Bumped off a flight

sheramber

Some flights were fortunate to be able to travel but  since the traffic controllers were working manually , a lot less flights could be accommodated.

Flight take offs from UK airports were very restricted. Some were cancelled completely as priority had to be given to flights already in the air.

So the WIzzair plane due to be used could have been stuck somewhere instead of being available for the flight. 

Planes in the wrong place and staff out of working hours resulted in delays  on subsequent days. There were still some delays reported  today- Wednesday.

Has your husband had a refund of his fare?

He should be refunded his fare and reasonable expenses incurred in getting home should be claimed from Wizzair.

It has been widely confirmed in the press that compensation is not applicable as the event was outwith the airline's control.

bagand96

binks_2 said:

My friends flew home the night before us also with Wizzair just after air traffic went down and their disruption amounted to an hour's delay. 

You mean to say not every flight and passenger is in complete chaos like the press would have you believe?!  I'm shocked!

silvercar

He won’t be entitled to compensation as the ATC failure is accepted as not being the fault of the airline. He will be entitled to a refund of his reasonable costs incurred while waiting for the flight or alternative flights home. Wizz had an obligation to get him home as quickly as reasonably possible and that means they should have put him on another airline if they didn’t have availability until 6 September. The fact they didn’t should mean he can claim the costs.

in the meantime don’t accept a refund from Wizz of their own airfare as that will mean they was their hands.

TELLIT01

From many reports I've read, what the regulations require and what Wizzair does are often very different things.  Wizzair have ignore court orders etc, so aren't going to worry about upsetting one person who in all probability will never travel with them again.

binks_2

@sheramber
No not refunded. And next available flight 8 days away is not reasonable. And all his stuff was in my suitcase which was already on the its way to the plane.

binks_2

@silvercar
Yes I'm with you on that. 

binks_2

@TELLIT01
Yes I have been warned about their non compliance.

I shouldn't be suprised. I honestly don't know how someone can keep a straight face and say you've got an 8 day delay on your flight.

binks_2

Husband has now landed! Next steps are to follow this through. I can update you when it's resolved, if it ever gets resolved if you are interested.

binks_2

bagand96 said:

binks_2 said:

My friends flew home the night before us also with Wizzair just after air traffic went down and their disruption amounted to an hour's delay. 

You mean to say not every flight and passenger is in complete chaos like the press would have you believe?!  I'm shocked!

Exactly...

bagand96

binks_2 said:

bagand96 said:

binks_2 said:

My friends flew home the night before us also with Wizzair just after air traffic went down and their disruption amounted to an hour's delay. 

You mean to say not every flight and passenger is in complete chaos like the press would have you believe?!  I'm shocked!

Exactly...

The point I was making is that it's not complete chaos for everyone (like the press would have you believe), but likewise some will be affected whilst others aren't.  It's a bit of a lottery - airlines with aircraft based in the UK will be the most impacted. 

Wizzair have aircraft based both in the UK and elsewhere. It's quite reasonable that some of their aircraft/flights would have been affected for a day or two whilst others weren't.  i.e. If an aircraft based in Hungary spent the morning of Monday 28th flying around eastern Europe nowhere near the UK, and was only scheduled into the UK later in the day then it could easily have operated with minimal delays.  However their UK based aircraft schedules would be in chaos on Monday and into Tuesday.

Having originally said compensation should be payable, if it was the aftermath of the ATC problems they may well be able to claim extraordinary circumstances.  Problem is it's hard for the customer to prove either way.  I wonder if the CAA will take a view on how long the airlines can use that excuse.  I still think you're due additional travel costs though.

I wish you luck, please keep us advised.