Diverted due to bad weather

[Lumma]

Hi

Can anyone give me some advice with regard to UK261 and what I might be entitled to?

Yesterday I attempted to fly from Luton to Ljubljana with Wizzair. First of all we were delayed departing by 3 hours and 9 minutes, on board the pilot told us it was due to them using our plane for a different flight and we had to wait for this one to land, so not due to weather. On approach to Ljubljana we were told it was too stormy and were put into a holding pattern until they decided they needed to divert to Venice as the weather wasn’t going to improve and we were running low on fuel.

Upon landing at Venice, they said that they were going to be bussed to Ljubljana but after a few hours they realised they couldn’t find any transport so we were eventually taken to a hotel for the night and this morning we are still waiting for transportation to our final destination.

Obviously bad weather usually stops airlines from paying compensation but as the late departure was their fault and planes were landing at LJU around our scheduled arrival time could I be entitled to some? It also looks like there were three other flights diverted to Venice and all of them eventually continued on to Ljubljana, were we were left in Venice.

Would I be entitled to claim back the one night’s hotel in Ljubljana that I was charged as a no show? In also have travel insurance through Curve Metal but can’t see anything on their terms that would allow me to claim this back. If I decide to not travel on their bus to Ljubljana and stay in Venice would I lose some of the rights to claim anything?

[AJA]

You should try claiming for the delayed arrival especially as you said that the pilot explained the flight was delayed due to an aircraft swap. Wizz may argue you changed your mind about going to Ljubljana but I believe you’re still entitled to claim.

Also Wizz should provide flight back to Luton for frustrated journey. Also you should get a refund for the unused return flight unless it was booked as two one-way flights in which case you might be able to cancel for a refund anyway.

Aa for hotel night lost that is a consequential loss so no Wizz won’t pay. That is a case for travel insurance.

[Lumma]

Thanks. They still haven’t provided transport to Ljubljana so I’m trying to make my way there myself. Return flight is actually with BA from Zagreb.

[AJA]

You should claim the cost of getting yourself to Lubjljana. Wizz should definitely pay that. How long are you away for? Sounds like a hell of a journey so far.

[AJA]

Just book yourself on the next available bus and reclaim the cost back after the event.

The next bus leaves at 3.15pm

You can book here fir just over £20:

https://www.flixbus.co.uk/?departureCity=40dea03b-8646-11e6-9066-549f350fcb0c&arrivalCity=40de8044-8646-11e6-9066-549f350fcb0c&rideDate=16.09.2022&adult=1

[Lumma]

Thanks AJA

I’ve headed into Venice and I’m going to stay here tonight then head to Ljubljana tomorrow. Problem was the hotel they put us up in (Doubletree Venice North) was a €60 taxi away from the centre. I’m away until Wednesday, so it’s now looking like two nights in Ljubljana and two in Zagreb as long as everything else goes to plan!

I’ve actually never been to Venice before so trying to make the best of the situation!

[Lady London]

you are entitled to transport to and from the necessary night of hotel at Venice so claim it as well as all meals so long as Wizz makes you travel extra time and especially said they were going to provide transport and didn’t. Since you’d never have been on the bus exceot for Wizz failure I reckon food for journey you claim as well.

You’d have been entitled to say your trip was now in vain after landing at Venice, claiming refund and compo and a free flight back to origin (and just for @JDB: claiming meals all the way).

I think as other flights were landing at Ljubljana, what really happened was not so much weather per se as other flights (probably using same corridor) were landing OK. I tbink what happened is Wizz was short of an aircraft to fulfil their roster, and the aircraft that took you from the UK added either your flight or an earlier flight to its list of flights in a change during the day. The aircraft didn’t have enough fuel onboard to do your flight, allowing for a safety margin for weather. So other aircraft had the safety margin of fuel and were not affected by the weather, but your pilot could not take that chance as due to Wizz’s operational resourcing problems overall, he had enough to get to Ljublana but not with the safety margin. Didn’t bother other aircraft as they still had the normal safety margin of fuel onboard.

You are due compo on the balance of probabilities though Wizz has lied. Delays can be split as to cause but I would say your takeoff delay combined with the likely explanation above swings it as all Wizz’s fault.

For this one I’d actually do CEDR/arbitraton/mediation if they refuse if they are signed up to any, as you are looking for a balance of probabilities and the total of it all seems very clear even though Wizz is lying.

The pilot should have announced ‘and I don’t have the recommended safety margin of fuel left for the necessary, perfectly normal, time I might have to queue in this bad weather alongside other aircraft for whom it is not a problem as they do have the extra margin of fuel on board but I don’t. As I’ve already had to fly unplanned extra miles today due to Wizz’s earlier irrops and haven’t had an opportunity to refuel. I could land in normal weather and like the other aircraft it would normally be no problem for me to land in this weather but – not due to your flight [and this is what makes it eligible for compo] I don’t have the recommended margin of fuel because I used it on earlier flights”.

[AJA]

Good post LadyLondon.

[Lumma]

Thanks Lady London

The fact that the other three flights that was diverted to VCE continued on to Ljubljana is what bothers me the most. There was even a WizzAir flight from Charleroi that landed at Ljubljana around the time our delayed flight was!

I think they left us at Venice without transportation due to them wanting our plane back at Luton for the next day.

I’ll update the thread with what happens next

[Lady London]

Good point Lumma.
The issue might not have heen fuel margin for bad weather but crew hours. If they needed the plane back this explains a lot too.
None of this sounds like a problem with your flight rather Wizz being underresourced so when it came to your flight the obligation to get you to Ljubljana couldn’t be completed.

Problems with an incoming flight/aircraft or a preceding flight earlier in the day, no matter if the problems would count as exceptional circs for that earlier flight, do not count as exceptional circs to exempt your flight from compo. The airline is meant to organise its resources so as to have other aircraft/crew available even at outstatioms.

I hope you get compo as well as all your expenses and that they aren’t able to weasel out of it.