Law expert lands £3k from airline

BARRISTER PURSUES EMIRATES TO COURTS OVER CANCELLATION OF HOLIDAY FLIGHT

WHEN an airline cancelled her flight at the last minute Sarah Birchall was determined to win compensation for their lost family holiday.

Sarah, a barrister, was furious when the airline cancelled their flight to Dubai – meaning her family missed out on their long-awaited break together.

She claims the company were ‘intimidating’ and ‘dismissive’ when she first contacted them but she persued the airline giant all the way to Manchester County Court – and walked away with more than £3,000.

The 37-year-old mum-of-two thinks people without her legal background would have given up but she hopes by talking about her court victory she will encourage other passengers to claim if they are entitled.

She said: “I don’t think Emirates believed they could lose – but they didn’t know I was a barrister until the end when the judge suddenly asked what I did.

“I found Emirates intimidating when I first made a claim and I can imagine a lot of people would be put off, but I wanted to say that people should know their rights – and I’m hoping it will be easier for everyone else that was on that cancelled flight now.”

Warrington-based Sarah and her family– husband Leslie, their two children Harry, ten, and Miles, nine, and her parents – were due to fly out from Manchester to Dubai on August 4.

But the night before, Sarah saw on the news that an Emirates plane had crash-landed on the Dubai runway, and later discovered her flight had been cancelled.

Emirates offered an alternative flight eight days later, by which time the couple had to return to work.

She had spent a total of £5,900 on flights and accommodation, which was repaid via the agent Expedia.

But the family had lost their longawaited holiday, and were entitled to compensation under European aviation policy.

She added: “I just turned up and fought the case for about 90 minutes – Emirates were arguing the flight was cancelled due to exceptional circumstances.”

Sarah won £506 compensation for each passenger plus £520 costs.

But she was disappointed with the experience, adding: “I found Emirates to be rude and dismissive and they responded to my initial emails in an intimidating way, and I can imagine that would scare most people off making claims.”

An Emirates spokesman said: “Emirates has now finalised a compensation settlement with the passenger and considers the matter to be closed.”