Lost bags, cancelled flights, Terminal 5 problems, it is a wonder that people continue to travel when beset by difficulties such as these.
But what can you do when confronted by the inevitable travel delays that these problems create? For those flying from UK airports and who suffer delays or are stranded, then it’s useful to know what rights you have. Under the European directive of Air Passenger Rights, all EU operators have a duty of care to passengers and should be responding to claims for delay by providing at least food and drink vouchers for those caught up in the delays at the airports. The only snag is that, as with so much EU legislation, what is given in one hand is often taken away in the other. Under these rules the airline can claim protection for delays relating to, yes that’s right “weather” amongst others. The protection the airlines have is a sting in the tail for passengers as losses from “Weather, Air traffic problems, Security & safety, Political unrest and Strikes are reasons why an airline will not pay out compensation to travellers. So all WASPS have a sting in their tails! So what about travel insurance? Under the delay section of a policy, most insurers will give some benefit for periods of delay faced at the airport. Do check your individual travel insurance documents as some of the cheaper basic covers do exclude this protection.
Keith McGregor is a partner of Strawberrysoup, a web design agency with offices in Chichester and Bournemouth. Strawberrysoup specialise in creative web design, content managed websites, search engine optimisation, search engine marketing and graphic design
