[JNS Class of '87] For people who are stuck/stranded due to Volcano ash
Priya J. Bhatia
Hi,
I have compiled some information from different sources if you want to forward this to your friends/relatives affected.
Hope it is of use to you.
So if passengers are affected, what are their rights?
What are my basic rights?
You have a contract with the airline to get you from A to B. So that means the airline should try to re-route your journey - even if that means a bus or taxi transfer to another airport for a flight with a different operator.
This is unlikely given the situation, so many people will be told to stay at home and contact their airline before they travel.
As a result, passengers can generally choose to have a refund or to change to another flight, according to the Trading Standards Institute. Airlines are usually quite swift to give refunds and should not charge an administration fee.
Airlines have a strategy in place for bad weather and a similar strategy will be in place for this ash cloud disruption.
What happens if I am stranded and trying to get home?
If a flight is delayed, there are strict European rules in place, which mean that the airline is obliged to provide assistance at the airport. This includes supplying meals and refreshments, along with accommodation if an overnight stay is required.
However, in the current situation it is not clear when flights will be able to take off and passengers are therefore being advised not to travel to the airport.
Rochelle Turner, head of research at Which?, said that this meant many people arriving at the airport would have to turn around and go home - even if they had long journeys to the airport. Some insurance policies may have an allowance for costs caused by delays.
For those stranded overseas, it is worth keeping expenditure on continuing stays to a minimum and then making a claim to the airline. This might be an issue because there might be a shortage of hotel space.
Your specific rights will depend on the length of the flight and the delay.
For example, for flights of 1,500km or less where there is a delay of more than two hours, a passenger should be given meals and refreshments, along with two free telephone calls, e-mails, telexes or faxes.
If the delay is for five hours or more, passengers are also entitled to a refund of their ticket with a free flight back to their initial point of departure if this is relevant.
People flying into the European Union from overseas are also covered by the rules, as long as they are travelling on a European airline.
However, owing to the fact that any cancellations would be beyond airlines' control, there is no automatic right to other compensation. Extra compensation is available if a flight is cancelled or delayed and it is the airline's fault.
Does the airline look after me if I have two single tickets?
This has been a source of discussion with the emergence of budget airlines.
However, the EU rules on assistance apply equally to any journey, whether one-way or part of a return ticket, according to the Air Transport Users Council.
Technically speaking, the airlines should arrange and pay for the hotel and meal costs for passengers while they wait for the new flights.
In reality, there may simply not be enough hotel rooms available in circumstances like these. The ATUC's advice to passengers is to keep their expenditure to a minimum and to put in a claim to the airline - but always try to agree this with the airline first.
How long is this expected to last?
That depends on the ash situation and the disruption is changing minute-by-minute.
The situation is further confused as the volcano is still erupting.
Some travel insurance policies will pay out if a holiday, with its associated costs such as hotels, is cancelled owing to the flight problems. However, this depends on the small print so it is worth looking at your policy.
Ms Turner, of Which?, said that very few insurance policies have this cover and as a result many holidaymakers who booked flights and accommodation separately could lose the money spent on hotels. People who get a refund and who then book more expensive alternative transport are also likely to lose out financially.
Package holidays have their own protection. Operators must refund customers for the whole holiday if trips are cancelled, meaning they could not get to their destination.
In reality, operators tend to give three options to people on package deals. They are: deferring the leaving date of the holiday, transferring to another holiday of the same or similar value, or a refund of the amount paid for the whole holiday.
There is also a potential claim to your credit card provider if you booked using your card.
Travellers whose holiday plans have been ruined by the volcanic ash that grounded flights face confusion over insurance.
Although airlines will refund or rebook flights, many passengers face the cost of hotel rooms and car hire that have not been taken up.
Some travel insurance policies are expected to pay out for these losses but others are not.
People are being urged to check the small print and contact their insurer.
Louise Guinda, Safe Dreams
"Travel insurance policies will differ in this situation," said Nick Starling, of the Association of British Insurers (ABI).
"There is no standard set of conditions which applies to a situation of this kind. Therefore customers should check their travel insurance policy, and speak to their travel insurer to understand what their individual policy covers them for in this situation."
Clouded issues
Most flights in the UK will remain grounded until early Saturday as ash from a volcano in Iceland continues to drift across Europe.
Thousands of flights have been cancelled and airlines will refund or rebook passengers to alternative flights. They also have a duty of care to offer stranded passengers hotel rooms and food.
However, with the situation expected to affect flights for a number of days, more and more people yet to travel will decide to choose the refund, rather than arriving late at their holiday destination.
It is often the case that cheaper insurance deals will have less cover and so will not pay out on losses, such as cancelled car hire.
Others said they would treat the incident as a case of bad weather. They could consider a claim as a delay that led to the abandonment of a trip.
"Not all insurance policies are the same and travellers are urged to contact their insurance provider to clarify their specific policy coverage as not all insurers will necessarily cover this," said Steve Foulsham, of the British Insurance Brokers' Association.
Copies of written evidence of cancellations, such as information from airlines' websites, should be sent with any claim.
Holiday plans
Those expecting to fly in the coming days may also face insurance issues.
If they have booked a holiday but have bought insurance since Thursday, they might not be covered for losses caused by the ash disruption.
"As with all insurance policies, you are unable to insure for an event or incident after it has happened," said Jennifer Thomas, spokeswoman for Direct Line Travel Insurance.
"Therefore, customers wishing to buy travel insurance today will not be covered for travel delay or missed departure arising from the volcanic ash as they are buying cover in the knowledge that there is a problem.
"This highlights the importance of buying travel insurance as soon as you book your holiday or flight."
Pablo
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