Cancel culture: What are your rights when a flight is axed?

Simon Calder’s Travel Week [View in browser]( [The Independent]( March 04, 2022 [The Independent]( Whether a flight is cancelled because of IT failure or international conflict, what passengers can expect is clear. But not every airline spells out its obligations as it should. Off the map: Odessa, targeted by Russia in Vladimir Putin's war on Ukraine (Tony Wheeler) Reports of the demise of the fine art of letter-writing are premature. British Airways, which [suffered another massive systems failure]( last weekend, crafted a letter of apology for the tens of thousands of passengers whose travel plans to or from London Heathrow were wrecked. “Regrettably we’ve had to cancel your flight today owing to significant technical challenges which are affecting multiple British Airways systems,” it began. “We don’t underestimate the inconvenience this will cause you so we’d like to do all we can to try and help.” Under [European air passengers’ rights rules](, BA’s stated wish to assist chimes conveniently with its legal responsibilities. Any airline that cancels a flight must get stranded travellers to their destinations as soon as possible, if necessary on another carrier. If the cancellation is at short notice and the airline’s fault, hundreds of pounds in cash compensation is also due. British Airways itself describes the mass cancellations triggered by the systems failure as “an unforgiveable situation … we have put you in”. Yet in the course of its 458-word missive to messed-around passengers, [British Airways unaccountably fails to mention rebooking on another airline or the cash payout]( – even though another key requirement during disruption is to inform travellers of their legal rights. I asked the Civil Aviation Authority for its view on the BA missive. The regulator promptly wrote back to confirm that passengers who have seen their flights cancelled are entitled to “alternate travel arrangements under comparable conditions at the earliest opportunity which includes flights on other airlines”. The CAA adds: “We also expect airlines to proactively provide passengers with [information about their rights when flights are cancelled](.” When I shared the authority's letter with British Airways, the response was concise: “We always meet our obligations under the law. Where a customer's flight is cancelled, we always offer options including a full refund or to rebook onto another service.” The letter I received on Wednesday from Ryanair was more impressive. It brought the predictable news that the airline’s planned maiden flight from London Stansted to the fine Ukrainian city of Odessa later this month has been cancelled, as Vladimir Putin wages murderous war on Russia’s southern neighbour. There is no prospect of travel to Ukraine this month, though the budget airline has pledged to return as soon as possible to the country. Even so, it spelt out its obligations clearly: “You are entitled to be re-routed to your final destination. “If a suitable Ryanair flight is not available, our customer service team can assist you with other re-routing options, such as flight(s) from/to alternative departure/arrival airports or on an alternative airline, train, bus, or car hire.” Strange times indeed, when an oft-criticised budget airline is crystal clear about passengers’ rights while our national carrier is not. Top travel headlines [Ukraine flights might not resume until 'next winter']( Flights to and from Ukraine might not be able to restart until “next winter”, Michael O’Leary has predicted, following the Russian invasion. The Ryanair CEO pledged to be “the first airline to return” to the country, but warned the process could be slow. [I'm an image]( [Russian plane operates eight-hour flight to nowhere]( An Aeroflot flight was forced to turn back to Moscow after four hours in the air when Canada banned Russian planes from its airspace in response to the invasion of Ukraine. The New York-bound commercial flight flew more than a third of the journey before returning to base. [I'm an image]( [Tube strikes brings London to a standstill]( Two 24-hour Tube strikes have brought the capital to a grinding halt this week. The walkouts on 1 and 3 March affected the entire London Underground network, with services also disrupted on the mornings following the industrial action; at 7am on Friday 4 March, most Tube lines remain suspended. Tip of the week: split those train tickets Tackle this week’s rise in rail fares – [the sharpest annual increase for nine years]( – by exploiting the opportunities to cut the cost of train tickets. “[Splitting tickets](” takes advantage of the many anomalies in rail pricing by using two (or more) tickets for one continuous journey. There is no need to leave the train at the intermediate point, though the service must actually stop there. Apps such as The Trainline search out savings automatically; or you can use one of several websites; or just ask other travellers on your line, for example about the “Didcot Dodge” that cuts the Anytime fare from Bristol to London by better than 40 per cent. Deal of the week: the mini-cruise is back A tangible sign of returning normality: the mini-cruise from Newcastle to Amsterdam is back. The DFDS route has been operating throughout the coronavirus pandemic, but travel restrictions in the UK and the Netherlands have made it impossible for leisure passengers to avail of the chance to sail across the North Sea for the day. Passengers sail overnight from the Tyne to the port of Ijmuiden, close to the Dutch capital, and take a coach connection to the city. You have five hours to explore, before the bus back to the port and the overnight crossing to Newcastle. The price starts at £74 per person, including a berth in a cabin. Since Brexit, duty-free on-board sales are allowed. Travel voucher of the week [Claim an extra £100 off when you spend £750 on First Choice holidays in January and February]( Question of the week What are my rights if Ukraine conflict affects my trip? Q I am due to pay Jet2 Holidays for a package to Portugal in May. If war prevents us from travelling would Jet2 return my money in full? A The short answer is, yes: if Jet2 cannot provide the trip that you have booked, then it must hand all your money back within two weeks of the cancellation being advised. Throughout the coronavirus pandemic the firm has provided refunds in a commendably swift and efficient manner. In the unlikely event that the company should fail, you would receive a full refund under the Atol scheme. The longer answer is that I can scarcely envisage any circumstances in which the Russian invasion of Ukraine would affect your planned holiday. Vladimir Putin’s vicious attack is a calamity for the Ukrainian people and an outrage to humanity. But geographically the appalling conflict is currently confined to a corner of southeast Europe, around 2,000 miles from the Algarve. Stat of the week 48 The [loss per second, in pounds, of the Lufthansa Group]( during 2021. But Carsten Spohr, chief executive of the parent company that owns Austrian, Swiss and Brussels Airlines as well as the German national carrier, said he was “very certain that air traffic will experience a strong upswing this year”. What you might have missed - Jet2 becomes the first UK airline to drop the mask mandate. [But passengers from Scottish airports must still wear a face covering]([.]( - Cruise lines halt all Russia stops in response to Ukraine invasion. [St Petersburg has long been a popular Baltic port.]( - Russian private jet departures plummet by 25%. [Wealthy citizens are believed to own a total of around 400 business aircraft.]( Simon’s diary Every day from Monday to Friday I tackle a top travel story, or explore a topic in more detail than usual in ‘Simon Calder's Independent Travel Podcast’ – available free on [Spotify](, [Apple Podcasts](, [Pocket Casts]( or [Acast](. I find the easiest way to rush out stories is to tweet them. It’s also an easy way to contact me. 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