First flight cancelled - can I claim compensation and from which airline?

Soggymuffin

I booked return flights from Manchester to Sri Lanka with Swiss International Airlines, the return flight was in 3 parts and should have been from Columbo to Mumbai (with Sri Lankan Airlines) and then Mumbai to Zurich to Manchester (with Swiss International Airlines) arriving in Manchester at 8am.
I checked in online the day before but upon arrival at Columbo Airport was told that the first flight had been cancelled, no reason given but definitely not due to weather (Sri Lankan airlines had emailed me to say the flight was cancelled about an hour before arriving at the airport but I didn't receive it until I got there)
I was booked on 3 new flights at the Sri Lankan Airlines desk, Columbo to Doha (Qatar Airways) Doha to Heathrow (Qatar Airways) and Heathrow to Manchester (British Airways) These flights were due to get me to Manchester at 9.25am so not too much later than the original flights. However the flight from Doha arrived at Heathrow terminal 4 at 6.52am and my flight to Manchester was from terminal 5 boarding 7.45am, so basically I missed the connecting flight because there was no way I could have got off the plane (sat in row 45 so at the back) through passport control, caught the two trains from T4 to T5, and gone through security at T5. Qatar Airlines booked me on another flight to Manchester and the plane arrived at 14.22 so over 6 hours later than I should have been at Manchester. So my question is can I claim any compensation for this and if so then from who? Swiss International Airlines who my booking was with or Sri Lankan Airlines for cancelling the first flight and booking me on a connecting flight that was impossible to catch? (Or maybe Qatar Airlines for not getting me off the plane and taking me straight to T5?) I really have no idea as I'm not a frequent flyer so any advice would be gratefully received.

To cap it all off I had my duty free from Doha airport taken off me at Heathrow because it wasn't in a sealed bag (even though it was in a duty free bag and I had the receipt) so that just made my day when I wasn't even meant to be at Heathrow Airport!

eskbanker

There's no compensation right here under the UK/EU 261 regulations, as these only apply to UK/EU airlines or flights departing from UK/EU, so you'd need to check the terms of your booking with Sri Lankan to see if they offer anything.

Caz3121

you could check your travel insurance but it is not uncommon for a token amount for delays to only kick in after 12 hours
re the duty free. I know you say you are not a frequent flyer but for future you need ensure that the duty free shop know you will be transiting and ask for a STEB bag (sealed with receipt enclosed) If you only told them you were going to Heathrow / showed Heathrow boarding pass then they would not know that you were in transit.