Flight delay and cancellation compensation, Tui/Thomson ONLY

Kasha89

Hi guys,

So on 27th Sep we were flying back from Aruba to LGW. Unfortunately, at the beginning there was a problem with the fuel and Aruba airport so after waiting for an hour and so the pilot decided that we will fly to Punta Cana Airport (we had enough fuel to get us there) and there we will get the fuel and then head back to London. When we landed at Punta Cana, we were waiting for more than an hour to refill the petrol when suddenly one of the passengers felt sick. The crew just to help the person but failing to do so an ambulance was called. We were then informed by the pilot that they are not allowed to leave the airport if they still have this passangers luggages and if they try to find it in it would exceed crew working hours so we will not be able to return to London as the staff need to have 12 h break. An overnight at the hotel was arranged for us and we were meant to fly out the next day, what eventually happened. The flight was meant to be from Aruba at 16:20, we only got off at Punta Cana at around midnight. Overall we landed at LGW with a delay of 25 hours! I wrote a compensation letter to Tui and this is what I received:

Thank you for taking the time to contact us regarding your flight delay claim.
In a limited number of circumstances Regulation of the European Union (EU 261/2004) now entitles some affected customers to a payment when their flight is delayed over three hours on arrival. In light of the Supreme Court ruling on 31st October 2014 we have investigated the claim for flight TOM003 Aruba to London Gatwick and our delay handling logs show that the flight was delayed due to medical emergency.
So as to help both customers and airlines, the European Commission has recently published draft guidelines as to what amounts to extraordinary circumstances. This list was prepared with the assistance of the various national bodies responsible for regulating the aviation industry across Europe.
In this draft, the Commission has intimated that the following would be considered extraordinary circumstances:
16. Passenger or crew member becomes seriously ill or dies on-board at short notice before the flight. An operating air carrier shall not be obliged to pay compensation in accordance with Article 7, if it can prove that the delay is caused by extraordinary circumstances which could not have been avoided even if all reasonable measures had been taken.
The circumstances surrounding the delay to your flight are classified as extraordinary circumstances under Regulation 261/2004 of the European Union. Therefore we reject your claim for compensation under this regulation.
Thank you again for taking the time to contact us.
Yours sincerely,

They point out to the medical issue, but what about the staff exceeding their working hours? Is there anything we can do to get the compensation? I lost 1 working day at work due to the delay, my partner lost 2 days.

JPears

Hmm this sounds like a multitude of issues, one after the other.
This maybe one that a NWNF such as Botts, may need to handle.
Try putting your details into thier online checker, and EUClaim as well.
An argument could be that if the re-fuelling landing hadn't been necessary, would that passenger have been ill?

Kasha89

It was. At one point when they took the passenger by ambulance the pilot said that she felt unwell for few days, then he said, well maybe I shouldn't be saying that.

I checked Bott and Co, and after filling the details it says: Claim your compensation now €600 per passenger Complete your details below to start your claim against the airline. It’ll take less than a minute.

When I checked EUClaim, it says Good news! You could be entitled to compensation.

Should I proceed with one of them? Are these no win no fee?

What do you advise?

Justice13075

Yes, they are indeed No Win No Fees solicitors and will take approx 30% of the total but you will not have all the hassle to deal with. Normally I would say if you are a beginner and it is a straightforward case you could do it yourself but as JPears says this is a bit more complicated and probably best you use one of the two companies mentioned.

JPears

Also something to bear in mind is that the response from EUClaim or Botts is not definitive. Botts tend to be a bit more optimistic in their response with a possible claim.

Kasha89

Thank you for your help. What company would be better for me to use? Botts or EuClaim?

Tyzap

Kasha89 wrote: »

Thank you for your help. What company would be better for me to use? Botts or EuClaim?

Use a firm of solicitors, such as Botts, NOT an unregulated claims company who have caused many serious problems for some claimants, see here for example...

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/5667325/flight-claims-company-sending-threatening-letters

Good luck.

patgra

Marrakech to Gatwick, 22 hour delay. I have had the same reply from TUI, it seems to me that these Exceptional Circumstances for non payment of compensation can be used for anything they choose. As it was more the re-fuelling problems rather than medical, surely we are entitled to something? I will try Resolver and see if they can come up with anything!

JPears

Resolver will do nothing for you that you haven't already done. Tui tend to ignore claiims through Resolver.
Time to download Vauban's guide and read through and/or hand over to a NWNF solicitors such as Bott's. Have tried putting your flight details into an online chacker such as Botts or EUClaim.
It would appear Tui are becoming increasingly beligerent and obstructive in claims, throwing a potential but unlikely EC back at the claimant.
Its a numbers game. Most will be put off. Others, fiortunately will find this forum or similar.

patgra

That was an unexpected fast reply, never used a forum before, and searched many sites to see if I could find anyone on our flight. Looks like I just have to accept I had an extra day's holiday, when I just wanted to get home! My son used Resolver for a delayed Thomas Cook flight last year coming home from Cuba due to a technical fault and he got £600.