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BA8768 on 5 March, originally ZUR to LCY was diverted to LGW. The Embraer 190 suffered a technical fault mid-flight, we were told the landing gear brakes were indicated as being stuck on and that the flight could not land at LCY due to the short runway. The flight entered a holding pattern, landed at Gatwick without issue but parked on the runway whilst inspected by fire department, taxied to a remote area, etc etc etc. All of this plus an agonising wait for luggage (which we were told by BA desk was due to the ‘luggage going to the back of the queue due to the diversion’) and a taxi journey home being 50 miles instead of 7 miles meant we arrived home almost exactly 3 hours later than planned.
Does anyone have any experience in claiming EC261 on a diversion? The times are a little tight and not sure how to prove we would have arrived home more than 3 hours earlier if we had landed as planned (it is hypothetical after all – not as simple as comparing flight landing times).
Also should we be speaking to BA about compensation outside of EC261 based on the experience? I’m not the most relaxed flier at the best of times and a lot of thoughts run through your mind when you are told mid-flight that there is a problem with the plane, that we have to divert and be met by fire dept, and when passengers next to you begin praying just before landing! We booked with Avios.
The three hour time delay is counted at when the airplane door is opened and you can disembark. Not when you get home 🙂
Claiming for the taxi is hit and miss with BA since they are both London airports
I also understand what you mean about being a nervous flier but personally in that instance I’d be taking my compensation that I landed safely and without issue
There’s no delay compensation due, but if BA rerouted you to a different London airport (in a different scenario to this) they would be liable for the cost of transportation between the two airports, but not necessarily by taxi – it’s not specified in the regulations. So unfortunately, although a rather unpleasant experience, you might struggle to get anything out of BA. Their general response to this type of thing is, yes, distressing but safety is our no. 1 concern.
You’d defo get the taxi paid I think. Although when they mess up people’s journeys BA tries to pay only public transport (which btw I suspect would have been a transportation method that for sure would have got you to home or Heathrow more than 3 hours after the original landing time at Heathrow)… however I’d be ready to mention the factors that made you take a taxi rather than public transport.
I’m guessing could be landing late at night, elderly grandmother/kids in tow, infirmity, luggage unmanageable by you on public transport, health-connected effects if any personally by you due to the longer journey etc.
My assumption too would have been you needed to get back to Heathrow as your booked destination. For one thing I’d have parked my car or motorbike at or near Heathrow and it sounds like your point of arrival at Heathrow, as destination of your original flight, would have been over 3 hours after scheduled.
Tech fault is absolutely not an exceptional circumstance exempting from compo – it’s fully the responsibility of the airline. Though airlines do quite often try to lie, that it is, it’s not exception getting them out of compo. Transport to the airport you were meant to land at comes under duty of care which is separate and payable regardless of the reason for delay or canx.
However you have told us your destination was direct to home and that it was less than 3 hours after your scheduled landing time at Heathrow, that you reached home not apparently having needed to go via Heathrow.
Over 3 hours late to Heathrow, or to home whichever you needed to get to, and I believe you’d have a right to compensation under EU261 as ZRH LHR falls into the shortest km length of trip category.
I’m not certain whether delay compensation kicks in after only 2 hours on the shortest km band of flights – @meta @JDB do you know?
So I’m confident about the journey to LHR or your home from LGW should be paid – but the answer to compo as well, would need to come from others here as I’m hazy on delay aspects
It’s 2 hours on 1500km or less, but we don’t know exactly when the doors opened. As per Flightradar the departure was only delayed by 20min and even with technical fault and diversion don’t think the actual delay would have been 2hrs.
It was an evening flight, but not late. So, only if there was no other option but to take the taxi will BA have to pay it. Otherwise public transport but the way they’ll cover it, is LGW-LCY only (and what regs state). Even if you took other means to get home/LCY as it wasn’t too late in the day, you can claim for up to standard ticket to offset costs. That’s my experience anyway.
If CS is unwilling, a letter or email to BA Legal will sort you out.
Ah.. I put Heathrow as the end point of the flight that had been booked but it was LCY.
Delays taking off or Doors opening, if the plane landed at an airport that was not booked, is irrelevant. The arrival time that then matters is for the complete journey back to the originally booked airport. Or another destination such as home, if you considered that your journey’s end, provided it doesn’t take any longer than the journey back to the originally booked airport.
Otherwise you’d get BA landing you in Aberdeen when you had booked Heathrow, and claiming the plane landed when doors opened in Aberdeen for the purposes of the ticket you bought from them landing at Heathrow.
