London airspace closure: Your rights if your flight is delayed or cancelled

If you planned on catching a flight from Heathrow, Gatwick, Stansted, or another of London’s airports this afternoon, you might be disappointed.

All of London’s airspace has been closed after air traffic contol was hit by technical issues.

It means all planes across the capital were grounded, impacting journeys across the country.

A statement from Nats, the air traffic control company, said: ‘As a result of a technical issue at NATS Swanwick air traffic control centre, we are limiting the number of aircraft flying in the London control area in order to ensure safety, which is always our first priority.’

Hundreds of travellers were left in limbo during the peak summer holiday season, as Nats were unable to reveal how long it would be before operations returned to normal.

While Nats now say that ‘engineers have now restored the system that was affected’, it’s likely flights will continue to be affected.

If your flight has been disrupted, here’s everything you need to know.

What are my rights if my flight is cancelled?

According to the Civil Aviation Authority, UK and EU airlines must look after you if your flight is delayed or cancelled.

This includes everything from meals and accommodation to an alternative flight if necessary.

Citizen’s Advice says that airlines should also give impacted passengers access to phone calls and emails and, if they offer you a play to stay, organise the journeys between the hotel and the airport.

Sometimes, the airline will cover this by handing you vouchers at the airport. When in doubt, keep any receipts for expenses and claim them back afterwards from the airliner.

But an airliner will only cough up money for ‘reasonable’ expenses. The hotel minibar or penthouse suites likely can’t be expensed.

If you didn’t book with a UK or EU airline, you’ll need to check their terms and conditions. Though, for the most part, airlines should provide meals and accommodation as appropriate.

When am I eligible for this support?

Whether you’re eligible for the above depends on the distance of your flight and how long you have waited:

• For short-haul (up to 1,500km over two hours or less) you must have been waiting for two hours or more.
• For medium-haul (between 1,500km and 3,500km over two to four hours) it’s three hours or more.
• For long-haul (more than 3,500km over four hours or more) it’s four hours or more.

If my flight is cancelled, can I get a refund?

If your flight is covered by UK law, you can choose between either getting your cancelled flight refunded or being booked on an alternative route.

Any part of your ticket you haven’t used is eligible for a refund. So, if you were on a return flight to Heathrow and the outbound leg was cancelled, you can get that part of the journey refunded.

You’ll typically get your money back within a week.

But not everyone is up for being stuck mid-layover. If you still want to travel, your airline must find a way to get you to your destination.

This can include, say, if another airliner is flying to where you need to go soon or if there’s another form of transport you can take. All at no extra cost.

I booked a package holiday, what are my rights?

Check if the company you booked with is a member of ABTA, a trade association for tour operators and travel agents.

It has a guide here on what you can do if your flight has been cancelled.

Can I get any extra compensation?

What the law calls ‘extraordinary circumstances’ can include a fire, bird strikes, defects with a plane, or bad weather.

But none of these entitles impacted passengers to extra compensation, consumer watchdog Which? says. They’re largely considered outside the airline’s control.

In other circumstances, however, it’s a different story. You have several rights under the law if your journey is impacted by staff shortages, airline staff walkouts or if your flight was delayed because bad weather delayed a previous flight.

What you’re entitled to depends on the cause of the cancellation and how much notice the airline gave you.

This can range from £220 for short-haul flights, £350 for mid-haul and £520 for long-haul.

What about unused accommodation?

There might be things you do end up paying for. But you might be able to claim for them afterwards.

This can include unused accommodation, where you’ll need to contact your credit card provider or a travel insurance firm.

As much as 94% of travel insurance policies travel abandonment, only 30% include wider travel disruption, according to analysts Defaqto.

Travel insurance doesn’t cover any loss of earnings if the delayed or cancelled flight means you can’t work.

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