Please help - Air Traffic Control mess led to massive costs...

drew32323232

Really need some advice.

We are a family of five. During the air traffic control chaos summer of 2023, we had out return flights to the UK from Austria cancelled. Could get no help from Easyjet, and were on the phone to them for six hours - all of which we were on hold, apart from a five minute conversation. Airport was bedlam. And no hotels/air bnbs available anywhere in the city we were stuck in.

So after a day trying to sort this all out, we ended up doing the only thing we could do - flying to Spain and then back the UK on the very next available flights, which were three days later. It was the only option we could figure out. Easyjet told us that we could keep the receipts and claim back.

Well after all this, they refused to reimburse us. We are talking about at least £4,000.

They stated that we had already been refunded (we were, but we never requested this) and that we had not proved we had no other option but to fly to Spain and stay there - I don't know how we are meant to retroactively prove this, but it goes without saying that a bunch of tourists suddenly stuck in Austria for God knows how long will book up all available accommodation, given that there are suddenly twice as many tourists as any city might be expecting to be staying on at least the first few nights. People were sleeping in airports for Gods sake.

We then went to the ADR - the aviationadr.eu

Well, we waited a year for their findings. This is AFTER easyjet failed to even issue them with a defence and were then told they were too late to. 

What is really suspect about this is that the ADR completely turned down the claim, despite being sent the flight and hotel receipts. This adjudication came two months after the deadline had passed to issue it, and the reasoning was extremely suspect - mentioning that we had already been refunded for the Easyjet flights, and also that we sent no proof of having no other option than to fly to Spain. so basically Easyjet's defence! Which they apparently never filed.

It is suspect, not only because Easyjet did not file a defence making the above points, meaning that these points are supposed to have been reached independently, by the ADR, but also because my understanding of the situation is that, even with refunds in place, Easyjet are responsible for our costs getting our family back to the UK (especially given that Easyjet did !!!!!! all about helping us).

And I am now reading that, despite being tasked to act as alternative dispute resolution for the airline industry and consumers by the Civil Aviation Authority, this ADR is a limited company funded by the airlines and nowhere near as independent as they present themselves?!?

Can anyone advise on our next steps please?

eskbanker

Someone has to pay the costs of running such organisations, and they're generally free for consumers, therefore it's the relevant industry that provides the funding - the Financial Ombudsman Service is the same, funded by the financial services industry.

However, they claim to be impartial and independent - it's only human nature that those who don't have their complaints upheld consider this to be due to bias.  In your case, the airline had the option to present a detailed document by a certain time, but if it doesn't, that doesn't disqualify the statements made prior to this, even if they don't take the opportunity to expand on them.

Moving on though, you have two options - you can lodge a complaint to the Aviation ADR independent assessor, or take EasyJet to court.

drew32323232 said:

my understanding of the situation is that, even with refunds in place, Easyjet are responsible for our costs getting our family back to the UK

On this particular point - no, in that they're obliged to offer you the choice between a refund or getting you to your destination, but not both.  The cynical view is of course that unsolicited refunds may be seen as discharging their responsibilities in the cheapest way....

jaybeetoo

If cancellations were caused by an air traffic control strike, that’s not the fault of the airline.  Have you tried to claim on your travel insurance?

drew32323232

It was not a strike - it was the mess that occurred when all flights were grounded in the UK - this is odd, because my understanding is that the airline is obliged to both refund us and to get us home? Otherwise, like you said, they could jsut go ahead and refund us and then leave us stranded? That does not seem right. 

jaybeetoo

But that’s what travel insurance is for.

bagand96

drew32323232 said:

It was not a strike - it was the mess that occurred when all flights were grounded in the UK - this is odd, because my understanding is that the airline is obliged to both refund us and to get us home? Otherwise, like you said, they could jsut go ahead and refund us and then leave us stranded? That does not seem right. 

Not quite correct.  Your rights when a flight is cancelled are:

Article 8

Right to reimbursement or re-routing

1. Where reference is made to this Article, passengers shall be offered the choice between:

(a) - reimbursement within seven days, by the means provided for in Article 7(3), of the full cost of the ticket at the price at which it was bought, for the part or parts of the journey not made, and for the part or parts already made if the flight is no longer serving any purpose in relation to the passenger's original travel plan, together with, when relevant,

- a return flight to the first point of departure, at the earliest opportunity;

(b) re-routing, under comparable transport conditions, to their final destination at the earliest opportunity; or

(c) re-routing, under comparable transport conditions, to their final destination at a later date at the passenger's convenience, subject to availability of seats.

So it's your choice of re-imbursement or rerouting.  You don't get both.  If easyJet refunded automatically then normally you'd claim the cost of the re-routing less the refund already received.

eskbanker

drew32323232 said:

It was not a strike - it was the mess that occurred when all flights were grounded in the UK - this is odd, because my understanding is that the airline is obliged to both refund us and to get us home?

Where did you get that understanding from?  It's at odds with the regulations and EasyJet's published (compliant) policy.

drew32323232 said:

Otherwise, like you said, they could jsut go ahead and refund us and then leave us stranded? That does not seem right. 

The airline's obligation (as quoted above) is to offer you the choice between refund or rebooking at their expense - in reality many will fail to come up with a plan B, especially at times of severe disruption, so it's sometimes possible to make reasonable alternative arrangements and to reclaim the extra cost, but that'll generally be dependent on being able to demonstrate that the airline was unresponsive (if you have call logs for six hours that should do the job) and that the flights selected were a reasonable option.  Spending a few days in Spain en route home from Austria might present some challenges on that front, although I'm not suggesting that you had a vast range to choose from....