Beautiful Virgin Islands

Wednesday, Oct 08, 2025

Flight cancellations: what are your rights, from refunds to missed work?

Flight cancellations: what are your rights, from refunds to missed work?

Your rights if you are one of the thousands of people caught up in recent travel chaos

Thousands of Britons are stuck abroad after about 200 flights were cancelled over the weekend, including 80 by easyJet on Sunday. But what are your rights if you are one of those affected?

What if I have to stay the night?


If your return journey is cancelled you should contact the airline to find the next available flight. You have the right to choose between being refunded or rerouted on a new flight, either with the same airline or a different carrier.

The airline is supposed to give you the chance to fly home on the same day, but if the departure is on a later date the carrier should help you find accommodation and cover the cost. It should also pay for expenses such as food, drinks and hotel transfers.

Am I entitled to any other compensation?


You can claim compensation if the flight was cancelled fewer than 14 days before departure. How much depends on the type of flight, on whether you take a refund or have the airline arrange a return trip, and on how much later your new departure and arrival are than your original plan.

You can get up to £220 for flights of less than 1,500km, up to £350 for journeys between 1,500km and 3,500km and a maximum of £520 for long-haul flights above 3,500km, according to Citizens Advice. Contact your airline for the full rules and to make a claim.

Jan-Frederik Arnold, the chief executive of Flightright, said: “You are entitled to compensation independently of the refund and hotel and dinner and so on. Airlines sometimes try to only accept one or the other because consumers don’t know their rights.”

If you are forced to buy a new flight with a rival carrier, you can claim the cost of the replacement ticket. If your original flight was more expensive, however, you would be better off requesting a full refund.

What if the airline doesn’t offer to pay?


If there is nobody to discuss compensation with – for example, if there is no one at the desk at the airport – you can make a claim later. Keep receipts for all the extra expenses you incur, including accommodation, food, drink and hotel transfers.

According to the Civil Aviation Authority, airlines are unlikely to reimburse you for luxury hotels or alcohol, so keep your spending to a reasonable limit.

What if my flight was part of a package holiday?


In this case, your accommodation, food and transfer costs should be covered by the tour operator rather than the airline. Get in touch with the company as soon as possible. If you can’t contact them you should keep a record of additional costs to claim a refund.

What if I’m due to return to work?


Let your employer know as soon as possible if flight cancellations mean you will be unable to make it to your next shift. You may be able to take an extra day of annual leave or work remotely to avoid missing out on pay.

Shazia Shah, an employment lawyer at Irwin Mitchell, says: “Those that have access to the work systems might be able to work from abroad but care is required to ensure no rules are breached, for example, in terms of tax or social security.

“Another option is to negotiate a compromise such as unpaid leave, or asking to make up the time later in order to not lose any pay.”

Newsletter

Related Articles

Beautiful Virgin Islands
0:00
0:00
Close
France: Less Than a Month After His Appointment, the New French Prime Minister Resigns
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán stated that Hungary will not adopt the euro because the European Union is falling apart.
Sarah Mullally Becomes First Woman Appointed Archbishop of Canterbury
Mayor in western Germany in intensive care after stabbing
Australian government pays Deloitte nearly half a million dollars for a report built on fabricated quotes, fake citations, and AI-generated nonsense.
US Prosecutors Gained Legal Approval to Hack Telegram Servers
Macron Faces Intensifying Pressure to Resign or Trigger New Elections Amid France’s Political Turmoil
Standard Chartered Names Roberto Hoornweg as Sole Head of Corporate & Investment Banking
UK Asylum Housing Firm Faces Backlash Over £187 Million Profits and Poor Living Conditions
UK Police Crack Major Gang in Smuggling of up to 40,000 Stolen Phones to China
BYD’s UK Sales Soar Nearly Nine-Fold, Making Britain Its Biggest Market Outside China
Trump Proposes Farm Bailout from Tariff Revenues Amid Backlash from Other Industries
FIFA Accuses Malaysia of Forging Citizenship Documents, Suspends Seven Footballers
Latvia to Bar Tourist and Occasional Buses to Russia and Belarus Until 2026
A Dollar Coin Featuring Trump’s Portrait Expected to Be Issued Next Year
Australia Orders X to Block Murder Videos, Citing Online Safety and Public Exposure
Three Scientists Awarded Nobel Prize in Medicine for Discovery of Immune Self-Tolerance Mechanism
OpenAI and AMD Forge Landmark AI-Chip Alliance with Equity Option
Munich Airport Reopens After Second Drone Shutdown
France Names New Government Amid Political Crisis
Trump Stands Firm in Shutdown Showdown and Declares War on Drug Cartels — Turning Crisis into Opportunity
Surge of U.S. Billionaires Transforms London’s Peninsula Apartments into Ultra-Luxury Stronghold
Pro Europe and Anti-War Babiš Poised to Return to Power After Czech Parliamentary Vote
Jeff Bezos Calls AI Surge a ‘Good’ Bubble, Urges Focus on Lasting Innovation
Japan’s Ruling Party Chooses Sanae Takaichi, Clearing Path to First Female Prime Minister
Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs Sentenced to Fifty Months in Prison Following Prostitution Conviction
Taylor Swift’s ‘Showgirl’ Launch Extends Billion-Dollar Empire
Trump Administration Launches “TrumpRx” Plan to Enable Direct Drug Sales at Deep Discounts
Trump Announces Intention to Impose 100 Percent Tariff on Foreign-Made Films
Altman Says GPT-5 Already Outpaces Him, Warns AI Could Automate 40% of Work
Singapore and Hong Kong Vie to Dominate Asia’s Rising Gold Trade
Trump Organization Teams with Saudi Developer on $1 Billion Trump Plaza in Jeddah
Manhattan Sees Surge in Office-to-Housing Conversions, Highest Since 2008
Switzerland and U.S. Issue Joint Assurance Against Currency Manipulation
Electronic Arts to Be Taken Private in Historic $55 Billion Buyout
Thomas Jacob Sanford Named as Suspect in Deadly Michigan Church Shooting and Arson
Russian Research Vessel 'Yantar' Tracked Mapping Europe’s Subsea Cables, Raising Security Alarms
New York Man Arrested After On-Air Confession to 2017 Parents’ Murders
U.S. Defense Chief Orders Sudden Summit of Hundreds of Generals and Admirals
Global Cruise Industry Posts Dramatic Comeback with 34.6 Million Passengers in 2024
Trump Claims FBI Planted 274 Agents at Capitol Riot, Citing Unverified Reports
India: Internet Suspended in Bareilly Amid Communal Clashes Between Muslims and Hindus
Supreme Court Extends Freeze on Nearly $5 Billion in U.S. Foreign Aid at Trump’s Request
Archaeologists Recover Statues and Temples from 2,000-Year-Old Sunken City off Alexandria
China Deploys 2,000 Workers to Spain to Build Major EV Battery Factory, Raising European Dependence
Speed Takes Over: How Drive-Through Coffee Chains Are Rewriting U.S. Coffee Culture
U.S. Demands Brussels Scrutinize Digital Rules to Prevent Bias Against American Tech
Ringo Starr Champions Enduring Beatles Legacy While Debuting Las Vegas Art Show
Private Equity’s Fundraising Surge Triggers Concern of European Market Shake-Out
Colombian President Petro Vows to Mobilize Volunteers for Gaza and Joins List of Fighters
×