When will BA take London City airport more seriously?
Q I love using London City airport. But when will British Airways start taking it seriously, rather than closing early on Saturdays?
Kristen C
A London City airport is a favourite for many people who live in the eastern half of the capital. Unlike the vast airports of Heathrow and Gatwick, and the high-density hustle of Luton and Stansted, London City remains an orderly location and a joy to use. But that's partly because it is still well short of its pre-Covid passenger numbers. Business travel to the destinations served by London City has not returned to 2019 levels, and the transatlantic link to New York (outbound via Shannon) is history.
British Airways has a subsidiary, BA CityFlyer, which now offers a wide range of leisure routes from London City. These include niche destinations such as Florence and San Sebastian rather than the much larger airports of Pisa and Bilbao, respectively. The Balearic Islands are also well served, along with Malaga and Faro in the deep south of Europe.
However, 'LCY', as it is coded, has a most unusual noise curfew: not just familiar restrictions on early morning and late evening flights, but an entire spell of 24 hours. The last departure on a Saturday takes off at 12.30pm, and the airport remains silent until the first arrival on a Sunday at the same time. A ban on flights in the middle of the weekend was enshrined in law when the Docklands airport opened in 1987.
Faced with the post-Covid commercial reality, London City applied two years ago for permission to extend Saturday hours to 6.30pm. This would typically allow each aircraft to fly one more return trip, and would increase the appeal of the airport to both airlines and airports. However, the local authority, Newham Council, rejected the application – a decision endorsed by the transport secretary, Heidi Alexander, in order not to reduce the respite for local residents.
British Airways would love to fly for longer to and from London City but that is not likely to happen until aircraft are much quieter.
Q My flight home was 21 hours late. The initial reason was a bird strike. The airline sent a replacement plane from the UK but then the homeward flight was delayed due to crewing hours. Can I claim compensation?
Richard E
A The presumption of air passengers' rights rules is that compensation is due to heavily delayed passengers. But airlines need not pay out if the cause of a delay or cancellation is an 'extraordinary circumstance'. In 2013 an aircraft flying from Bourgas in Bulgaria to Brno in the Czech Republic hit a bird. A thorough check needed to be made on landing. While no damage was found, the subsequent couple of flights by the same aircraft were delayed by over five hours. Two passengers on a later flight claimed €250 each from the airline. But four years and many legal steps later, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) concluded that 'a collision between an aircraft and a bird is an extraordinary circumstance'.
Because the UK follows EU law, this means British airlines can rebuff claims arising from bird strikes. In your incident, however, the long delay had more than one cause – as is often the case. That same 2017 ECJ judgment also says: 'Any delay caused by an extraordinary circumstance needs to be deducted from an overall delay in arrival in order to assess whether compensation must be paid.' In other words, the airline is obliged to demonstrate what part of the 21-hour delay was down to the bird strike. Sending a fresh plane out is a commendable course of action in order to bring passengers home. But unless other 'extraordinary circumstances' such as bad weather or air-traffic control problems intervened to delay the operation and push the crew 'out of hours', the airline's management of the situation may be responsible.
It is down to the airline to show why it should not pay out. So put in a claim and, if the bird strike is cited as a reason to withhold compensation, ask for a breakdown of the delay. If necessary, go to Alternative Dispute Resolution (each UK airline must use this service) and file a claim; you can do this free of charge.
Finally, I hope the airline provided accommodation and meals during your protracted wait, as it is required to do regardless of the cause of a delay.
Q I've seen some concerning reports online about passengers being forced to pay extra to take carry-on luggage on budget airlines. I'm flying to France in the summer on easyJet. What exactly am I allowed to take on board for free, and are children allowed the same amount?
Paul B
A Airline baggage allowances have progressively shrunk over the past two decades. As a result, many passengers have found themselves penalised for breaching the rules on carry-on luggage.
In February I was correctly charged A$75 (£37) by Virgin Australia ground staff in Melbourne for bringing along too big a bag for a domestic flight to Hobart. And on virtually every budget flight I take in Europe, at least one fellow passenger is challenged at the boarding gate over the size and/or quantity of their cabin baggage. They have little choice but to pay a substantial sum for the offending item to be placed in the hold.
I think you may be referring in particular to a social media post involving a passenger who filmed a bag seemingly fitting successfully into the gauge at the boarding gate, with a heated commentary about apparently having to pay for a compliant piece of luggage. I have not been able to establish the full context; for example, might there have been a second bag that gave rise to a problem?
Suffice it to say, if you have a single bag meeting the easyJet maximum dimensions of 45 x 36 x 20cm, you should be able to carry it on board for free. This represents a limit of 32 litres, which I find quite enough for a short break. Children aged two or over get the same allowance.
Each airline makes its own rules on the length, breadth and width of cabin baggage. After surveying 10 European carriers, I found that a bag cannot be larger than 33 x 25 x 15cm to comply with the restrictions for every single airline. The European Union believes this inconsistency is unfair on consumers. I am expecting standardisation across EU and UK airlines soon – they will probably settle on something close to the easyJet limits.
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