Delay query.

MadeInHeaven

Hi everyone, I'm trying to make a claim for a flight delay if anyone can help.
I boarded a flight which was Manchester via Istanbul to Dar es Salaam, the flight sat on the tarmac and was delayed for 47 mins. This in turn meant that I missed my connecting flight to DAR. Turkish Airlines put me up in a hotel overnight with meals and I continued the journey the next evening. I have written to Turkish Airlines via there website feedback form and they have dismissed the claim citing "technical reasons". I have therefore made a claim via the ADR hoping this would be better but I am not getting any response from them and its been nearly 6 weeks. So I was hoping someone might be able to advise what my next step would be?
Thanks in advance.

eskbanker

https://www.aviationadr.org.uk/complaint-process/ outlines the process, including a 90 day period within which to reach a determination - have you heard anything at all from them regarding acknowledgement of your submission, etc?

If you're not happy to wait, your only other option is likely to be small claims action....

MadeInHeaven

eskbanker said:

https://www.aviationadr.org.uk/complaint-process/ outlines the process, including a 90 day period within which to reach a determination - have you heard anything at all from them regarding acknowledgement of your submission, etc?

If you're not happy to wait, your only other option is likely to be small claims action....

Thank you for your response. I have had no response whatsoever from ADR. I have had further communication from Turkish Airlines out of the blue, offering "bonus miles" which is of no use to me and apparently I have to first register for "our special passenger program Miles&Smiles".

TELLIT01

Was this booked on a single ticket, or separate for each leg of the journey?  Missing a flight because of a 47 minute delay in takeoff suggests that the original arrival and departure times in Istanbul were pretty tight in the first place.  Whether any of that will make a difference to your claim, I don't know.

MadeInHeaven

TELLIT01 said:

Was this booked on a single ticket, or separate for each leg of the journey?  Missing a flight because of a 47 minute delay in takeoff suggests that the original arrival and departure times in Istanbul were pretty tight in the first place.  Whether any of that will make a difference to your claim, I don't know.

Hi, Yes it was booked on a single ticket. The flight was due to land at 18.00hrs in IST with the connecting flight due to take off at 19.45hrs.

MadeInHeaven

I have had this response from Turkish Airlines;

'In our investigation, we found that your TK1994 Manchester/Istanbul flight dated 4th of December 2022 was delayed for 40 minutes due to iInadequate number of personnel, 7 minutes due to delay in "start-up/push-back clearance" due to local air traffic control capacity and 17 minutes due to taxi transit time. As a result, you were unable to board your onward flight, and you completed your journey with flight TK0603 Istanbul/Dar Es Selaam on 5th of December 2022.

Because your departure point is in a European Union member country, the rules set out in European Union Regulation (EC) No. 261/2004 apply. In accordance with this, airlines are not obliged to pay compensation where flight disruption has been caused by events outside their control.

In relation to your request in your feedback, you are not entitled to compensation for the flight routes on which the irregularity has occurred".
The flight was booked on one ticket.
As I missed the onward connection due to the delay and arrived in DAR on 6/12/22 rather than 5/12/22 do I have a valid claim?
If the initial delay was caused by an "inadequate number of staff" doesn't this mean that the delay WAS within their control?
Many thanks.

eskbanker

Someone probably ought to tell them that your departure point is no longer in an EU country!  However, that's just a pedantic point, the UK and EU regulations are still aligned, so no difference to your eligibility for a refund.

Impossible to say from that whether staff shortage was within the airline's control, as it depends which staff they refer to - if, for example, it was in airport security then the airline has no liability.

CKhalvashi

eskbanker said:

Someone probably ought to tell them that your departure point is no longer in an EU country!  However, that's just a pedantic point, the UK and EU regulations are still aligned, so no difference to your eligibility for a refund.

Impossible to say from that whether staff shortage was within the airline's control, as it depends which staff they refer to - if, for example, it was in airport security then the airline has no liability.

UK and EU law are the same thing, the only difference is the compensation is now in a truly patriotic currency

Agreed that it would depend on where in the chain the staffing shortage lies. I believe that TK operate 'out and back' on most (if not all) UK sectors and the aircraft had just flown in so I would take that as being outside their control.

If OP saw a crew change take place it may be different but this is far within FTLs.

They appear to have investigated far more thoroughly and been more open than many airlines so I'd argue that they have the evidence to back everything they need up. 7 minutes for clearance is quite reasonable and 17 minute taxi wouldn't be unheard of.

You can push to find out where the staff shortage was but on the basis of the above I'd consider it a potential non starter compensation-wise. Any points offer would be more than worth taking though.

Westin

IMHO you won’t get any extra compensation. 

Pleased however that TK it seems looked after you following the missed connection and rebooked you on the next flight.

The connection was a short one to start and perhaps shows that building in more buffer time might be better for future connections. 

MadeInHeaven

After persevering with TK and asking questions about the staffing levels etc, TK have now offered the full compensation