MoneySavingExpert, which was founded by Martin Lewis, shared a tip for plane passengers
Martin Lewis is the founder of Money Saving Expert (stock photo)(Image: ITV)
Some customers could be owed back hundreds after purchasing plane tickets, according to MoneySavingExpert (MSE). The consumer website, founded by journalist and TV personality Martin Lewis, regularly shares advice to help Brits.
In advice for travellers, the money experts pointed out that passengers who book non-refundable plane tickets but don’t end up using them can still request a refund for some of their money. While the refund won’t cover the entire cost of the tickets, they can get the Air Passenger Duty refunded.
In a Facebook post, MSE said: “Air Passenger Duty is a tax only paid by the airline to HMRC if you fly. If you don’t fly, whether you cancelled a non-refundable ticket or you missed your flight, you can request a refund from £8 to £253 per person.” The post also included a real-life success story from MSE Clare.
Clare revealed that her in-laws received a refund of £92 each after realising they needed to change their return flight home after visiting the UK from Australia. The family members had assumed they wouldn’t get any money back from their non-refundable tickets after their plans changed, but a “quick email” to their airline confirmed the good news. Clare said it was “a small consolation, but better than nothing.”
In the comments under the post, MSE added: “There’s no deadline for how far back you can claim – though some airlines impose their own (and a few charge an admin fee).” More information is available on the MSE website.
It said: “When you book a flight departing the UK, your ticket price will include various fees, such as airport tax. However, this isn’t collected by HM Revenue and Customs from the airline until after you actually fly. If you don’t fly – even by choice – you shouldn’t have to pay the tax.”
If you’re looking to make a claim, airlines publish information for passengers explaining exactly how to get it. Skyscanner explains: “The procedures for claiming an airport tax refund vary from airline to airline.
“Some will refund it automatically, whereas others require you to fill out a form. It’s worth noting that some carriers will charge an admin fee for the refund application, and with budget airlines, that fee can often surmount the amount you’ll get back.
“Each airline should publish details of how to claim back APD tax on its own website. If you cannot find this, call the airline and request details.”
Skyscanner added: “Some airlines have commercial agreements with various airports and may not always pay airport taxes. If you didn’t initially pay them, you wouldn’t be eligible for a refund.”
EXCLUSIVE: After Sarah-Jane Doherty found out she had a brain tumour the size of a golf ball in her brain, she got in touch with loveholidays to cancel a £1,100 upcoming trip – but claims they initially ‘didn’t want to know’
09:02, 11 Jul 2026Updated 09:03, 11 Jul 2026
‘I was misdiagnosed – it took doctors a year to find out what was really wrong’
A young woman who is awaiting brain surgery for a tumour the size of a golf ball watched her mum sob while fighting for her holiday to be refunded after being told she was unfit to fly. Sarah-Jane Doherty, 24, from Doncaster in Yorkshire, was told she had a brain tumour in June 2026 after one year of being misdiagnosed.
She first noticed she was ill in July 2025 when she found herself being overly exhausted, to the point where she could not stand up for long periods of time. Other symptoms included depressive episodes, psychosis, hallucinations, manic episodes, and issues with her mood being up and down, which led professionals to believe she was displaying symptoms of bipolar disorder.
This meant she was put onto anti-psychotic medications which masked what would have been one of her major symptoms, seizures, as an electric shock-type of feeling down her left side. She also suffered issues with her vision before being rushed to A&E after having a severe headache that caused her so much pain that she sobbed on her bed.
After having a CT scan at Doncaster Royal Infirmary, Sarah-Jane was told doctors thought she had a bleed on her brain, and that she would need to be admitted and have an MRI scan. The next morning, Sarah-Jane’s life changed forever after being told she had a brain tumour around the size of a golf ball.
Medication masked a golf ball-sized brain tumour
She said: “They told me in a bay of four people by myself that I had a brain tumour, and that they think is a glioma. I was just distraught, I was absolutely hysterical.
“I rang my mum straight away, and she came into the hospital. She rang my dad and he came home from work to see me. I feel a bit like I’m in an episode of Grey’s Anatomy, like it just doesn’t feel like it’s actually me.
