Compensation ‘unlikely' for passengers caught in flight chaos
The UK's airspace was closed for over an hour on Wednesday after an air traffic control issue affected the London area, grounding flights across the country.
However, consumer group Which? said the issue would be classified as 'extraordinary circumstance' that was out of airlines' control, making compensation claims unlikely to succeed.
Cirium, an aviation data company, calculated that more than 3,000 planes were scheduled to depart UK airports that day and a similar number were due to arrive, with a combined total of more than 1.1 million seats.
The issue, which came at the start of the school holiday season, was understood to be caused by 'technical issues' as a result of 'radar failure'.
It was expected to cause lengthy delays, with some London passengers facing a wait of more than three hours to take-off.
Naomi Leach, of Which? Travel, said while they were entitled to some benefits, compensation was unlikely.
She said: 'If your flight is cancelled or delayed, you're unlikely to be owed compensation by the airline as the technical issue is considered an 'extraordinary circumstance' and out of the airline's control.
'However, you do have a right to food or a hotel stay depending on the length of the delay, but be sure you keep the receipts as you will need to claim this back from the airline.
'If you are due to travel today or tomorrow, check the advice from your airport or tour operator, or airline apps and airport social media feeds, for the most up-to-date advice.'
On its website, the Citizens Advice Bureau also said that passengers were unlikely to get compensation if a delay was outside an airline's control, such as through bad weather or security risks.
Thomas Cook advised passengers to contact their airline for guidance.
A National Air Traffic Service spokesman said: 'Our engineers have now restored the system that was affected this afternoon. We are in the process of resuming normal operations in the London area.
'We continue to work closely with airline and airport customers to minimise disruption. We apologise for any inconvenience this has caused.'
A similar air traffic control issue grounded flights at UK airports in the summer of 2023. More than 700,000 passengers were stranded when flights were grounded following a technical glitch, with the cost to airlines, airports and passengers and others estimated to be around the £100m mark.
Reacting to the latest incident, the chief executive of one major airline called for the resignation of National Air Traffic Service chief executive Martin Rolfe.
Neal McMahon, of Ryanair, said: 'It is outrageous that passengers are once again being hit with delays and disruption due to Martin Rolfe's continued mismanagement.'
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