Flight delay and cancellation compensation, BA ONLY

manuski

I purchased a flight for my mother in law from Buenos Aires to London. Her flight was cancelled about 6 hours before departure due to 'operational constraints'. I had to then book next available flight which was the next day. I am from the UK but she is from Argentina. Do I have a claim? Thank you. 

Caz3121

Your mother-in-law may have a claim rather than 'you'. It is the passenger that claims. Did BA not move her to an alternative flight? - you mention you booking another flight.

manuski

They said in the email that they would rebook her but I did it myself. They mentioned doing it as quick as they could but I couldn't afford to hang around and wait. Would I be better just putting the claim in on her behalf. She is in her eighties, speaks no English etc. Would she have any rights as she is Argentinean? 

mdann52

Auldy68 said:

BA flight from Glasgow to Heathrow, departure time 12:10, arrived 16:15, meaning we missed connecting flight to Toronto (17:05). Claimed flight delay compensation from BA, they replied saying the delay was because “Air Traffic Control restricted operations into a block of air space your aircraft needed to travel through”
Can I appeal this, and what would be the best way to do this?
(The 13:35 on the same day, Glasgow to Heathrow left before our flight, so there were no ATC restrictions for that flight 🤷🏻)

The way ATC restrictions work is a certain number of "slots" are cancelled, meaning airlines are then delayed awaiting a new slot.

The best way to challenge this is though BA's ADR provider CEDR.

mdann52

manuski said:

They said in the email that they would rebook her but I did it myself. They mentioned doing it as quick as they could but I couldn't afford to hang around and wait. Would I be better just putting the claim in on her behalf. She is in her eighties, speaks no English etc. Would she have any rights as she is Argentinean? 

She would still have full UK261 rights, yes.

Did you give BA the opportunity to rebook her free of charge first?

Garry_mse

Hi - On September 20th I had a flight from London to Munich (BA 958), which was cancelled less than 90 minutes takeoff, which was 8.20pm (I was already past security). The alternative flight offered was only the next morning at 6.55. I opted for a refund which I received. I now wish to apply for compensation. I understand that the timing of the alternative flight does entitle me for a compensation, however the reason BA gave for the cancellation is: "Air Traffic control restrictions due to adverse weather in the London Area" which I understand gives them an exemption. How do I dispute this claim? While it has been raining, a Lufthansa flight scheduled for 8.25pm from the same airport did fly to Munich (with 40 minutes delay), and a BA flight to Milan scheduled for 8.40pm took off as well (55 minutes late). Do I have a case? Many thanks

eskbanker

Garry_mse said:

Hi - On September 20th I had a flight from London to Munich (BA 958), which was cancelled less than 90 minutes takeoff, which was 8.20pm (I was already past security). The alternative flight offered was only the next morning at 6.55. I opted for a refund which I received. I now wish to apply for compensation. I understand that the timing of the alternative flight does entitle me for a compensation, however the reason BA gave for the cancellation is: "Air Traffic control restrictions due to adverse weather in the London Area" which I understand gives them an exemption. How do I dispute this claim? While it has been raining, a Lufthansa flight scheduled for 8.25pm from the same airport did fly to Munich (with 40 minutes delay), and a BA flight to Milan scheduled for 8.40pm took off as well (55 minutes late). Do I have a case? Many thanks

ATC restrictions will typically take the form of reducing the number of available slots rather than shutting down operations altogether, so in itself the fact that other flights operated doesn't disprove anything.  What do you believe the cancellation reason to be?

Garry_mse

eskbanker said:

Garry_mse said:

Hi - On September 20th I had a flight from London to Munich (BA 958), which was cancelled less than 90 minutes takeoff, which was 8.20pm (I was already past security). The alternative flight offered was only the next morning at 6.55. I opted for a refund which I received. I now wish to apply for compensation. I understand that the timing of the alternative flight does entitle me for a compensation, however the reason BA gave for the cancellation is: "Air Traffic control restrictions due to adverse weather in the London Area" which I understand gives them an exemption. How do I dispute this claim? While it has been raining, a Lufthansa flight scheduled for 8.25pm from the same airport did fly to Munich (with 40 minutes delay), and a BA flight to Milan scheduled for 8.40pm took off as well (55 minutes late). Do I have a case? Many thanks

ATC restrictions will typically take the form of reducing the number of available slots rather than shutting down operations altogether, so in itself the fact that other flights operated doesn't disprove anything.  What do you believe the cancellation reason to be?

