Cancelled flight - what can I do?

reelcrazy

I have just come back from Venice Treviso on Ryanair. I was meant to get back yesterday but due to Italian Air Traffic strike action, Ryanair cancelled our flight and our only option at the time was to come back today instead.

Have they acted fairly? I had to pay for an extra nights hotel stay plus there was the inconvenience caused etc.

WiseInvestor_2

Compensation is not payable by the airline for delays/disruption beyond their control.

You could try a claim on your Travel Insurance

Wolfhound

The same thing happened to us, post 9/11 at Venice, Marco Polo. We missed our onward flight home and had to buy two new seats at top price. We tried the insurance company but they wont have anything to do with flights on low cost carriers! Of course the airlines involved wont accept they were at fault, outwith their control and the usual rubbish. The moral of the story for us is, if we cant fly direct now, we dont fly at all. Try your insurance company, I cant remember who we were insured with at the time. They may have a different policy. Good luck.

MarkyMarkD

I don't see where in any insurance Ts & Cs it excludes low cost carriers' flights. What exact reason did your insurer give for rejecting your claim??

bazza1603

Hi,

Travel insurance companies hardly ever cover for missed connections with low cost carriers, as the carriers themselves wont gurarantee onward connections.

I always recommend at least 3 hours minimum connecting time for this reason.

Best regards

Barry
https://www.theairlineguide.co.uk

reelcrazy

I didnt miss a connection though - my flight was cancelled for 24 hours.

mystic_trev

Why should you expect compensation? It's NOT Ryanairs fault....as you've said it was "due to Italian Air Traffic strike action"

Bossyboots

mystic_trev wrote:

Why should you expect compensation? It's NOT Ryanairs fault....as you've said it was "due to Italian Air Traffic strike action"

Agreed. The OP's travel insurance should cover this though. My friend was paid out from hers when a similar thing happened.

reelcrazy

Well it was an 8 hour strike. Treviso airport isn't the busiest in the world. Surely they could have scheduled the flight for later that day?

I will try my insurance though, see what they say.

WiseInvestor_2

A low cost airline will only make attempts to fix a problem if they're legally required to or if it would be more expensive for them not to. In most cases passengers are 'on their own' which is why you're able to buy cheap tickets in the first place.

In this case, had they been liable for compensation (which they're not for strikes by an external agent) they would've already paid up for running more than 2 hours late (the threshold for short flights) so overnight accomodation would still be your responsbility as they're unlikely to fork out more money by sending a rescue plane