What are my rights if wintry UK weather has disrupted my travel?

Posted by Admin January 6, 2025 Travel

My flight was cancelled. What should I get?

If your flight has been delayed or cancelled as a result of bad weather, your airline has some obligations to you. The Civil Aviation Authority says that if there is a “lengthy delay”, airlines should “look after their passengers, including providing food and drink, and accommodation if overnight”.

If your flight is cancelled, you should be offered a refund or alternative travel arrangements. If your airline fails to do this, you can make your own arrangements and reclaim your costs – you should keep receipts and not spend more than is necessary. Your airline may have rules around what it will pay for. British Airways, for example, says it will not cover the cost of travel to a different departure airport from the one you had booked to use.

Your airline is unlikely to pay compensation on top of the refund/reimbursement of your travel costs, as the bad weather can be considered out of its control.

For accommodation, the Association of British Insurers (ABI) says you should first speak to the accommodation provider, but your travel insurance may cover non-refundable costs.

Any insurance cover you do have will have a financial limit, and maybe an excess, so you may not be able to recover all of your costs.

Flights that are part of a package deal are covered by the same compensation rules, and you have additional rights around the rest of your trip. Abta, the travel industry trade association, says that if your package holiday is cancelled or rearranged in a way that results in a “significant change” to your holiday, the operator must offer an alternative holiday if it can, or a full refund. “Generally, a change of more than 12 hours on a 14-night holiday is considered a significant change,” says Abta.

I missed my connecting flight. Can I get a refund?

If you are supposed to be making a connection – flying from Manchester to Heathrow, then on to the US, for example – and booked through one operator, you will be able to get a refund of both flights, even if the second one takes off. For passengers who do the first leg of the journey and then encounter a cancellation, the airline must offer them a return if they are unable to arrange a new connection.

However, the rules are different if you booked the two flights separately. If the second one goes ahead as planned without you on it, you will not get that money back. If it is cancelled when you arrive, your first airline is not obliged to fly you back home.

I missed my flight due to a delay on the way to the airport. What am I entitled to?

Your airline is not obliged to help you if you do not get to the airport in time.

Your travel insurance may pay out if you were caught out by a cancelled train, or if snow prevents you from driving there. You will need travel disruption cover as part of your policy, and there will be limits to look out for.

My train has been cancelled. Will I be compensated?

For your train journey, yes. If you cannot get the next service, you will be entitled to a full refund.

Lots of train companies are signed up to the Delay Repay scheme, and will offer you compensation if your train is delayed by 15 minutes or more.

They have different levels of compensation and will sometimes consider claims for refunds for alternative travel. For example, Southeastern says that if you end up in a taxi because a train is cancelled, a claim would be “reviewed on its own merit”.

You won’t be able to claim compensation for any missed events, flights or accommodation.