‘I was forced to abandon a case of expensive wine at Palermo airport'

Times

20 hours ago

✉ I booked a flight with Volotea from Palermo in Sicily to Tarbes in France last month and paid for an extra 25kg piece of luggage. It was a sturdy cardboard box, well packed and secured, holding 12 bottles of wine, worth about £380, for personal consumption. It weighed about 18kg and I've checked in similar items with other airlines many times over the years.
At check-in the box was refused after I told them what it was. Apparently this was because I'd exceeded my personal allowance; because it wasn't in a suitcase; and because it was inflammable liquid. This legal item was refused on spurious grounds and I had to leave what was an expensive case of wine in Palermo airport. I've had no apology or offer of compensation. What further steps can I take to bring Volotea to account?Peter Harvey
What a shame you had to abandon a case of delicious Sicilian wine in Palermo. Unfortunately it will be tricky to get compensation for your loss. Volotea insisted you'd exceeded your personal alcohol allowance, which was five litres, but this was irrelevant because the rule applies to drinks with between 24 and 70 per cent ABV and you only had wine, which is about 12 per cent. It added, however, that the decision was also made in line with safety regulations. 'The item was transported in a cardboard box rather than a suitcase, raising additional concerns about packaging and suitability, as items may be refused if their weight, shape, or nature is deemed unsuitable for transport under the applicable guidelines.' It will not offer any compensation and gave no clue about what happened to the wine. If you want to take your case further you could try the UK International Consumer Centre, which aims to resolve disputes with companies outside the UK (ukecc.net). Next time you might be safer using a suitcase and a roll of bubble wrap to transport precious bottles.
✉ I have nostalgic memories of childhood holidays in Switzerland and Austria, in Heidi countryside, with a stream, meadows and the sound of cowbells along the road each morning. I'd like to arrange a week's holiday in a similar place, with a friend or family member, and am looking for a good traditional-style hotel with a pool or spa, with easy access from London by plane or train. Any ideas?Viv Lowe
Hotel Meisser in Guarda in Switzerland's Engadine Valley could have stepped straight out of Heidi, such is its fairytale setting. Tucked away in the Swiss Alps and surrounded by meadows, this deeply traditional family-run hotel is housed in beautifully preserved 17th-century Engadine buildings decorated with pastel murals and has classic stone pine panelled interiors. There's great walking from the door but if you prefer to stay put, there's a gym, yoga house and sauna, or you can drink in the magical views from one of the loungers in the garden. Half-board doubles start from £286 this month (hotel-meisser.ch). Fly to Zurich and then take the train to Guarda (there are two changes) and the post bus up to the village.
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✉ We're looking for a change from the UK norm this Christmas and are keen for a relaxing ten-night long-haul break for a family of four, including two children aged 11 and 12. We'd love an all-inclusive hotel, direct flights from London and the opportunity to take them snorkelling, ideally from the beach at the hotel. Our budget is up to £12,000. Any suggestions?Kate Voss
It's only June but Christmas long-haul trips are selling out and trying to tick all your boxes is already difficult. Mauritius, the Seychelles and Mexico are too expensive but a trip to the Caribbean is doable and if you stay at Dreams Dominicus La Romana in Bayahibe in the Dominican Republic you'll have snorkelling from the beach on a man-made reef directly in front of the resort (you can also snorkel along the right side of the resort's beach, near a jetty and more reefs). An 11-night all-inclusive holiday with flights from Gatwick on December 23 starts at £12,018 if you all share a deluxe tropical view room (tropicalsky.co.uk).
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✉ As an expat Australian with thyroid problems I really suffer in London winters and would like to spend January in a warm climate, not too far from the UK. I want to fly from Gatwick and be within walking distance of a beach and places to eat and shop. I love art and history. I only need one bedroom and have a good budget. Can you recommend anywhere?Allison Holmes
If you're looking for the perfect quick escape from a gloomy London winter, make sunny Malaga your base. It's an easy trip from Gatwick, has a beach within walking distance of the city centre and some of the best museums and galleries in Andalusia, including the Museo Picasso (the artist was born here) and an outpost of the Pompidou Centre in Paris. For history buffs, the Malaga Museum, with its fantastic archaeology section, is a must-do and once you've worked through the city's cultural offerings, Cordoba and Granada are an easy train ride away. Best of all, temperatures often creep into the 20s in January. There are plenty of centrally located one-bedroom apartments starting at about £1,200 a month (airbnb.co.uk).
✉ My husband and I were caught up in the power outage in Spain on April 28 when we were due to board the 9.15pm British Airways flight from Madrid to Heathrow. With no electricity in the whole of the city, no phone signal at all and no feasible way to get to the airport, we had no way of contacting or being contacted by BA to ascertain whether the flight was still going ahead.
When the electricity came back on at about 9pm, we got a notification from BA that our flight was going ahead with a short delay. It was still impossible to get to the airport, so with phone lines working again, we desperately tried to get hold of BA but to no avail. We had to get back so we booked the last two BA seats we could find the next day, costing £1,257.60 (£628.80 each), as well as another night in our hotel, which cost £464. I put in a claim but BA phoned me to say that because the original flight took off, the airline was unable to provide any reimbursement. Am I in the wrong for expecting some sort of recompense? We were forced to book those flights because in the chaos that day, BA was unavailable for passenger assistance.Venus Simbulan
BA really does need to sort out its communication and advice to passengers during critical incidents (I've also heard from a reader who tried his best to get into Heathrow Terminal 5 when it was shut on the day of the power outage there in March because the BA app insisted his flight was still going ahead). There was obviously no way you could get to the airport and BA should have followed the example of easyJet, which quickly announced that it was offering free transfers to other flights for passengers unable to travel. After I sent BA details of your case, one of its customer service team got in touch to offer a full refund of your replacement flight and hotel stay as a gesture of goodwill.
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