Travel chaos could well be in the works as airline employees cook up plans to go on strike during the peak summer holiday season.
The Independent’s travel correspondent Simon Calder was on hand to answer questions on Thursday during his weekly ‘Ask Me Anything’.
Flights, Brexit, vaccines and cruises were just some of the topics that came up when readers asked questions during an hour-long session.
Here are 18 questions asked by readers and answered by Simon.
Q: Regarding the flights that were cancelled this morning at Heathrow: Any idea if there is a risk of this happening again over the next week? And if so, would it be likely the same flights or is there just no way of knowing?
A: I think it is very likely that ad hoc cancellation instructions will be imposed on some other days this year. But while early flights to Amsterdam, Frankfurt, Paris and Dublin are prime candidates, I would book any of them on the grounds that it is almost certain to go ahead – and that there will be many other options if for some reason they are selected for grounding.
Q: I was caught up in BA’s IT error in March, trying to fly from LHR to Geneva. My initial flight was cancelled and then rebooked for the next day on BA. At the airport, I booked a flight to Lyon, which got cancelled 30 minutes before it was due to take off. Overnight I was told the rescheduled flight was cancelled and not given an alternative booking. I bought a ticket on Swiss Air, but BA are refusing to refund me for the price of the ticket. I have used their complaint system, they have given me a final decision to not give a refund. What shall I do? Go to the airline dispute authority?
A: In your case, write a letter before action, and follow it up with money claim online if necessary.
Q: Is there a minimum notice that needs to be given for cancellations or could I still find out when I get to the airport? Bristol and easyJet particularly.
A: Everyone loathes last minute cancellations, but sadly they are a feature of life and may well continue. The idea of wholesale advance cancellations is to minimise the number of “at the gate” groundings.
Q: If airlines and holiday companies are still selling seats and holidays for August does that mean that they will be definitely going ahead?
A: In travel, there are never any absolute certainties. However I would happily book any available airline seat or package holiday for August, knowing that I have excellent consumer protection on my side. If for some reason the flight is grounded, the airline must find me an alternative departure. Should a package holiday not go ahead, the law insists on a full refund within two weeks.
Q: If an airline cancels my flight and, by law, has to try and get me on another flight to the same destination on the same day, can I book the alternative flight direct, pay for it and then send the invoice to the airline that cancelled my original flight? Or do I have to try and contact the original airline to make the new booking for me?
A: The rules are clear. Last week the Civil Aviation Authority and Department for Transport (DfT) wrote to airlines reminding them of the law: “We expect that when there are unavoidable cancellations, delays and denied boarding cases that passengers are promptly, clearly and empathetically communicated with … If airlines cannot re-route passengers on their own services or partner airlines on the same day they should identify re-routing options on alternative airlines.”
Re-routing is an unhelpful word here, because ideally you will be put on exactly the same route. Between London Gatwick and Malaga, for example, if easyJet cancels your flight and has none other left on the day, then it should be able to book you on Wizz Air or British Airways on the same route.
Having said that, all the evidence I have is that airlines are simply not fulfilling their obligations. You have to give the cancelling carrier every opportunity to book you a flight, but if they simply say you can travel on its own services in a day or more then you can safely go ahead and book with the lowest cost option for getting you to your destination as soon as possible.
Q: In short: my wife, daughter and I completed the required validation to fly requirement by KLM (Covid test) and received our accepted ‘validated to fly’ email/form by KLM on the same day as we were to fly. At the desk in Edinburgh we were then told we couldn’t fly that day as our tests did not have a QR code (this was never required by KLM on their website or the validation form or by the country we were visiting). This then required us buying three next day tests with QR codes to enable us to fly the next day. The next day transiting though Schipol we were told we did not need a QR code!.I have been seeking compensation for the three unnecessary tests for 10 months now (as we were already validated to fly by KLM on the same day as refused to fly) but my claim is apparently live but nothing has happened.
A: The most effective way to extract your cash will be to take legal action, but unfortunately Brexit means that is a more complicated process. You might wish to begin proceedings against KLM’s UK office.
Q: I’m travelling via Stenna Line car ferry from Harwich to Hook of Holland then driving straight through to France not making any scheduled stops in Holland. My vaccine status is not up to date. Am I allowed to firstly board the ferry and then travel through Holland?