“I was upset, I was stressed thinking, ‘what if it’s not removable?’ I didn’t know what grade it was. What if it’s spread somewhere else in my body? And I just had so many what-ifs in my mind that I just kept crying.”
Before being diagnosed with a suspected grade 2 glioma, Sarah-Jane had booked a £1,100 holiday to Ayia Napa with one of her friends through loveholidays, with flight bookings through British Airways.
Loveholidays booking dispute after Sarah-Jane’s cancer diagnosis
Sarah-Jane said: “I went to Ayia Napa last year and it was really good so we were set on [going] there. But it was last minute because it’s just finding time for us to be together and book holiday.
“I hadn’t been on holiday this year yet, we just wanted to get away so I’d not really had any annual leave or anything like that.
“Just wanted a break and plus because I would be starting a new training programme in September. I wanted to find a decompress before that.”
The day Sarah-Jane was diagnosed with cancer, she contacted loveholidays to make them aware and asked for a refund of her package. At the same time she realised her yearly travel insurance cover had not renewed as she thought it had.
She said: “The first time that we called they didn’t want to know at all. They didn’t even express empathy or anything like that. And then I got an email just saying I can get £62 back.”
Sarah-Jane then sent two letters from medical professionals, one from a consultant at the hospital, and a second from her GP, which were both rejected by loveholidays due to her first letter being a “statement for fitness for Work (SSP)” and the second being a letter that “outlined that it had been issued to support a travel insurance claim”.
Sarah-Jane’s TikTok video prompts action from loveholidays CEO office
After receiving pushback from loveholidays the 24-year-old made a video about her experience on TikTok, with a member of the CEO office at the company reaching out shortly after.
Sarah-Jane continued: “So it was just calls back and forth. They said you need to get in touch with British Airways. British Airways said it has to all be done through loveholidays.
“I asked them to speak to my mum, I just couldn’t deal with speaking to them. I couldn’t keep hearing no and saying, ‘there’s nothing we can do’.
“Then the person from the CEO office said ‘we wish Sarah the best and stuff’ which just shows that there’s no compassion.”
The company then offered Sarah-Jane a £300 refund, which her mum refused, before offering £600, which they also rejected. The following day, however, the loveholiday’s team confirmed they would offer Sarah-Jane a full refund.
She said: “She spent over eight hours on the phone, backwards and forwards, to loveholidays and British Airways because they just kept sending each other to each other. She started crying on the phone because the way people were speaking to her was just… It’s not what she needed to hear.
“She was unnecessarily sent between two different companies that both didn’t want to know. I think that just shows that more protection is needed in the event of major health diagnoses, because if it wasn’t for the TikTok then nothing would have been done.”
Loveholidays and British Airways issue official statements
A loveholidays spokesperson said: “We are deeply sorry to hear about Sarah’s diagnosis and the difficult circumstances she is facing. We wish her all the very best with her treatment and recovery.
“To support Sarah during this difficult time, we have refunded her in full for her holiday, and we have also explained how she can request a refund for the seat purchase she made directly with her airline.
“While we always do everything we can to support customers in difficult circumstances, as a travel agent we are bound by the cancellation policies of our airline and hotel partners, many of which do not provide refunds when customers are unable to travel due to illness.
“For this reason, we always strongly recommend that customers take out travel insurance to help protect them if unforeseen circumstances prevent them from travelling.”
A spokesperson from British Airways said: “We’re very sorry to hear of our customer’s experience and our teams have been in touch.”
The spokesperson also said that the airline had “resolved this matter”, however Sarah-Jane told us that she has yet to receive the refund or, indeed, any further communication from British Airways customer service.
StubHub is getting a red card from some World Cup fans
Two World Cup customers are suing the New York-based ticket-selling company, alleging “false and misleading” advertising that left them without tickets or a refund for the World Cup games they paid to attend.
In federal court in New York last week, two Californians — Julia Reeker Moghal and Reuben Renteria — sued StubHub seeking monetary damages and a ban on the company selling World Cup tickets. The lawsuit aims to become a class action and comes after weeks of fierce criticism and complaints from customers regarding the company’s practices.