Thank you for your response. I have no idea what the cancellation reason is beyond the text I got. Naturally it’s a frustrating experience already being in the airport and having your flight cancelled, so I am wondering who makes the decision on which flight gets cancelled in case of reduced slots, and if it’s the airline, how can that lead to compensation.

eskbanker

Garry_mse said:

eskbanker said:

Garry_mse said:

Hi - On September 20th I had a flight from London to Munich (BA 958), which was cancelled less than 90 minutes takeoff, which was 8.20pm (I was already past security). The alternative flight offered was only the next morning at 6.55. I opted for a refund which I received. I now wish to apply for compensation. I understand that the timing of the alternative flight does entitle me for a compensation, however the reason BA gave for the cancellation is: "Air Traffic control restrictions due to adverse weather in the London Area" which I understand gives them an exemption. How do I dispute this claim? While it has been raining, a Lufthansa flight scheduled for 8.25pm from the same airport did fly to Munich (with 40 minutes delay), and a BA flight to Milan scheduled for 8.40pm took off as well (55 minutes late). Do I have a case? Many thanks

ATC restrictions will typically take the form of reducing the number of available slots rather than shutting down operations altogether, so in itself the fact that other flights operated doesn't disprove anything.  What do you believe the cancellation reason to be?

Thank you for your response. I have no idea what the cancellation reason is beyond the text I got. Naturally it’s a frustrating experience already being in the airport and having your flight cancelled, so I am wondering who makes the decision on which flight gets cancelled in case of reduced slots, and if it’s the airline, how can that lead to compensation.

Even if it's the airline that makes the choice when told that they need to cancel x number of departures, that doesn't necessarily mean that they can be held liable for compensation.  The CAA sometimes updates its page with information about ATC restrictions at Heathrow but it seems sporadic and specifically excludes cancellations on the day anyway:

On occasion Heathrow Airport may request an airline to cancel a flight or a proportion of their flights for a particular day on the grounds of safety or security. This may be, for example, as a result of forecast bad weather or due to resourcing constraints at the airport. The cancellation of some flights will reduce the total number of flights operating from the airport, but will not necessarily mean that all flights need to be cancelled.

Where the airport does not give airlines sufficient advance notice of the requirement to cancel flights this can lead to airlines being unable to give advance notice to their passengers. In such circumstances, the CAA may consider the flights to be cancelled due to extraordinary circumstances and not subject to compensation.

The list below sets out flights which the CAA would consider have been cancelled due to extraordinary circumstances. Please note this is not an exhaustive list and whether or not consumers would be entitled to compensation would depend on the circumstances of each individual flight cancellation. The list does not include flights cancelled on the day.

https://www.caa.co.uk/passengers-and-public/resolving-travel-problems/delays-and-cancellations/making-a-claim/am-i-entitled-to-compensation/

Perhaps worth posting on the FlyerTalk BA compensation thread, where informed insiders may be able to offer some insight as to what happened that day:

https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/british-airways-executive-club/2146197-faq-reason-flight-delay-cancellation-2024-edition-226.html

greenman123

Hi, Looking for advice/clarification.  

I was flying Heathrow to Athens and on the morning of the flight, BA cancelled my flight.  They rebooked me onto a flight 2hours later, which was then delayed by over 1.5hours.  
I deem this to be over 3.5hours delay, and so expected full compensation.  However, BA are saying that as I accepted the rebooked flight, the delay is less than 2hours, and so I'm not entitled to the compensation.  

This can't be right, as it was on the day (less than 7days notice). But they have kept this position 3times now...
Any ideas on what I can do?