Claiming consequential losses from tour operator for cancelled flight

smoo118

On 12th August, 2026, our return flight home from Catania Airport, Sicily was cancelled by Easyjet due to Mount Etna erupting. We were informed of this just before 3pm, as we waited in our hotel for our taxi to the airport.  We had booked our holiday through Lastminute.com and as they do not have a contact phone number, we used the online chat to contact them, to arrange an alternative flight home as soon as possible, as we had our children with us and one of them has anxiety. Lastminute.com told us is it could take up to 3 days to receive an answer from their support team. They also told us we could go direct to Easyjet to arrange an alternative flight.
Because our flight was cancelled, and just 3 hours before departure, we were effectively then stranded in Sicily, with no offer of help from Lastminute.com, so we had to arrange accommodation and onward transport ourselves.
In the case of taxi transport and hotel, we managed to secure discounts or sourced multiple quotes to ensure we were getting the best deal possible.  We had to pay for a hotel overnight and an additional meal, along with transport to the other airport and we lost our original pre-paid taxi transfer money too, so incurring unforeseen costs of approx £900 overall.
The day after we returned home, 14 August, Lastminute.com emailed to say that as we contacted the airline directly, which is what they advised us to do, we must reach out to Easyjet for any further help. Easyjet's website says that we cannot claim anything because the volcanic eruption is out of their control.

We have raised a chargeback dispute via our credit card, but Lastminute.com are not playing ball. I'm looking for advice on where to go from here, if anyone can help, please? Thanks in advance.

Woodstok2000

Easyjet do not need to pay you compensation under Uk271, but they are responsible for any reasonable costs you incurred while waiting for your return flight. This includes accommodation, reasonable food, drinks, and transport.

They are not responsible for consequential losses - that would be for your insurance company.

smoo118

Thank you for your comment. I understood that we couldn't claim anything from Easyjet because the circumstances were outside of their control. Is that not correct?

saajan_12

There are two separate avenues for claims.

(1) Reimbursement of costs to get you to your destination airport.
Eg alternative flights, transfers, basic food, accommodation. This is claimable provided you asked for a rerouting and at no point ask for a refund, and gave the provider sufficient time to arrange this before taking matters into your own hands. The reason for the cancellation doesn't matter.

(2) Compensation for arriving back late
Often called EU 261 compo, this is only if the cancellation was in the airline's control, which a volcanic eruption wouldn't be.

(3) Concequential losses after you arrive eg lost wages, taxis home, etc are generally not claimable ever.

The reason only matters for (2) so you should go back to both Lastminute and Easyjet making it clear you only want (1),

smoo118

Thank you so much for your help.

jimi_man

And Lastminute aren’t responsible for any costs - this is purely down to EasyJet. Also offten people get confused and claim for compensation rather than an expense claim, and consequently it gets refused, so make sure you do the right one with EZY.

NoodleDoodleMan

We had compensation from EasyJet in 2024 under EU261 rules after a cancelled flight.

Likewise reimbursement of expenses using a separate claim procedure - itemised receipts are required for obvious reasons.

Good luck with your claim.

eskbanker

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82176514#Comment_82176514

I'd argue that OP has the right to claim from either the airline or the package provider, which has obligations in this situation under regulation 15 of the Package Travel Regulations…

https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2018/634/regulation/15

jimi_man

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82176878#Comment_82176878

In practice LMDC will just tell you to go to EJ and tbh, people should do this as a matter of course, otherwise you're just wasting time with pointless admin by submitting a claim to LMDC. The operating airline is legally responsible for the duty of care costs under EU (UK) 261 and that's who the claim needs to be made with.

eskbanker

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82177591#Comment_82177591

Yes, no dispute that the operating airline has responsibilities under EU/UK 261 but my point was that the package organiser also has responsibilities under the PTRs for rectifying non-conformances, such as arranging or funding alternative flights, accommodation, etc, if the traveller chooses to pursue them instead (in the absence of a compensation claim), although double-dipping wouldn't be appropriate.

Not disagreeing with the airline being the more obvious claim route either but was just challenging the assertion that "Lastminute aren’t responsible for any costs - this is purely down to EasyJet", in that either could be held liable...