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TUI flight delay from boa vista for over 24hrs

JUST LOOKING FOR SOME HELP AND ADVICE PLEASE (Boa vista holiday)
We were supposed to return home from Boa vista on the 19/12/23 but the plane never came to the airport due to poor weather and we were cancelled to the following day 20/12/23.
The issue is we were taken to the airport and made to check in and go through passport control even though they new other flights were being cancelled way before we were collected from our hotel,we then had to go back through passport control to enter the country collect our luggage and then go back to our hotel etc, and re check in hotel and unpack a few bits and bobs. 
Then the next day we were taken to the airport again and had to go through it all again and this time the flight took off just before dark set in,about 3 hours latter than we would have hoped for !!
(but no time given of when plane would be at the airport all the way through our 2nd day
so we had been delayed by around 27 hours from original flight the day before.
we were promised food vouchers which never materialized, we were not kept up-to date with information from staff, the plane had no food available,and the whole thing with the delay has put a cloud over over 25th wedding anniversary
we had to pay for extra parking and my wife lost a days work and had to spend hours rearranging customers that had to be cancelled,
just wondered what our rights are ? As we wrote to TUI and they offered a £50 voucher which im not sure whether to be annoyed at or not. As it has caused us a lot of trouble and tarnished our holiday 
Any help would be welcome 

regards Bigaus

Comments

  • bagand96
    bagand96 Posts: 6,417 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Name Dropper
    edited 2 January 2024 at 5:43PM
    Guessing this was TOM481 to Manchester? Outbound aircraft left MAN on time, diverting to nearby Espargo.  Assuming that the intention was to land (or attempt to) at Boa Vista as scheduled which is why you were taken to the airport.  If the aircraft had landed you'd have been flown on schedule.

    Strangely that evening the aircraft then flew Espargos - Gran Canaria.  Hard to know why exactly but I would guess it was either for crewing reasons or they couldn't accommodate everyone on Espargos so flew to LPA where more hotels were available. Or maybe both. Aircraft positioned back to Boa Vista on the 20th and then operated your flight as you say.

    (A TUI Netherland aircraft did very similar, diverted to Espargo and then headed to Tenerife for the night)

    Weather events are beyond the airline's control so compensation under EC261 will not normally be payable.   You could try and construct an argument that they should have had more contingency available but with weather being the primary cause and being away from base I'm not sure you'd win.

    Outside of compensation, the airline is responsible for your care during the delay.  You say they took you back to the hotel, I presume they fed you dinner and breakfast?  You could claim for any food you purchased at the airport during the delay on the 20th if you can provide receipts.

    Car parking expenses and lost earnings are not the responsibility of the airline, you could check if your travel insurance covers you.  To be honest a £50 voucher as a goodwill gesture seems ok and is likely more than they have to do (other than the refreshments that were missed)
  • la531983
    la531983 Posts: 2,593 Forumite
    1,000 Posts First Anniversary Name Dropper
    edited 2 January 2024 at 6:01PM
    I had to spend an extra day on a Canarian island a few years ago due to a sandstorm.

    Got home 24 hours later. 

    I knew no compo was due and therefore didnt apply as I knew it was out of Jet2s control 

    The exact same thing applies here. 
    Not sure what contingency you can put in place as per the post above for a weather event at a non-base airport nearly 7 hours from the UK, that argument won't get anywhere. 

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