Flight cancellations, rail strikes and passport problems: your travel questions answered by Simon Calder

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The summer getaway is well under way, but for travellers the range of potential problems seems to be multiplying – with wholesale flights cancellations, a threatened rail strike across Britain and continuing issues with post-Brexit red tape.

Simon Calder has tackled 11 pressing travel questions in his latest Ask Me Anything.

Q: If an airline cancels your flight, how do you actually make it fulfil its statutory obligations to get you to your destination or provide a hotel? Everything I’m seeing and hearing suggests they simply “hardball” you and do nothing to help. Better to take ownership, book yourself and reclaim?

Marty 78

A: Even when cancellations are being made on an industrial scale, you need to give the airline every chance to meet its obligations under the European air passengers’ rights rules: to provide an alternative flight as soon as possible, and hotel accommodation while you wait. The cancellation message should contain a rebook link – though this will look only at the airline’s own services. If an alternative flight on the cancelling carrier is available on the same day, you will need to accept it (or claim a full refund).

Similarly, for hotel accommodation: there should be a link on the cancellation message from the airline taking you through to a room allocation service. If this does not deliver, then yes, take ownership.

The cancelling carrier should pay all reasonable costs associated with the journey that it obliged you to take. The key word there is “reasonable”. For example, if you parked your car in Manchester but can only get a flight to Liverpool, it is incumbent on you to mitigate costs. As a decent rail link exists, fare £19, a £95 taxi to Manchester airport would be reasonable only if there are five or more in the party.

Airlines are not obliged to pay for alcohol, obviously – except inadvertently, in the unusual case that only an all-inclusive hotel is available. Therefore it is reasonable (to use that term again) for the carrier to demand itemised expenses, and I urge you to as detailed a record as you can; a receipt for a credit-card transaction could well be rejected.

Q: We are a family of four. Our flight home from Palermo to Luton with easyJet was cancelled. No imminent alternative flights were offered – only offered a refund or voucher. We just wanted to get home as soon as possible, so booked our own flights on Eurowings, from Palermo to London Heathrow via Cologne. How do I now claim a refund, reimbursement and compensation? Should I apply for a refund from easyJet for the cancelled flight first, then do a compensation claim, or should I simply claim from travel insurance? I’m so confused.

Kirsty C

A: To start at the end of your question: for the vast majority of claims resulting from easyJet’s wholesale short-notice cancellations, travel insurance is irrelevant: the airline is squarely responsible for paying out for the financial consequences of its actions.

The straightforward element should be to claim the £1,400 due to a family of four for a flight of that length (between 1,500km and 3,500km) under European air passengers’ rights rules. Search online for “easyJet 261 claim form”.

Most of the cancellations on easyJet at present are due to staff shortage or technical problems with the aircraft. In such cases there should be no dispute about your entitlement. The clue is probably hidden in the cancellation message you received form easyJet – if it mentioned other factors – such as bad weather somewhere in Europe, or an air-traffic control failure – then you may have more of a battle securing the payment.

Next, recompense for your expenses. In the absence of support from easyJet (who, with a bit of work, might have been able to offer a routing via mainland Italy), your solution for getting home looks perfectly reasonable.

A short-notice booking like the one you made, I speculate, probably cost around £250 per person – around £1,000 for the family. In your application for expenses, deduct the cost of your original flight from the total for replacement tickets, accommodation and meals – do not ask directly for a refund for the cancelled flight, because this may possibly undermine your rights.

Q: What are your rights when an airline cancels a flight with more than 14 days notice. They offer a refund or a flight on a different day, but I would much rather travel on the same day if I can? Are they obliged to buy me a ticket on another airline?

Pete 90

A: According to the Civil Aviation Authority the airline certainly must book you on a rival airline on the original day of travel. No compensation payable, mind, with two weeks’ notice given.

Q: Our flight home with easyJet from Venice to Luton was cancelled. They’ve refused to book us alternative accommodation and we now have to stay an extra 30 hours here. Are they liable for our expenses even though they claim there are “extraordinary circumstances”?

Grace 126

A: Any airline that cancels a flight must cover all reasonable direct expenses. You can subsequently discuss whether or not you’re entitled to cash compensation on top.

Q: Would you say that TUI is more reliable than easyJet at the moment, in terms of flights not being cancelled as much?

Celine P

A: In terms of flights being cancelled on a typical day, yes. Tui is taking out six departures daily (equivalent to 12 flights) while easyJet is grounding around 60. The latter points out that the vast majority of its flights – 96.5 per cent today – are running normally.

Q: Are easyJet and BA actually paying compensation for the cancelled flights over the last two weeks or will they say it was for reasons out of their control? I had two flights cancelled each by BA and easyJet but no explanation given as to why – so I fear this might be them being non-committal when it comes to paying out compensation.

Sandseeker

A: In my experience, British Airways will pay out without fuss when it accepts it is responsible. If BA believes it has an “extraordinary circumstances” defence, it will fight any claim. With easyJet, the clue is to look at what the airline says when it cancels your flight. In the case of Thursday’s Venice-Luton departure, for example, easyJet says: “We’re sorry that your flight has been cancelled.

This is due to an industrial action in Italy affecting all Italian staff. The disruption to your flight is outside of our control and is considered to be an extraordinary circumstance.” Now, a lawyer might argue with that defence. But you know you are on track for compensation when the airline does not say why the flight is cancelled. This morning’s Gatwick-Malaga flight, for example, says: “We’re really sorry that your flight has been cancelled.

”We understand that this will be disappointing news and we want to make it as easy as possible for you to make new plans, so here’s everything you need to know about what to do next ...”

