More specifically EU 261 flight delay compensation.
Had a recent short European trip where the return flight was cancelled (late at night), apparently due to a 'bit of snow' at Gatwick.
Having gone through the frustration of the 'helpline', we managed to get a free hotel/meals, and this was extended as the earliest we could re-book to fly back was three days later.
No problem there, but between us we lost 6 working days - so the statutory €500 would cover a bit of the loss.
However the airline are claiming that as it was 'weather related', EU 261 doesn't count. However not only was Gatwick not closed, but other planes were flying in and out.
And an interesting conversation with the supervisor at the airport car park (who waived the extra fees without question), revealed that airlines often blame the weather when they are having 'operational issues'. Such as (in what we suspect is our case), that they couldn't get the plane turned around before the local night time curfew, and simply cancelled the flight in both directions.
But how to prove this?
So if anyone here has any experience of the process (especially successfully!), any advice would be appreciated.
Had a recent short European trip where the return flight was cancelled (late at night), apparently due to a 'bit of snow' at Gatwick.
Having gone through the frustration of the 'helpline', we managed to get a free hotel/meals, and this was extended as the earliest we could re-book to fly back was three days later.
No problem there, but between us we lost 6 working days - so the statutory €500 would cover a bit of the loss.
However the airline are claiming that as it was 'weather related', EU 261 doesn't count. However not only was Gatwick not closed, but other planes were flying in and out.
And an interesting conversation with the supervisor at the airport car park (who waived the extra fees without question), revealed that airlines often blame the weather when they are having 'operational issues'. Such as (in what we suspect is our case), that they couldn't get the plane turned around before the local night time curfew, and simply cancelled the flight in both directions.
But how to prove this?
So if anyone here has any experience of the process (especially successfully!), any advice would be appreciated.
