Compensation claims take-off as flight delays rise at busiest airport

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MARTIN WILLIAMS

Under current EU regulations, passengers can claim compensation if delayed by more than three hours. Holidaymakers flying short-haul would potentially be able to recoup £220 (€250) if they are delayed by more than three hours, while long-haul passengers could claim £264 (€300) if their plane landed between three or four hours late, or £528 (€600) if their flight was at least four hours behind schedule.

The biggest rise in lengthy waits in Scotland came at Aberdeen Airport which had 86 flights affected two years ago, climbing to 325 last year. At Edinburgh Airport the number of long delays of three hours or more rose by 12 per cent over the two years to 508. Consumer watchdog Which? said holidaymakers are most likely to face delays when using Edinburgh Airport – and have raised concerns that the flight issues across Scotland are on the increase.

Alex Neill, Which? home products and services managing director, said: “There are few things more irritating than having to spend hours stuck in an airport terminal because of a delay.

“If you’re unlucky enough to experience a severe delay, compensation is available. We think it’s time for airlines to start automatically compensating eligible passengers, but until they step up and do this, we urge people to check to what they are entitled.”

The new analysis reveals that across Scotland’s three major airports, Edinburgh, Glasgow and Aberdeen, one in four of more than 240,000 flights arriving or departing were delayed by at least 15 minutes in 2016-17, up from 20 per cent in 2014/15.

Glasgow, the country’s second busiest airport, ranked second for delays with 25 per cent of nearly 85,000 flights taking off or landing at least 15 minutes later than scheduled.

Aberdeen ranked third, with 22 per cent of more than 45,000 flights recorded as late. Both airports saw the number of delays increase, rising two percentage points for Glasgow and three for Aberdeen respectively.

CAA data also showed that 19 per cent of almost 42,000 flights failed to take off or land on time at Newcastle, which is also used by many Scottish holidaymakers.

Which? said: “As we leave the EU, Which? believes the UK Government must maintain and protect passenger rights and look at the opportunity to go beyond current EU regulations. We are also calling for airlines to start automatically compensating eligible passengers who have experienced a severe delay to their journey.

“This would both simplify the existing claims process and also ensure that passengers are not pushed into the arms of claims management companies, who can take a large chunk of any compensation.”

Jon Platt is relieved the case is over.