21-03-2025
Heathrow passengers unlikely to be compensated by airlines after airport shutdown
Up to 130,000 airline passengers may not receive compensation for flight cancellations after the Heathrow Airport shutdown, experts have warned.
Following a fire at an electrical substation supplying the airport on Friday morning, more than 1,350 flights were cancelled.
Disruption is expected to continue into the weekend and potentially into next week.
Experts have now warned that passengers will receive refunds but compensation will not be paid out.
Julia Lo Bue-Said, chief executive of business trade association Advantage Travel Partnership, said that legally, airlines must refund their passengers for Friday's cancellations.
'If their flight has been cancelled and they're not able to get on a flight they would be entitled to EU 261 compensation,' said Ms Bue-Said, referring to a European Union rule about flight refunds.
EU261, which is known in Britain as UK261, states if your flight is cancelled for any reason, the airline must offer you either a full refund or a flight on the next available alternative, even if it is with a rival airline.
'The reality on a day like today is that flights are busy, and they may be busy for the next few days,' Ms Bue-Said continued.
'An airline may just not be able to provide alternative flights as quickly as they would ordinarily be able to.'
She added: 'If somebody's booked a flight, they may be able to get their refund back on a flight – but did they book their accommodation separately… [if so] they may not be entitled to a refund.'
Aviation expert John Strickland said there will have been a rush of passengers looking for alternative flights to and from the UK.
'Ordinarily, on a Friday, going to weekend flights would be pretty busy, so finding seats elsewhere will be to an extent like finding a needle in a haystack,' he said.
'Flights on a Friday or Saturday to 'weekend-type' destinations – be that city breaks, or going home through a weekend, visiting friends and family, or whatever would be – those destinations will be busy.
'And also on short-haul aircraft if there's less flights operating, say, to business destinations that's probably tied in with aircraft maintenance.
'There could be a little bit of spare capacity,' he concluded, adding that this was not likely to amount to much.
Ryanair has laid on four extra flights from Stansted to Dublin on Friday and Saturday, while easyJet is using bigger aeroplanes on its normal UK-EU routes.
The situation on compensation and refunds may be less clear-cut for transit passengers – those passing through Heathrow whose ultimate destination is elsewhere in the world.
About a quarter of passengers at Heathrow on a typical day are transit passengers, Ms Bue-Said said, estimating that the knock-on effects of Friday's total cancellations would be 'colossal'.
Dozens of airlines will have to rush to reconfigure their networks to move planes and crews around.
'The other question is, what will airlines do to deal with the backlog of passengers?', said travel industry analyst Henry Harteveldt, of Atmosphere Research Group. 'It's going to be a chaotic couple of days.'
The Association of British Insurers said that some travel insurance policies would probably pay out over Friday's disruption 'either automatically or as an optional extra'.
'Disruption cover usually operates only if you have been unable to get compensation from any other sources first, such as the airline or tour operator,' a spokesman said.
Contacting those unable to travel
The Association of British Travel Agents, representing package holiday operators, said that its members would be contacting those who are unable to travel on their booked trips.
'If your flight is part of a package holiday you will have the highest level of protections. Your travel company will be in touch regarding your holiday.'
Aviation expert John Strickland suggested that airlines would be facing significant costs, potentially leading to court action.
'I'm sure lawyers will get involved in where the accountability lies, and therefore where financial responsibility lies.
'The challenge, particularly that I see, is that airlines so often are the ones who get left with the demand to pay out when quite often it's not their fault in any way, and that's certainly the case.'
He added: 'Airlines will be paying large amounts or incurring large amounts of cost anyway, just to get their aircraft back. In the meantime, they're putting up passengers in hotels and providing meals and so on.'
The Telegraph has published a comprehensive reader guide to flight delays and cancellations, including passenger rights to refunds and when compensation may be due.