Throughout the World Cup, videos have emerged on Instagram and TikTok of StubHub customers describing their nightmare experiences with the ticket-selling platform.
Some said they had purchased tickets to World Cup games as early as November of last year, booked flights and hotels and arranged travel plans, then StubHub notified them days to weeks before the match of a refund for their tickets, which they never requested.
There were similar complaints about last-minute cancellations from people who bought Coachella tickets on StubHub.
In the lawsuit, Moghal said she had purchased three tickets for nearly $2,000 for the June 18 match between Switzerland and Bosnia-Herzegovina at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, which were then canceled by StubHub. Moghal said she was contacted by StubHub and told her tickets would remain canceled, then was later told the tickets would be available one hour before the game.
When the match began, Moghal said she was at SoFi Stadium, but the tickets never came.
Renteria said he paid around $2,300 for the June 18 Mexico versus South Korea match in Guadalajara, Mexico, but they were canceled
“Devoted soccer fans have traveled from around the world to attend World Cup matches — and they reasonably relied on StubHub to provide the tickets they paid for as well as on StubHub’s warranty,” Blake Hunter Yagman, the attorney representing the two, said in a statement. “Instead of rewarding their business, StubHub sold them World Cup tickets that they either could not provide or on speculation, only to be stranded, in many cases, at the stadium gates without any recourse.”
According to StubHub’s website, its Fan Protect Guarantee states the platform will deliver valid tickets or refund in the event of a ticket issue, and that it will “go out of our way to find replacement tickets” of a comparable value. The lawsuit alleges the replacement tickets many fans were given by StubHub were worse than their original tickets.
FIFA, the World Cup organizer, states in its terms and conditions that the FIFA Marketplace, its own ticket-selling platform, is the only authorized platform for World Cup tickets, and that only tickets purchased through it are guaranteed by FIFA to be valid.
Despite the risk of purchasing through a third-party platform such as StubHub, many fans opted to do so to avoid the 30% FIFA resale tax, believing that the Fan Protect Guarantee would safeguard their order.
Since World Cup tickets began selling on FIFA Marketplace last September, fans have expressed disappointment in the expensive price tag. FIFA utilized a dynamic pricing system for the sale, and as sales phases progressed leading up to the games, the cost of tickets increased tremendously. In March, the extreme cost of tickets prompted 69 members of Congress to write a letter to FIFA urging them to lower their prices.
Tickets for the upcoming Friday match between Spain and Belgium in Los Angeles are selling on StubHub for over $1,300.
StubHub said in various statements to the news and in legal proceedings that ticket cancellations were a result of transfer problems and issues with FIFA’s ticketing infrastructure.
StubHub did not respond to requests for comment.
A FIFA spokesperson responded to this accusation in a statement, saying, “FIFA has no visibility over, or control of, secondary market ticket transactions carried out on third-party platforms. The transactions facilitated on these platforms occur entirely independently of FIFA’s official ticketing platform. With reference to the reliability of the services available to fans on FIFA’s official ticket platform, FIFA rejects any suggestion that the functional issues being experienced by users of third-party platforms with respect to FIFA World Cup 2026 tickets are the result of FIFA’s ticketing infrastructure.”
“Hitting customers with hidden fees is illegal. It’s not fair to draw people in with what looks like a good deal, only for them to find the real price is higher when they get to the checkout due to extra charges that can’t be avoided,” said Emma Cochrane, executive director of consumer protection at the CMA.
ATLANTA — Bina Ramroop broke down in tears when she realized she wasn’t going to get the World Cup tickets she had bought for her grandson’s 13th birthday.
As thousands poured into Atlanta Stadium on Monday to see Spain face Cape Verde in what turned out to be a remarkable scoreless draw, Ramroop stood outside, increasingly stressed as she went back and forth for hours between StubHub representatives on the phone and FIFA representatives in the ticket booth. Each blamed the other.
No one could figure out why the tickets Ramroop bought months ago on StubHub for $485 apiece couldn’t be transferred from the original seller to the FIFA ticketing app. StubHub offered her a refund and, as Ramroop heard the crowd roar for the start of the match, she knew she had no choice but to give up and take the offer.