That is your signal for claiming either £220 (for flights of under 1,500km) or £350 (for longer flights).

Q: I am due to fly soon but not with easyJet or BA. Are other airlines cancelling their flights or is it mainly UK-based operators?

DoraLora

A: British Airways and easyJet are way ahead of the rest in terms of the proportion of flights cancelled. Ryanair and Jet2 are the best performers; on Wednesday 8 June they grounded six and two UK flights respectively, as a result of industrial action in Italy, but this was highly unusual. Wizz Air is middling.

Q: My flight from Spain this week arrived 3 hours and 15 minutes late, triggering a compensation claim. For this purpose, I am curious to know what source the airline industry uses to reference arrival times for flights, please?

Mark 1984

A: For the purposes of a claim under European air passengers’ rights rules, compensation is payable for all arrivals that are three hours or more late: £220 for short flights (up to 1,500km) and £350 for longer European trips. Only if “extraordinary circumstances” are responsible can the airline decline a claim – and technical problems and/or staff shortage are not acceptable excuses.

Just to be clear: the delay in departure is irrelevant. So too is the time you have to wait for your luggage. All that counts is the arrival time. So how is the gap between the scheduled and actual times of arrival calculated? Arrival is not defined as the moment the wheels touch the runway (though, curiously, this was the measure used by the UK government when travel restrictions were either being imposed or removed at the height of the coronavirus pandemic).

The aviation industry standard is the arrival time on stand, when the aircraft comes to a halt and the parking brake applied. This is the airline’s planned scheduled time of arrival. But even this measure is not the one used for the actual moment of arrival in order to make a claim. The European Court of Justice has defined that key instant as the time the first aircraft door is opened – usually a minute or two after the plane arrives.

Your particular case should be cut and dried, since presumably the plane was still in the air when three hours ticked by. But if there is any dispute, then free flight tracking services should be able to provide the time the aircraft arrives on stand. Just search online for Flightradar24 and the flight number. It should deliver the details of your journey, including the landing time – which, for the point of view of a claim is not the required measure. If you click on the flight and then drag the plane symbol along to the end you should see the actual time it parked up.

Should you find yourself straddling that three-hour boundary on a future flight, the best plan is to make a note of the door opening time to the nearest second – for example by recording a voice note on a mobile phone, which will have a time associated with it. Then if there is any dispute, you can produce some evidence.

Q: We are due to travel from Manchester Airport on 23 June on TransPennine Express. What are our options if the train is cancelled please?

Allan 1950

A: After members of the RMT rail union voted 8:1 in favour of strike action over jobs, pay and conditions, their union has called nationwide rail strikes for three dates in late June: 21, 23 and 25 June. The industrial action involves Network Rail staff and workers with 13 train operators, including Northern Rail and TransPennine Express, the firms serving Manchester airport.

The Rail Delivery Group says: “The rail industry is currently working on implementing its contingency plans to minimise customer disruption as much as possible.

“In the meantime we encourage passengers who need to travel on Tuesday 21, Thursday 23 and Saturday 25 June to make alternative travel arrangements, or allow more time to make your journey.”

I think the last part of that statement – “allow more time to make your journey” – gives the misleading impression that a journey between any two stations could be made on the strike day. The reality will be very different. Signallers are going on strike, which drastically reduces the scope for running trains. While managers and qualified back-up staff will be stepping in, they are likely to be able to cover only around 20 per cent of the network – and even then possibly for only 12 hours per day, from around 7am to 7pm.

The lines they will operate will be the main intercity lines from London – the East Coast, West Coast and Great Western routes – plus commuter networks around the big cities. The number of trains will depend on the strength of the strike among train operator staff. While Manchester looks likely to be served for much of the day with a reduced frequency from London and some local trains, the usual excellent links to the city’s airport will not run. It is possible a skeleton service may operate but I would not bank on it.

Rail firms will not provide alternative transport. Scheduled coach alternatives will be scarce, as will taxis and rental cars. My advice: travel in the previous day (though some knock-on disruption is also expected) and stay in an airport hotel. But best book swiftly – many other people will have the same idea.

If you have pre-booked Advance tickets I am sure you will be able to use them at any time the day before.

Q: I’m travelling from London to Chester on Wednesday 22 June - the day in between two of the strikes on Tuesday and Thursday. Will the disruption carry over onto my travel date to the extent that I should consider rebooking for different week? Thanks.

Ob1

A: Even though it is clear that the planned strike will affect the intervening days, in your position I would take a chance – so long as the journey avoided departures very early in the morning or from mid-evening onwards.

Q: In March, Ryanair wrongly denied me boarding on flight to Portugal (incorrect interpretation of EU passport entry rules). I submitted a claim on 13 April for all costs lost and compensation, but I have not received a substantive reply. I am daunted by the prospect of undertaking court proceedings on my own. I know I’m not alone on this issue – is anyone (not me) considering starting a class action on this matter?

B Belle

A: You are one of thousands of people who were wrongly denied boarding by airlines that applied incorrect European rules on passport validity after Brexit. All the carriers have now adopted the correct rules, which (as a reminder are):

I am aware of a number of claimants, including lawyers, who are instigating legal proceedings against a range of airlines after they were wrongly denied boarding. In your position, I would wait to see the outcome – and for possible word from the Civil Aviation Authority that it is requiring airlines to compensate wronged travellers. I fear the latter is unlikely – because the CAA is part of the Department for Transport, and misleading UK government advice was one reason the airlines applied the wrong rules for so long.

Ob1 adds: I’m in exactly the same boat. I ended up travelling via Eurostar into the Schengen area and then flying to Portugal from Paris.