Will easyJet refund me for Storm Dennis cancellation?

Simon Calder answers your questions on flight cancellations, IT failures and traumatised parents

Some 50,000 passengers had their flights axed ahead of the storm (AFP/Getty)

Q I had my easyJet flight from Bournemouth to Geneva cancelled on Sunday. The easyJet website was down on Friday night, so fearing I would miss out on another flight I booked Jet2 from Stansted instead and asked for a refund. It cost me an extra £600. Can I claim back the difference from easyJet?

James D

A You are among an estimated 50,000 easyJet passengers whose flights this weekend were pre-emptively cancelled by the airline ahead of Storm Dennis.

Airline passengers are supposed to be protected by the European air passengers’ rights rules. These specify that an airline that cancels a flight has a strict duty of care to passengers – regardless of the cause of the disruption.

The law requires easyJet to offer you the choice between a full refund (which for most passengers is no good at all) or an alternative flight. If easyJet cannot provide a flight on the same day, then it must book you a seat on the best available departure to your destination.

As we have seen on countless occasions since the legislation was introduced, airlines routinely ignore the stipulations. Indeed, easyJet told passengers about the options for a full refund or another easyJet flight, but neglected to point put its obligation to book seats on rival carriers.

Given its attitude during the disruption, I cannot imagine easyJet will be able to put up much of a defence to passengers who want reimbursement for flights on other airlines. Since easyJet started making wholesale cancellations on Friday night, I have seen countless complaints about the website (and app, and phone lines) not being helpful.

The airline may conceivably argue that, since you accepted a refund, it has fulfilled its duty. But as you were not in full possession of the facts at the time you made your decision (because easyJet did not explain all your options), I think that argument could not be legally sustained.

You can also legitimately claim additional travel costs if you had to pay extra to get from Hampshire to east Essex.

So write a polite letter explaining your case and attach a copy of the receipt for new tickets. If that does not work, you may have to go through Money Claim Online – but I hope easyJet will adopt a “no-quibble” policy for passengers caught up in this weekend’s travel misery.

Who’s liable for extra costs due to Heathrow IT failure? (PA)

Q As a result of the IT failure at Heathrow on Sunday, I ended up in the wrong Swiss city. British Airways cancelled my flight to Zurich and I rebooked to Basel. But that flight was two hours late, and when I finally reached the city the last train had gone. So I had no choice but to book a hotel and take the train on Monday morning.

Is anyone liable for those extra costs and the inconvenience?

Name withheld

A You were one of at least 25,000 British Airways passengers whose flights were cancelled on Sunday and Monday, as a result of the failure of Heathrow airport’s check-in and departure system. The shutdown, which lasted 10 hours, affected all four passenger terminals. But as is usual when disruption happens at Heathrow, British Airways at Terminal 5 was worst hit.

While it is difficult to separate out the exact cause of the disruption between Storm Dennis and the IT failure, most of the 100-plus cancellations on Sunday and 80-plus on Monday were down to the technical problems.

You chose well to reach Switzerland when you could, because BA’s Monday morning flight to Zurich was one of the grounded departures.

Regardless of the cause of the disruption, British Airways is obliged to meet the cost of your hotel stay in Basel, together with breakfast on Monday if that was not included. It will also pay your train fare – though if your final destination is somewhere other than Zurich that’s a bit of a grey area.

In terms of inconvenience: the airline does not appear to be at fault, and so it is difficult to see a claim succeeding under European air passengers’ rights rules. But I daresay some legally minded travellers who have suffered direct financial harm as a result of the IT failure may already be drafting claims.

A highly-paid consultant who missed a day’s work, for example, might argue that under the Consumer Rights’ Act 2015, Heathrow failed to act with “reasonable care and skill” in allowing its technology to fail – and is therefore liable. But the airport may contend that the passenger’s contract is with the airline.

In short, unless you can point to substantial losses that you incurred, I would claim what is due from BA and put the unhappy incident down to experience.

What can be done about my parents’ traumatic flight? (Reuters)

Q My parents’ flight from Tenerife to Gatwick on Saturday with British Airways landed in Manchester after two attempted landings at Gatwick and one at Birmingham. The BA flight prior to theirs from Tenerife appeared to land in Bilbao. It was an extremely worrying flight for them. I’m extremely disappointed in BA and wonder if you’ve any advice?

Emma M-P

A Your parents were among the tens of thousands of passengers whose journeys were disrupted by Storm Dennis. Over the weekend more than 500 flights were cancelled, many of them to and from Gatwick – the airport with the busiest runway in the world.

With very high winds, many flights had problems landing at the Sussex airport, including the three British Airways flights from Tenerife to Gatwick. As you say, the previous flight was diverted to Bilbao in northern Spain. The one after ended up in Newcastle. Meanwhile your parents landed in Manchester.

I can understand that the experience of a series of decisions not to land will have generated some anxiety, but one reason the safest airlines in the world are based in the UK and Ireland is because pilots do not take chances.

If the captain and first officer are not confident about the conditions, then they will perform a “go around” and either try again or divert to another airport. Had I been on board, I think I would have been extremely impressed with BA’s highly professional flight crew. And even though your parents will annoyingly need to get a flight or train back to the London area, I think I would prefer to at least have reached my destination country; also at the weekend, easyJet cancelled hundreds of flights, including many Canary Islands services.

My advice can be summed up as: aviation involves a vast range of uncertainties, and travellers should hope for the best but be prepared for delays and disruption.

Email your question to s@hols.tv or tweet @simoncalder