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Worth an appeal?

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Duggo
Duggo Posts: 69 Forumite
Sixth Anniversary 10 Posts Name Dropper
edited 20 January at 2:30PM in Flight delay compensation
We were delayed by 5.5 hours on a flight from Manchester to La romana on 7th January. Tui have turned down the claim due to the weather, but all the other flights were landing and taking off, most with only minor delays. . Our flight was delayed before it got anywhere near landing at Manchester, it then ended up in the wrong side of the airport for some reason, and it took ages to get it moved to a gate. When we finally boarded we then had to wait 2 hours for a de-icer truck.  Seems more like incompetence than weather?! So the delays were originally a 9.10 am departure, to 11am, then 1pm, then eventually took off at 2.45pm, after sitting on the plane for well over 2 hours.
Is it worth appealing or is it a dead end? Surely if other planes were going they can’t blame weather/exceptional circumstances?

Comments

  • glentoran99
    glentoran99 Posts: 5,825 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Combo Breaker Debt-free and Proud!
    De-icer truck would be the airport ground crew, same as waiting for a gate. That would be the airport so possibly would be beyond their control 
  • bagand96
    bagand96 Posts: 6,530 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Name Dropper
    edited 20 January at 6:31PM
    Weather was terrible at Manchester that day, with low cloud, mist, snow etc overnight and into the morning - all of which can hamper airport operations.  If your aircraft landed and took ages to get a gate then it's likely Manchester Airport had no available gates for it due to disruption - this isn't TUI's fault.

    A look back at the departure boards that morning between 08:00 and 10:00 show almost every single flight operating with significant delays, and plenty of cancellations.  TUI's response of weather disruption seems credible.
  • Duggo
    Duggo Posts: 69 Forumite
    Sixth Anniversary 10 Posts Name Dropper
    Sounds like it’s not worth the effort of an appeal then. Just seemed like our flight had one problem after another.
  • bagand96
    bagand96 Posts: 6,530 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Name Dropper
    Duggo said:
    Sounds like it’s not worth the effort of an appeal then. Just seemed like our flight had one problem after another.
    Unfortunately that can be the nature of it when there's significant weather disruption - and the UK airports generally aren't great at snow operations.  Aircraft and crew out of position, delays start to snowball, handling agents, deicers etc.
  • jimi_man
    jimi_man Posts: 1,404 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Photogenic Name Dropper
    Duggo said:
    Is it worth appealing or is it a dead end? Surely if other planes were going they can’t blame weather/exceptional circumstances?
    Generally in bad weather conditions Air Traffic Control will introduce flow restrictions so whilst it will seem like every other flight is going, it’s not the case and instead of say 45 an hour it will drop to perhaps 40, so something has to give and delays will creep in. 

    Sometimes airlines will use this to cover up other issues they are having which are causing delays so it’s not cut and dried, but it’s difficult to take it further. However some people have had success at CEDR but you’d need some evidence that there were other factors at play which can be difficult to get hold of. 

    The crux though is just because weather is cited as the reason for denying compensation doesn’t mean that the weather has stopped all flying. In times of fog for example a lot of people query the delays saying that planes can land on autopilot. And yes, whilst landing doesn’t present too much of an issue, it’s taxying on the ground that becomes difficult and slows everything down hence often quite severe flow restrictions. (As an aside technically most aircraft can land and roll out in zero visibility but they won’t simply because taxiing on the ground then becomes impossible, so the most severe category Cat 3c - zero visibility - is not used commercially. )

    A five and a half hour delay is no fun so you have my sympathies but I think you’ll be unlucky here. Having said all that, airlines still have a duty of care and over a two hour delay entitles you to a food and drink claim though you’d need receipts. 

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