“I didn’t want a refund, I didn’t want my money back,” Ramroop said. “I wanted to go to the game.”
The World Cup has delivered thrills on the pitch, but fans have flooded social media with complaints about tickets that never arrived, orders that were canceled at the last minute and hours they spent trying to sort out problems between FIFA’s ticketing system and outside resale platforms.
The vast majority seem to be about industry titan StubHub, but people who bought through competitors such as SeatGeek and Vivid Seats have also reported issues. Interviews with fans and industry experts show that some cases stem from technical glitches in the transfer process, while others could involve sellers who never had tickets to deliver in the first place, though StubHub denies such sales happen on its platform.
A grandmother’s disappointment
FIFA has urged fans to buy resale tickets through its own marketplace, where it slaps a 30% surcharge on every resold ticket — 15% each from the buyer and seller. But many fans bought through other resale sites, either out of habit or because those sites have lower prices or are easier to navigate.
Ramroop didn’t realize she was taking a risk when she bought through StubHub, which she had used in the past without issues.
As she and her grandson Elijah Gomes took the long, lonely train ride back to the Atlanta suburbs, Elijah followed the score on his phone. The match had ended scoreless, and he tried to cheer up his devastated grandmother by telling her they hadn’t missed much after all (Cape Verdeans would beg to differ ).
“He’s telling me, ‘Grandma, it’s OK, Grandma.’ And he’s trying to console me,” Ramroop said the next day.
She was hardly alone. An Associated Press journalist witnessed more than a dozen frustrated fans at the match who said they were stuck in similar situations.
StubHub blamed FIFA for the transfer problems that buyers like Ramroop have experienced. In a statement, it said FIFA has “poor technology infrastructure,” enacted last-minute transfer restrictions and didn’t launch its new ticketing app until a few weeks before the tournament. The company also called out organizers that “take anti-competitive actions” that limit where fans can buy and sell tickets.
Asked about the technical issues, FIFA on Wednesday reiterated that sales through its official site are guaranteed to go through.
An industry’s longstanding problem
Industry observers say the problems appear to stem from more than one cause. For some, it may indeed be technical glitches — an issue that StubHub says is “very, very rare” and one that it is hard at work to solve. For others, they say it’s likely a more longstanding scourge: speculative sellers.
Scott Friedman, an industry veteran and co-founder of a consultancy called the Ticket Talk Network, said some sellers list tickets before they actually have them, betting that prices will fall closer to the event so they can buy the tickets at a better price later. But because World Cup ticket prices have surged since the tournament began, those sellers have been forced to either buy expensive tickets to fulfill their orders or cancel and accept penalties from resale platforms. StubHub’s penalties are typically 200% of the ticket price, Friedman said.
“This is not new at all,” said Friedman, pointing to other high-profile events where frustrated fans were left empty-handed, including Taylor Swift’s Eras tour. “This has been going on, but it’s making global news because it’s the World Cup.”
StubHub says it requires sellers to prove they have tickets before they list them.
But regardless of the reason for the canceled sales, Friedman said “StubHub should fill every single order to make sure fans get in the biggest global sporting event that happens every four years.”
That’s what many fans say they expected when they purchased through StubHub.
StubHub’s FanProtect Guarantee promises replacement tickets or a refund if tickets fail to arrive. But the policy repeatedly says those remedies are provided at StubHub’s “sole discretion,” meaning the company can choose a refund instead of securing replacement seats.
“That is pretty explicit language,” said Michael McCann, a sports law expert at the University of New Hampshire. McCann noted that a buyer could try to challenge the language under state consumer protection laws, but it would be an uphill battle.
A father’s regrets
Pape Ndaw is crestfallen that the high school graduation gift he got for his son — tickets for them to see the Netherlands and Japan near their home city of Dallas — never arrived.
He bought the tickets for about $550 apiece in December. Then, two days before the June 14 match, he received an email from StubHub telling him, “The seller can’t deliver your original tickets.”
Ndaw accepted store credit rather than a refund, thinking he would use the funds to quickly get replacements, only to then realize that the cheapest last-minute tickets were going for more than $1,500 each. Not only were they not going to get to go to the game, but Ndaw said StubHub rejected his belated request for a refund instead of store credit.
