A brief video which explains your rights, along with the important distinction between a refund and compensation.
Along with their goods, many of our ATA carnet users travel themselves and face the possibility of delayed, or cancelled flights.
Snow laden runways caused this type of issue in early 2024, along with industrial action in Europe. There can be a multitude of reasons for delay and depending on these, you may be able to claim a refund, or compensation.
Worth mentioning that we are not aware of a scheme to claim for business damage, from missed meetings, lost clients etc. There could be grounds under general law but in essence, a business passenger is treated the same as any other passenger.
One difference is that if your company paid for the flight, they may stipulate that any refund, or compensation belongs to them.
The Core System
Other countries do operate their own schemes but we are focusing on the UK/EU approach. This applies to any UK, or EU airline and to all flights departing from, or landing at UK, or EU airports.
A refund, or alternative flight should be available, whether the fault is with the airline, or beyond their control. Typically bad weather, political, or security issues, or air traffic decisions, including volcanic eruptions in Iceland.
Additional compensation is due when a delay is the airline’s fault. This could be because of lack of crew, under booking, over booking, their staff on strike, or technical issues which they should not have allowed to happen.
There could be circumstances where establishing fault is difficult and you may be able to refer the case to an airline’s arbitration scheme, or the CAA.
Collecting evidence at the time might make sense. Ask airline staff and record their answer, keep screenshots of cancellation notices, or images of notice boards, whatever you feel will help to establish the truth.
Required Support
Regardless of fault and in addition to the provision of alternative travel arrangements, airlines should offer assistance during longer delays.
This applies to delays over 2 hours on short haul flights e.g. Glasgow, over 3 hours on medium haul e.g. Cyprus and over 4 hours for long haul flights, such as New York. In those circumstances, airlines must provide:
- A reasonable amount of food and drink, or vouchers.
- Access to communication, or refunds on your calls.
- Accommodation, where you can not fly on the day.
- Alternatively, transport to and from your home.
There is no time limit to this support, which needs to continue until you can fly to your chosen destination.
Further Compensation
Where the airline has admitted fault, or this has been established, compensation should be paid if your flight arrives more than 3 hours late.
There is again a sliding scale, with short haul flights set at £220, medium haul at £350 and long haul at £520. The exception to this is where a long haul flight delay is over 3 hours but under 4, where £260 is payable.
Bear in mind that compensation is rarely automatic, you will need to make a claim. Neither is a settlement likely to be instant but patience and sound evidence will generally bring an acceptable result.
Additional Points
If you booked using a credit card, worth contacting them to establish whether they offer any cover, some do and others do not.
Should the delay extend beyond 5 hours, you are entitled to insist on a refund. Once this happens however, the airline has no further obligation to offer food, drink, accommodation, or travel assistance.
There can be less common circumstances, missing a connecting flight due to delay, where you are entitled to choose a flight back to your departure point. Or if an alternative flight does not have personal facilities you need, you can object.
If a flight is cancelled more than 14 days in advance, you are not normally entitled to compensation. Under 14 days, there is yet another sliding scale, related to when the cancellation took place and the length of the flight.
Our core objective was to see that you are informed for delays at the airport. Your ATA carnet shouldn’t be a problem, as they are normally valid for a year but if you have any concerns, contact our support team at any time.