Passengers win compensation for flights hit by ‘Beast from the East’
EASYJET passengers have been awarded compensation after their flight to Bristol was cancelled during the ‘Beast from the East’.
Erik Faithfull and six of his fellow travellers took the budget airline to a dispute hearing after their flight from Prague to Bristol Airport on March 3 was aborted due to the adverse weather conditions.
The group, who are all aged between 59 and 72, said they were left with no alternative but to arrange their own transportation home - forking out hundreds of pounds for tickets on a Ryanair flight to London and the hire of a self-drive mini-bus to get back to Bristol.
According to Mr Faithfull, upon his return to the UK, easyJet agreed to refund the cost of the group’s cancelled flight but refused to meet their compensation demands.
Citing European law, Mr Faithfull claimed he and his party were eligible for compensation of 250 Euros - but easyJet disagreed on the grounds the flight was cancelled due to ‘extraordinary circumstances’.
“After several further submissions on our part and rejections by easyJet, compounded by failure to reimburse the agreed expenses, we referred our case to the aviation adjudication scheme run by the Centre for Effective Dispute Resolution (CEDR),” Mr Faithfull explained. As key evidence, we cited newspaper reports confirming Bristol Airport was open [on March 3] and that other easyJet fights were operating.
“The airline continued to contest our claim for compensation, however CEDR ... found fully in our favour.
“We have now received full and final settlement of our claim.”
EasyJet made the decision to preemptively cancel more than 30 of its scheduled flights to and from Bristol Airport on March 3 - despite other airlines continuing to operate as normal.
A company spokesperson said at the time that this decision was due to the “severe weather conditions”.
Mr Faithfull - who cited reports by the Bristol Post during his case - said he hoped the ruling, which was granted by the CEDR in September, would enable others to claim compensation.
“Clearly, the CEDR decision in our case could apply to other passengers on affected flights and, while many will have been deterred from pursuing their right to compensation following initial rejection by the airline, they might be encouraged to do so in the light of our success,” he said.
EasyJet has been approached for comment. organised by Coexist - has existed in Hamilton House since 2008.
Tens of thousands of events are held at Hamilton House every year, with approximately 550,000 people going through its doors each year.
The group is now calling upon the council to consider a compulsory purchase order on the building, which would ideally see the authority purchase Hamilton House before opening it up to community ownership.
Their petition states: “By issuing a Compulsory Purchase Order for Hamilton House, Bristol City Council now has the chance to join other councils worldwide that are pioneering socially-led income generation while protecting important community spaces.
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A Bristol City Council spokesperson said: “As this petition has reached the required number of signatures it can now be debated at a full council meeting.”