A nonsense. So in this case doors opening at LGW, as it’s the wrong airport, is irrelevant. What matters is the overall delay back to the originally booked airport (or home if less delay). And the passenger has said this took them nearly 3 hours so definitely more than two.
I’d put in a claim for delay compensation back to LCY/home if less time but still over 2 hours, together with any transport receipts including taxi mentioning which factors meant you took taxi rather than other forms of public transport. Put in any purchased meal receipts as well if your delay took you past a mealtime that your original flight time wouldn’t have.
Let us know what happens.
Yes, I know what you are saying, but the EC261 says differently (although post-Brexit, but BA could argue it given starting point in Zurich),
Article 8(3) of Regulation No 261/2004 must be interpreted as meaning that, where a diverted flight lands at an airport which is not that for which the booking was made but which serves the same town, city or region, the operating air carrier must on its own initiative offer the passenger to bear the cost of transfer either to the destination airport for which the booking was made or, as the case may be, to another close-by destination agreed with the passenger.
Article 8(3) of Regulation No 261/2004 must be interpreted as meaning that breach by the operating air carrier of its obligation to bear the cost of transferring the passenger from the airport of arrival either to the airport for which the booking was made or to another destination agreed with the passenger does not confer on the latter a right to flat-rate compensation under Article 7(1) of that regulation. By contrast, that breach gives rise, for the benefit of the passenger, to a right to reimbursement of the amounts incurred by him or her and which, in the light of the specific circumstances of each case, prove necessary, appropriate and reasonable to remedy the shortcomings of the air carrier.
@meta above would be correct, in that BA failing to provide the full transport back to the originally booked airport would not <<of itself>> get its own compo.
Compo is attached to the flight delay in getting from origin to destination, and compo is definitely due for flight delay itself being delay reaching the booked airport, because mechanical fault is not exceptional circumstance and definitely the responsibility of the airline.
Whereas transport back to the originally booked airport I’d regard as coming under the, separate part, of duty of care which includes rerouting. The rerouting here being the filling in of the final part of the journey back to the originally booked airport, by ground transportation.
Passenger should be provided or get reimbursed the costs of his transport to original airport, as well as any flight delay compensation that was due, because the ground trabsport is under the rerouting/duty of care section.
Ok thanks all for the input. BA flight crew advised we could take taxis so not overly concerned about that claim for expenses. We were handed paperwork for claiming back expenses prior to exiting the airplane. We needed to get home asap as partner was starting a new job the next day and we had snowboard & equipment in tow so elected to take taxi.
All info I can find suggests the delay to home/original airport needs to be 3 hours if you want to claim compensation? 2 hours would be very easy to prove but 3 hours is harder.
What your outcome? Any luck with compensation?
Our story is similar
Direct flight Tampa-Gatwick was cancelled 24 hours in advance ( reason given operational issues) alternative fight offered
Tampa- Nashville , Nashville – Heathrow , departing Tampa 3 hours earlier, 5 hour wait in Nashville then arriving to Heathrow 2.5 hours later than original flight. We then had to get a taxi to Gatwick to get our car.
BA claimed this was the best flight they could offer for 4 days.
As only a 2.5 hour delay, would we be entitled to compensation due to the fact that they took us to Heathrow instead of Gatwick?
Appreciate any advice. Thanks 🙂It’s not delay compensation that’s relevant here, but cancellation compensation to which you become entitled (absent any ‘extraordinary circumstances’) if, following a cancellation at less than seven days notice, you are scheduled (not actual) on the rerouted flight to arrive more than two hours later than the original flight – Article 5.1(c)(iii). This shouldn’t be disputable, whereas the issue of arriving at the wrong airport is tricky.
What was your outcome? Any luck with compensation?
Our story is similar
Direct flight Tampa-Gatwick was cancelled 24 hours in advance ( reason given operational issues) alternative fight offered
Tampa- Nashville , Nashville – Heathrow , departing Tampa 3 hours earlier, 5 hour wait in Nashville then arriving to Heathrow 2.5 hours later than original flight. We then had to get a taxi to Gatwick to get our car.
BA claimed this was the best flight they could offer for 4 days.
As only a 2.5 hour delay, would we be entitled to compensation due to the fact that they took us to Heathrow instead of Gatwick?
Appreciate any advice. Thanks 🙂I’ve no idea why my comment posted twice! Sorry!
Ok good, so with those conditions I should be entitled for full compensation? Separate issue but they also left our luggage in Tampa. Took 3 hours at Heathrow to trace our cases.
Normal circumstances we should have been home at 10.30am, got through the door at 5.30pm. Was a nightmare journey.
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