EasyJet Flight Cancellation Compensation ….or Not

ChrisCW

Hello - new here so please be gentle. We were flying from Bristol to Glasgow on 25 June to see The Killers. Got tickets for the gig, AirBnB apartment for one night before flying back first thing on 26. There was an incident (fire alarm in the tower at Bristol) that closed the airport for approx 20 mins. Before they announced this, about 1410, and when they announced everything was “re-open”, about 1430, our flight was showing as “delayed”. We were due to depart at 1515 but a check on flight radar app indicated our aircraft had landed at Birmingham ! At 1500 we were told to go to gate. At about 1515 the board changed to Flight Cancelled”. I have got the flights refunded, but they are refusing my “Expenses” claim as they say the accommodation cost was pre-flight. I have sent a mail to their customer services explaining that the accommodation claim was for the night of 25, post flight but it seems to no avail. I have also submitted a claim for the cost of the tickets and have yet to hear. Wondering if any of you experienced people have a view on whether I have a claim or not. Thank you.

eskbanker

Under the UK261 flight delay/cancellation regulations, the airline has no liability for consequential losses such as accommodation and entertainment at your destination (unless there was perhaps some sort of negligence involved, which won't be the case if they diverted an aircraft because of a tower fire), so you'd need to pursue those items via your travel insurance.

ChrisCW

I thought that might be the case - thank you.

mdann52

It's worth mentioning while they aren't liable under UK261, they may be liable under the Montreal Convention, if you can prove the airline caused the loss. With a tower closure and a diversion, this makes it very tricky however