Travel chaos could well be in the works as airline employees cook up plans to go on strike during the peak summer holiday season.
The Independent’s travel correspondent Simon Calder was on hand to answer questions on Thursday during his weekly ‘Ask Me Anything’.
Flights, Brexit, vaccines and cruises were just some of the topics that came up when readers asked questions during an hour-long session.
Here are 18 questions asked by readers and answered by Simon.
Flight cancellations
Q: Regarding the flights that were cancelled this morning at Heathrow: Any idea if there is a risk of this happening again over the next week? And if so, would it be likely the same flights or is there just no way of knowing?
A: I think it is very likely that ad hoc cancellation instructions will be imposed on some other days this year. But while early flights to Amsterdam, Frankfurt, Paris and Dublin are prime candidates, I would book any of them on the grounds that it is almost certain to go ahead – and that there will be many other options if for some reason they are selected for grounding.
Q: I was caught up in BA’s IT error in March, trying to fly from LHR to Geneva. My initial flight was cancelled and then rebooked for the next day on BA. At the airport, I booked a flight to Lyon, which got cancelled 30 minutes before it was due to take off. Overnight I was told the rescheduled flight was cancelled and not given an alternative booking. I bought a ticket on Swiss Air, but BA are refusing to refund me for the price of the ticket. I have used their complaint system, they have given me a final decision to not give a refund. What shall I do? Go to the airline dispute authority?
A: In your case, write a letter before action, and follow it up with money claim online if necessary.
Q: Is there a minimum notice that needs to be given for cancellations or could I still find out when I get to the airport? Bristol and easyJet particularly.
A: Everyone loathes last minute cancellations, but sadly they are a feature of life and may well continue. The idea of wholesale advance cancellations is to minimise the number of “at the gate” groundings.
Q: If airlines and holiday companies are still selling seats and holidays for August does that mean that they will be definitely going ahead?
A: In travel, there are never any absolute certainties. However I would happily book any available airline seat or package holiday for August, knowing that I have excellent consumer protection on my side….
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