault that you couldn’t get on the flight. Make sure you arrive at at the airport at least two hours before the departure time and have a valid ticket and confirmed reservation.
Are there any exceptions to flight refunds and compensation?
In the case of a ‘vis major’ event, airlines have the right to not pay the compensation above for cancellations and delay. But they still should provide you with assistance like accommodation or rebooking.
The most well-known vis major, or extraordinary circumstances, is poor weather conditions. But they can also be traffic management decisions or security risks. Still, the airline must prove that the delay or cancellation was linked to these extraordinary circumstances and also that it could not have been avoided.
Flight-free alternatives this winter
If you haven’t already booked a flight, why not consider other options?
With a rail network stretching more than 200,000 km, Europe is a paradise for train travellers.
So why not check out Italy or Spain through a train window instead?
It’s better for the planet, too – according to the European Environment Agency, rail travel accounts for 14 grams of CO2 emissions per passenger mile. Air travel generates 285 grams over the same distance.
Author
British holidaymakers will soon be able to use e-gates at more EU airports, the UK government has announced.
It comes as part of negotiations between the UK government and the European Union to finalise a ‘post-Brexit reset deal’.
It means British passport holders will no longer have to wait at manned desks and will instead be allowed to use fast-track e-gates usually reserved for EU or European Economic Area citizens.
EU Relations Minister Nick Thomas-Symonds said this would give British travellers “more time to spend on holiday or work trips […] doing what you want, not being stuck in queues.”
The UK government said the move would end “the dreaded queues at border control.”
UK travellers have to join ‘other nations’ queue at EU airports
Following Brexit, UK citizens forfeited their privileged status when travelling to EU countries.
They now fall into the ‘visa-exempt third-country nationals’ category – the same classification as travellers from dozens of countries, including Australia, Canada, New Zealand and Singapore.
This has meant British travellers must join the ‘other nations’ queue at border control rather than using the expedited EU lanes.
The requirement to check that British travellers meet entry conditions is a significant obstacle to allowing them to use the fast-track lanes.
EU border control has to verify that UK travellers are not in breach of the 90-day stay limit in 180 days and that they have the means to return to their country of origin, i.e. a flight ticket out of the EU.
Frontier officials must also stamp the passenger’s passport.
This change often translates to extended waiting times, especially at busy European airports like Amsterdam Schiphol, Milan Malpensa, and Paris Charles de Gaulle.
Waits exceeding an hour have become commonplace, especially when arriving shortly after large international flights.
These delays affect not only entry into EU countries but also departure, as British travellers must undergo exit checks that sometimes result in missed flights due to lengthy queues.
UK travellers will be able to use e-gates at many European airports
Under the new deal, British travellers will be able to take advantage of the faster e-gate passport checks at many EU airports.
No details have yet been released on when this will be introduced and where, although the BBC reported that British Prime Minister Keir Starmer “has called on all EU members to co-operate without delay.”
Some EU airports will likely allow UK travellers to use existing e-gates reserved for EU citizens, while others may install dedicated ‘third-country national’ e-gates.
The latter are already in place across Italy, including Venice Marco Polo and Rome Fiumicino, as well as at Amsterdam Schiphol and Lisbon.
With this system, once the traveller passes through the gate, there is a brief check by border officials who will also stamp passports.
Brits will use e-gates in all airports after introduction of EES
In addition, the UK government underlined that there will be “no legal barriers to e-gate use for British Nationals travelling to and from European Union Member States after the introduction of the European Union Entry/Exit System [EES].”
The EES is scheduled to come into force in October this year. The system will register non-EU visitors who don’t need a visa digitally, removing the need for physical stamps.
New pet passports will make it easier for Brits to bring pets into EU
The UK government also announced that new pet passports will be introduced as part of the deal.
This means UK cats and dogs will be able to travel “more easily” from the UK into the EU by “eliminating the need for animal health certificates for every trip.”
Author
Three people have been killed and several others injured after they were struck by lightning during a visit to Cambodia’s famous Angkor Wat temple complex.
They group had been seeking shelter around the main temple of the UNESCO site when the lightning strike happened late on Friday afternoon.
Video posted on social media showed two ambulances arriving in the aftermath and onlookers and site officials carrying some of the injured people and helping others out on foot.
Other images showed multiple people being treated in hospital.
The day after the incident, Cambodia’s Minister of Tourism Hout Hak issued a statement telling people to take down online posts about the incident, saying the spreading of “negative information” could harm the country’s tourism sector.
Authorities have released no information about the strike, but an official on Monday, speaking on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the issue, confirmed to the Associated Press that the three people killed were all Cambodian nationals.
The Cambodian Red Cross also posted an update saying it had delivered care packages to the families of two of the victims, a 34-year-old man and a 52-year-old woman.
The Red Cross refused to comment further by phone.
A spokesman for the Angkor Wat site did not respond to requests for comment, nor did a regional health official.
Angkor Wat is Cambodia’s best-known tourist attraction, attracting some 2.5 million visitors annually and is featured prominently on the country’s flag.
UNESCO calls the site, which sprawls across some 400 square kilometres and contains the ruins of Khmer Empire capitals from the 9th to the 15th centuries, one of the most important archaeological sites in Southeast Asia.
Cambodia has been actively developing the area to attract more visitors, including opening a new $1.1 billion (€890 million) Chinese-funded airport in nearby Siem Reap.
Its move to relocate some 10,000 families squatting in the Angkor Wat area to a new settlement has drawn widespread criticism from human rights groups and UNESCO itself has also expressed concern.
Cambodian authorities have said the families are being voluntarily relocated, but Amnesty International and other groups have questioned how voluntary those relocations have been.
Author
Tourists have been caught smuggling all kinds of stolen souvenirs home from holidays, from artefacts picked up in Pompeii to sand from Italy’s famous pink beach on the island of Sardinia.
The Belgian city of Bruges is the latest victim of keepsake crime, but the item visitors have taken a fancy to is unexpected.
The city council has reported the theft of dozens of cobblestones from the city centre, and suspects tourists are the culprits.
Tourists suspected of pilfering Bruges’ cobblestones
Bruges’ cobblestones are increasingly being pilfered from well-known spots in the UNESCO-designated historic centre, public property councillor Franky Demon reported this week.
“At iconic locations such as Minnewater, Vismarkt, Markt and Gruuthusemuseum, it is estimated that 50 to 70 pieces of cobblestone disappear every month. And that number could be even higher,” Demon told press.
“The phenomenon increases significantly, especially during busy tourist periods such as spring and summer,” he added.
For this reason, authorities suspect visitors are pocketing the stone as souvenirs.
‘Leave that cobblestone where it belongs’
As well as damaging a valuable part of the city’s heritage, the stolen stones have created safety issues.
The gaps from removed stones present trip hazards for pedestrians – and are costly to repair.
“It’s unfortunate that our employees constantly have to go out to fix potholes and loose stones. This causes a lot of additional work and costs: about 200 euros per square metre of reconstruction,” explained Demon.
The councillor urged visitors to respect the historical environment of Bruges.
“We simply ask for respect. Anyone walking through Bruges crosses centuries of history. Leave that cobblestone where it belongs,” he said.
Bruges’ cobblestones are apparently not the only sought-after street souvenir.
Along the famous Paris-Roubaix cycling route, tourists are known to pilfer parts of the pavement.
While Rome’s iconic ‘sampietrini’ – cobblestones made of solidified lava – have also disappeared into suitcases over the years.
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