Passengers booked on to a flight that has been cancelled by the airline because it no longer wishes to operate the flight, are entitled to a full refund but will struggle to recoup their “consequential” losses.
In recent weeks, airlines including British Airways, Ryanair, Virgin and most of the big Asian airlines have been cancelling up to 25% of flights as passenger numbers have all but collapsed on certain routes.
If you are yet to travel, a full refund will be processed, although some affected passengers have reported delays and problems in getting their money back. This can be a problematic process, particularly if you used an online agent to make the original booking.
Those stuck abroad can insist the cancelling airline pay for an alternative flight to get them home, where the flight starts in the EU, or if the flight is on an EU-based carrier. EU rules still apply to the UK during the Brexit transition period.
Those who bought a tour package should get a full refund, or the offer to reschedule the trip to a later date.
However, many passengers will have been left holding expensive onwards flights, hotel, and other holiday bookings that they will not be able to cancel. In many cases they have lost their money.
Onward flights booked with a second airline, will likely go ahead and as a result the second airline is under no obligation to refund you.
The better, more expensive travel insurance policies offer “travel disruption cover”, which can pay for such losses – typically up to £3,000 per passenger, so check your policy’s small print. Business travel insurance invariably covers this.
Meanwhile, Flybe passengers left stranded on Thursday should, in the first instance, contact their bank card provider. Card providers may be able to process a chargeback to recoup the fare they paid and have lost.
Those whose bookings cost more than £100, and who paid by credit card, should be refunded in full by their card provider, under the section 75 rules that protect consumers.
Other customers will hope that they bought a travel insurance policy that offers scheduled airline failure (SAF) that will cover them. About half of travel policies sold in the UK offer SAF as standard, with a further 19% offering it as an add-on according to Defaqto, although payouts will be reduced by any excess on the policy.
Anyone buying travel insurance in the current climate is strongly advised to buy a policy with SAF, and ideally “travel disruption cover”.