Breaking the news to his soccer-obsessed son was brutal, Ndaw said.
“It was a disastrous thing,” he said. “He had told all his friends that he was going to that game. He literally cried. I mean, he is a 17-year-old kid, but he cried.”
A family’s attempt to make the best of it
Others fared somewhat better.
Patrick O’Neil of Pittsboro, North Carolina, traveled to Atlanta with his wife, son and relatives after purchasing five tickets through StubHub for the Spain-Cape Verde match. Two tickets transferred successfully, but three never arrived.
O’Neil’s 15-year-old son and his uncle ended up using the two tickets, while O’Neil, his wife and another relative watched from a nearby bar.
After local media caught wind of their ordeal, O’Neil said StubHub contacted the family and offered tickets to another game. Since the family had already bought tickets to one, though, he and his wife asked the company to instead give the seats to local nonprofit Soccer in the Streets so they could go to people who otherwise might not be able to attend a match.
“StubHub is not evil, but they’re part of the whole system that makes it really hard for just normal kids and people who might want to see a match get to go,” O’Neil said.
On Thursday, a StubHub representative confirmed to the AP that the company would honor the O’Neils’ request and send tickets to the nonprofit.
TUI has introduced a new policy where customers will be guaranteed the lowest price possible for package holidays.
For Brits going abroad, it means that if you find and book a TUI break but then find it cheaper somewhere else TUI will refund the price difference.
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The holiday must meet certain criteria and you can apply for a TUI price checkCredit: Getty
TUI has called it the ‘Price-Match Promise‘ and it applies to package holidays booked through TUI, as well as online and through travel agents.
If customers have booked a TUI break but find the same deal cheaper on another website, simply fill in the online form to request a price check.
If all the criteria are met, TUI will then either discount the package holiday booking or, if full balance has been paid in full, refund the price difference within 14 days.
There are lots of details that have to be met, however.
Firstly, the package holiday must be publicly available to book with another company at the same time – or within 72 hours of booking with TUI.
It must depart from the same airport on the same day with the same TUI flight and flight number.
The accommodation must be at the same resort or hotel with the same board basis and room type.
It has to be for the same amount of time, include transfers and at least the same baggage allowance.
TUI said: “We know that value for money is front of mind for many customers right now, and this new promise is about ensuring customers can book with confidence, knowing they won’t miss out if the same TUI package is available for less elsewhere.
“Under the new promise, customers can request a price match if they find the same Tui package holiday available at a lower price with another operator within 72 hours of booking their holiday – available in all channels – online, via our own retail stores or independent travel agents.”
TUI can guarantee the cheapest price with the ‘Price -Match Promise’Credit: Getty
It continued: “Where the criteria are met, we’ll either discount the booking or refund the price difference if the final balance has already been paid, helping ensure customers genuinely get the most for their money, without needing to shop around again after they’ve booked.”
Package holidays booked through a third-party are excluded.
NEW YORK — American businesses big and small have started receiving tariff refunds after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that President Trump lacked the constitutional authority to impose higher import taxes on goods from nearly every other country.
The process could grind to a halt, however, after the Trump administration said Friday that it intended to appeal a federal judge’s order to allow all companies that paid the illegal import taxes to seek refunds, not just the ones that filed lawsuits.
Until the Department of Justice informed the judge of its planned appeal, the refund system overseen by U.S. Customs and Border Protection had been working fairly smoothly. Refunds reached the bank accounts of the first successful applicants on May 12, about three weeks after American importers and their customs brokers could start submitting claims through an online system, according to CBP.
Applications for refunds totaling $85 billion — more than half of the $166 billion the agency estimated the government owes to companies that paid the illegal tariffs on imported goods — were accepted for processing as of May 22, CBP reported in a legal filing earlier in the week. It said it had so far directed the Treasury Department to issue $20.6 billion in refunds.
The administration revealed its appeal preparations while objecting to a demand by Judge Richard K. Eaton for CBP Commissioner Rodney Scott to appear in the U.S. Court of International Trade to answer questions about how long it would take to repay all 330,000 importers that might be eligible for refunds. The judge has scheduled a June 9 hearing on why he shouldn’t require the government do whatever it takes to speed up the process.
