Missed my flight due to M25 Friday 14th Nov 2014

Jams91

I had a 1 pm flight from London Gatwick. I left at 9:30 am from Slough, reasoning that 3.5 hours to make the 1 hour journey would be sufficient and allow room for error.


M25 was a nightmare, took me 5 hours to make the 40 mile journey, arriving 90 minutes after my flight took off.

Paid for a ticket on a new flight at £180

Is there anyway I can claim compensation for my flight?

Thanks

paulsad

I wouldn't think so

k3lvc

Travel insurance ??

Who else do you think is going to pay for it ??

McKneff

Shoite happens, no ones fault so no one pays, except you of course.

roonaldo

It's not what you want to hear but you are not entitled to any compensation as its your responsibility to get to Gatwick, although it isnt your fault. You had other options such as drive a different route. The best way would have been to get train to London and then Gatwick Express train which is only 30 mins from Victoria and goes every 15 mins.

JimmyTheWig

Travel insurance should cover it.

Was there a specific cause to the M25 disruption?
If there was one specific driver who caused the delays due to negligence then you might have a claim against them. Not sure how it would work, though.

jackieblack

roonaldo wrote: »

It's not what you want to hear but you are not entitled to any compensation as its your responsibility to get to Gatwick, although it isnt your fault. You had other options such as drive a different route. The best way would have been to get train to London and then Gatwick Express train which is only 30 mins from Victoria and goes every 15 mins.

This ^^
Also, as k3lvc suggested, check your travel insurance as some policies would cover this.

jackieblack

JimmyTheWig wrote: »

Was there a specific cause to the M25 disruption?

I assume it was the big hole that opened up in the road
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-surrey-30060103


OP won't have been the only person affected

jap200

A similar thing happened to us a few years ago when flying to Spain as a family of 5. Our travel insurance didn't cover it. Since then we have specifically chosen travel insurance that DOES cover missed departures due to unexpected traffic/accidents etc as most don't. I think the Post Office one does and also the policy we now get through our Nationwide FlexPlus bank account.

Check carefully though as some policies cover you for the outward journey but not the return! Also, it goes without saying that even if you are covered you will need to prove that the road conditions were unusual/unforeseen, such as your M25 hole situation, rather than you just not leaving sufficient time with a reasonable contingency for delays. For the future, it is also worth thinking about booking a cheap local hotel room (Travelodge, Premier Inn etc) the night before to avoid the possibility of this happening again. A £59 room is cheaper than new flights following missed departure!

JimmyTheWig

jackieblack wrote: »

I assume it was the big hole that opened up in the road
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-surrey-30060103


OP won't have been the only person affected

Hmmm. Not surprising that this caused delays!

InsideInsurance

Jams91 wrote: »

I had a 1 pm flight from London Gatwick. I left at 9:30 am from Slough, reasoning that 3.5 hours to make the 1 hour journey would be sufficient and allow room for error.

You didnt leave 3.5 hours for your journey as if it had taken 3.5 hours you'd have arrived at gatwick car park at 13:00 and not have made your 13:00 flight.

Depending on where you are going to you should arrive at the airport 2 hours before take off time and so you actually allowed 1.5hours for a 1hr journey with a significant part of that journey on the notorious M25

As others have said, your only option is for compensation is going to be via your travel insurance. They may question if an extra 30 minutes was a sufficient margin assuming the airline does recommend arriving 2 hours before the flight and given the news of the issues on the M25 that was being widely reported prior to you leaving home