Your travel rights when a natural disaster strikes

by John Fitzsimons on 16 April 2010  |  20 comments
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The Icelandic volcano is wreaking havoc for many travellers. John Fitzsimons looks at where you stand if it’s plagued your journey.

It might sound like the premise of a disaster movie, but an exploding volcano thousands of miles away really is playing havoc with the travel plans of thousands of Brits, with airports resembling a ghost town.

What’s going on, and where do you stand if you’re affected?

Planes on the ground

As a result of the volcanic ash clouds, flights have been grounded for the past couple of days, and this will continue into the weekend.

National Air Traffic Services (NATS), the air traffic controller, has extended its restriction on UK airspace until 1am Saturday morning, at the very least. However there is a decent chance that that restriction will be further extended, according to reports.

Despite this, a very small number of flights have been allowed, mainly short journeys (Belfast to Glasgow for example), though some longer flights from North America have been allowed. Things are clearly operating on a case by case basis.

As a result, if you were hoping to take a flight over the next couple of days, do not head for the airport before checking with the airline that the flight is likely to go ahead, or else you’ll just be wasting your time.

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The airlines’ position

So what are your rights?

Passengers are entitled to a refund or re-routing if the flight is cancelled or delayed by more than five hours, while the airline must fork out for the cost of transfers if re-routing is offered.

Smaller delays also entitle passengers to a range of rights, including meals and refreshments and hotel accommodation if necessary.

Travel-wise, it’s clear that the airlines are holding up their end of the bargain. A number of airlines are offering affected passengers a choice. They can either take a refund for their flight, or take a free transfer onto another flight once normal service resumes. Airlines offering this include British Airways, Virgin and easyJet, but there are plenty more with contingency plans in place so be sure to get in contact with your airline to find out your options.

The travel alternatives

If your journey is essential, then obviously it might not be good enough to wait a couple of days for the cloud to clear, in which case you will need to consider alternative modes of transport. Sadly plenty of people have already done that, which is why Eurostar has confirmed a complete sell-out of its trains to Paris and Brussels, the second straight day in which tickets have all gone.

If you don’t have a ticket already booked on the Eurostar then going by sea is your next best bet, but again you’ll have to act quickly to ensure you get a seat.

What about your insurance?

Of course the journey itself is only part of the issue. If you’ve booked a holiday away then additional costs such as hotels or rental cars also come into the equation.

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So what’s the travel insurance situation? A number of insurers have been quick to clarify their position, though there may just be a sting in the tail.

The Association of British Insurers, the trade body of insurance providers, has confirmed that volcanic eruptions are not always covered by travel insurance for cancellations and delays, so you’ll have to check your individual insurance policy to see whether you can expect a payout or not.

This could leave thousands of Brits seriously out of pocket, as the insurers will bracket volcanic explosions as an ‘Act of God’, and get around the need to payout the many affected customers.

Be sure to read your travel insurance documents very carefully to see where you stand, and whether your insurer has a way out of covering your costs. You’ll also want to be clear on the exact process for making a claim, as this can differ from insurer to insurer.

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Another area of concern comes from the explicit warning from the ABI that deciding that you no longer wish to travel will not be covered by your travel insurance. So if your flight goes ahead and you aren’t there, for whatever reason, you will end up out of pocket. This is why some travellers are camped out at airports despite the warnings, so make sure you keep up to date on the exact status of your flight.

Good luck!

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