Justice Department lawyers asked Eaton to allow one or two of Scott’s deputies to appear in his place, arguing that as a high-ranking presidential appointee, the CBP chief could not be compelled to testify in court. They also argued that Eaton exceeded his own authority when he determined in March that the Supreme Court’s ruling entitled “all importers of record’’ to refunds.
“For that reason, defendants intend to appeal the court’s universal injunction,” the lawyers wrote, adding that CBP would continue to move “as quickly as it can to process refunds in a phased approach” for businesses that filed some 485 pending trade court complaints to assert their rights to refunds.
In a terse reply Friday, Eaton said he needed to hear directly from Scott whether the government would return all of the money it collected between when Trump imposed what he called “reciprocal” tariffs on goods from most countries in April 2025 and when the Supreme Court struck them down in late February.
“This case involves $166 billion,” the judge wrote. “It is undisputed that the remedy for this unlawful collection is for the United States government to refund the unlawfully collected duties.”
Some national retail chains said they planned to use their tariff refunds to lower customer prices on some items. Walmart Chief Financial Officer John David Rainey told analysts last week that the company would implement price cuts even though the maximum refund it might be eligible for represented less than half of 1% of Walmart’s $483 billion in annual U.S. sales.
Some smaller companies told the Associated Press that the partial refunds they’ve received so far would go toward paying remaining or future tariffs, reducing debt or just keeping the lights on after more than a year of uncertainty and additional import costs.
Jay Foreman, chief executive of toy company Basic Fun, said he received about $450,000, or 7% of his total claim, over two consecutive days this month. He took the initial repayment as a positive sign but said that after having less than $10,000 refunded since then, the process seemed like a “total slow roll.”
“It’s time to release the funds back into the economy, especially given how much we and others need these funds to support our businesses and fund our operations,” Foreman said.
Thousands of people are finding their holiday flights disrupted as a result of the conflict in the Middle East but the CAA say there is one time you should never choose a refund
There are rules for airlines when flights are cancelled(Image: Getty)
Scores of holidaymakers are facing an anxious wait ahead of their summer getaway as worries persist over the ongoing conflict in the Middle East. Thousands have already had their flights cancelled or disrupted, leaving them with the stressful task of replanning their trips or abandoning them entirely.
However, the Civil Aviation Authority, which oversees and regulates civil aviation in the UK, has issued summer guidance for passengers, outlining their rights should a flight be cancelled either before they depart or while they are already away. It has also reassured travellers that they are “well protected” when things go wrong.
It said: “You may have seen reports about possible disruption to flights this summer. As the summer travel season approaches, airlines, government and industry partners are working closely to support smooth journeys.”
It continued: “While there is a risk of some disruption as a result of the situation in the Middle East, travellers in the UK are well protected by some of the strongest passenger rights in the world, offering reassurance if disruption does occur.” Publishing the statement on its website, it went on to outline several key rules all passengers should be aware of if their flight is disrupted – including one scenario where you should not request a refund, reports the Liverpool Echo.
Cancellation of a flight departing from or travelling to the UK
If your cancelled flight was booked directly with the airline or via a third party your airline is required by law to offer you the following 3 options to choose from:
a refund
an alternative flight (referred to as “re-routing”) at the earliest opportunity
an alternative flight (referred to as “re-routing”) at a later date at your convenience, subject to availability.
It said: “You will be required by the airline to select one of these options. Once you have committed to one of these options with your airline you are unlikely to be able to change your mind. Ensure that you consider all options carefully before selecting the best choice for you.
A Refund
The CAA advised: “Do not choose a refund of your flight if you still wish to travel. If you choose a refund, you will not be entitled to re-routing or care.
“If you no longer wish to travel you can ask for a refund. If you chose this option, you will need to confirm this with your airline. The airline should provide you with a refund within 7 days. If you booked through a third party, your refund may take longer.
“Your right to a refund applies to all the parts of the ticket you have not used. For example, if you booked a return flight and did not depart, you are entitled to the full cost of the return ticket. If you are part way through your journey and your connecting flight is cancelled you are also entitled to a flight back to your original UK departure airport if you decide not to, or cannot, continue your journey.”
