Terror alert update: ABTA updates member advice
ABTA has updated its advice to members about how to deal with flight delays and cancellations.
In cases of delays, it says:
– clients have the right to receive refreshments and phone calls where a flight is delayed by two hours (in the case of short haul flights) or four hours (in the case of long haul flights).
– if a delay goes over five hours clients are entitled to a refund of the ticket price.
When flights are cancelled, ABTA says:
– clients have the right to a refund of the ticket price or re-routing.
– additional compensation is unlikely to be due as the Regulations contain an exemption for extraordinary circumstances which could not have been avoided even if all reasonable measures had been taken.
For package holidays:
– the responsibility for rearranging the clients’ outbound and return flights rests with the tour operator. The tour operator’s booking conditions will apply.
– where the rearranged outbound flight constitutes a significant change to the client’s holiday, or where the outbound flight cannot be rearranged, the client is entitled to either an alternative holiday with the requisite price alteration or to cancel the holiday and receive a full refund of the holiday cost.
– as the reason for the change is unusual and unforeseeable circumstances outside the control of the tour operator, the client is not entitled to further compensation.
– where the rearranged outbound flight does not constitute a significant change to the client’s holiday, the holiday will continue as booked and the above options do not need to be offered. Again no compensation will be payable.
For more information, go to www.abta.com/airportdisruption.shtml.
Bev Fearis
Bev
Editor in chief Bev Fearis has been a travel journalist for 25 years. She started her career at Travel Weekly, where she became deputy news editor, before joining Business Traveller as deputy editor and launching the magazine’s website. She has also written travel features, news and expert comment for the Guardian, Observer, Times, Telegraph, Boundless and other consumer titles and was named one of the top 50 UK travel journalists by the Press Gazette.
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