An estimated 50,000 British travellers have woken up where they did not intend to be this morning after 350 flights to, from and within the UK were cancelled on Friday.
At least 45 more flights to, from and within the UK have been cancelled on Saturday as airlines struggle to recover operations – affecting upwards of 7,000 passengers.
So what are their options for getting where they need to be?
Put Friday into context?
Friday 19 July was expected to be the busiest for five years – with more planes departing from British airports than at any time since the pandemic.
On a day like that, you need everything to go smoothly – but the delays and cancellations began almost at once. Some airlines’ online check-in stopped working, while at many airports the departure screens went blank.
With everything reverting to the analogue age, delays quickly built up – and the complex choreography required to get everyone safely away on holiday unravelled.
The failure could not have come at a worse time – when there was virtually no slack in the system. In that sense it is like the August bank holiday failure at Nats. But unlike previous failures this was truly global.
Where were the worst effects?
Not, for once, in the UK. Amsterdam airport, one of the biggest hubs in Europe, had a terrible day – which is one reason many thousands of Brits are stranded, because they had connecting flights on KLM.
Its sister airline, Air France, had similar problems at its Paris hub. Eurowings, the budget subsidiary of the German airline Lufthansa, cancelled dozens of flights linking airports such as Birmingham, Manchester, Edinburgh and London Heathrow with various cities in Germany.
But amid the chaos and confusion, British Airways grounded more than 60 flights – mainly to and from London Heathrow, but also a dozen at London City. Lots of cancellations were made at the last minute.
Ryanair cancelled a total of 38 flights to and from London Stansted – which, with present booking loads, represents over 7,000 passengers.
There were some extreme delays too.
How are things looking on Saturday?
A mix of expected cancellations – for example British Airways flights from various points in Europe to London because the outbound plane didn’t go – and those where planes, pilots and cabin crew are out of position due to all the disruption on Friday.
In terms of places where there are large numbers of Brits trying to get home, I’d single out Amsterdam – with dozens of cancellations on Friday – and Naples, where easyJet and Wizz both cancelled flights and British Airways grounded two.
Cancellations on Saturday
Heathrow
British Airways to/from Mumbai, Houston, Washington DC, Brussels, Rome.
Lufthansa Munich
Virgin Atlantic New York
Aer Lingus Dublin
easyJet Geneva, Palma
British Airways Malaga
London City
British Airways Ibiza and Nice.
Luton
Wizz Air Bucharest
Manchester
Aer Lingus New York
Edinburgh
easyJet Geneva, Basel, Dubrovnik
KLM Amsterdam
United Chicago
What are passengers’ rights?
European air passengers’ rights rules specify that any airline cancelling a flight must provide stranded passengers with an alternative means of reaching their destination as soon as possible, plus a hotel and meals while they wait.
In practice, though, at times of severe disruption that simply say to passengers: you get on with it, and then claim back. As well as new flights, meals (not alcohol), accommodation and local transportation (not by stretched limo) should be refunded on production of receipts.
Will passengers be able to claim cash on top for all the disruption?
According to the airlines, no. easyJet came out quickly to tell cancelled passengers: “This is due to some IT system issues that are effecting multiple airports across Europe. This disruption is not isolated to easyJet and is affecting all airlines which is considered to be an extraordinary circumstance outside of our control.”
But I dare say a lawyer might argue otherwise, saying the choice of software providers certainly was within the airlines’ control. But I do not recommend you enter into a long legal battle. Your travel insurance may possibly provide a token payment for the delay.
How much has this cost the airlines?
Millions. The costs of hotels and alternative flights are one thing – but many people will have abandoned their journeys and claimed a refund of fares than are as expensive as they ever get – that’s revenue they will have to hand back.
Are we likely to see more disruption through the summer?
Hopefully only “disruption as usual” – the mix of bad weather, air-traffic control delays and technical issues that characterise every busy day.
Meanwhile, there are warnings of long delays at Dover. Are these related to the problems with IT?
No. The ferry firm DFDS is reporting waits of two and a half hours at Dover to get through border control and check-in. This is down to the volume of traffic, rather than yesterday’s IT issues. P&O is also warning of long queues on the roads leading to the Port.
Long waits for French frontier controls are now customary for the third weekend of July. Passport checks now mean that the Port of Dover is warning of waits of up to two hours just to go through border control. But the very strong advice to motorists heading for Dover is:
- Don’t turn up any more than two hours ahead of departure.
- If you are delayed more than that, you will be put on the next available sailing.
- Ignore your SatNav if it suggests a cut-through – only stick to the established A2 and A20 routes.