An alternative flight (re-routing) at the earliest opportunity
This requires the airline to find you a different flight to your destination as close as possible to the time of your original flight, explained the CAA. It said: “If there are lots of flights being cancelled, it may be challenging for your airline to find you alternative flight seats as other flights may already be full.
“Although we expect your airline to do all it can to offer you an alternative flight (which may mean flying on an alternative airline) and keep you updated while you wait, limited available seats may mean that your airline may not be able to get you to your destination as quickly as you or it would wish.
“If you are already at the airport when your flight is cancelled and you choose this option, your airline should also provide you with care in the form of meals, refreshments and hotel accommodation proportionate to the wait for your alternative flight. You are also entitled a means of communication e.g. two phone calls or emails.”
If your cancelled flight was a component of a package holiday
If your cancelled flight was a part of a package holiday, you benefit from the same rights as if you had booked directly with the airline. Refer to “If you booked a flight directly with the airline or via a third party” for details of these rights.
In addition, you may also benefit from additional rights under the Package Travel and Linked Travel Arrangements Regulations. Your package provider must offer a suitable alternative holiday if it can, or a refund for the full price of your package holiday.
Cancellation of a flight to the UK
These are similar to the rules for flights from the UK with some small expections, The CAA said if you booked a flight directly with the airline or via a third party and your return flight has been cancelled, you may be covered by UK passenger rights legislation, however this is dependent on which airline is operating your flight.
If it is a UK or EU air carrier you will be covered however if you are travelling with a non-UK or non-EU air carrier you will not be covered. It adds: “If UK passenger rights legislation does not apply, we encourage airlines to do all they can to minimise the overall impact to their passengers. You may also have some protection if you booked your flight with a credit card or via your travel insurance.”
However if your flight is covered by UK passenger rights legislation your airline is required by law to offer you the following 3 options to choose from:
a refund
an alternative flight (referred to as “re-routing”) at the earliest opportunity
an alternative flight (referred to as “re-routing”) at a later date at your convenience, subject to availability.
It added: “You will be required by the airline to select one of these options. Once you have committed to one of these options with your airline you are unlikely to be able to change your mind. Please ensure that you consider all options carefully before selecting the best choice for you. For most passengers, your choice will be a flight home.
A Refund
It said: “Do not choose a refund of your flight if you still wish to travel. If you choose a refund, you will not be entitled to re-routing or care. If you no longer wish to travel you can ask for a refund.
“If you chose this option, you will need to confirm this with your airline. The airline should provide you with a refund within 7 days. If you booked through a third party, your refund may take longer.
“Your right to a refund applies to all the parts of the ticket you have not used. For example, if you booked a return flight and did not depart, you are entitled to the full cost of the return ticket. If you are part way through your journey and your connecting flight is cancelled you are also entitled to a flight back to your original UK departure airport if you decide not to, or cannot, continue your journey.”
An alternative flight (re-routing) at the earliest opportunity
This option requires the airline to find you an alternative flight to the UK as close as possible to the time of your original flight. The CAA advised: “If there are lots of flights being cancelled, it may be challenging for your airline to find you alternative flight seats as other flights may already be full. Although we expect your airline to do all it can to offer you an alternative flight (which may mean flying on an alternative airline) and keep you updated while you wait, limited available seats may mean that your airline may not be able to get you to your destination as quickly as you or it would wish.
“If you are already at the airport when your flight is cancelled and you choose this option, your airline should also provide you with care in the form of meals, refreshments and hotel accommodation proportionate to the wait for your alternative flight. You are also entitled a means of communication e.g. two phone calls or emails.”
If your cancelled flight was a component of a package holiday
If your cancelled flight was a component of a package holiday, you benefit from the same rights as if you had booked directly with the airline, said the CAA. Refer to “If you booked a flight directly with the airline or via a third party” for details of these rights.
It added: “In addition, you may also benefit from additional rights under the Package Travel and Linked Travel Arrangements Regulations. Normally your tour operator will contact you in advance to re-arrange your flights back to you UK. However, if you are at the airport, you should contact your package travel organiser to talk through your options.”
