With Plane basics on holiday dramas

DREAM summer holidays can fast turn into a nightmare when flights are grounded.

Ryanair has cancelled dozens of flights because of crew strikes, messing up travel for thousands and ruining family breaks.

If you are hoping to jet off for another dose of sun, here is what you need to know if you end up raging at an airport.

Your basic rights

If your flight is covered by EU law, your airline must let you choose between two options:

Receive a refund. You are entitled to your money back for all parts of the air ticket you have not used.

For instance, if you have booked a return flight and the outbound leg is cancelled, you can get the full cost of the return ticket back from your airline.

Choose an alternative flight. If you still want to travel, then your airline must find you a flight.

It is up to you whether to fly as soon as possible after the cancelled flight or at a later date that suits you. Airlines often refer to this as being “rerouted”.

Most airlines will book you on to another of their flights to the same destination.

But if an alternative airline is flying there significantly sooner, then you may have the right to be booked on to that flight instead. You should discuss your specific flight needs with your airline.

Care and assistance

If you choose an alternative flight, you are also entitled to what is known as care and assistance.

This usually means food, drink, access to communications, such as refunding the reasonable cost of phone calls, and accommodation, if necessary.

Am I covered by EU law?

To be covered, your flight must either be:

Departing from an EU airport and operated by any airline, or

Arriving at an EU airport and operated by an EU airline. Under this particular law, EU airports also include those found in Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland.

Do I get compensation?

This depends on the actual cause of the cancellation.

If the cause was out of the airline’s control and there were no “reasonable” measures it could have taken to avoid it, you will not be entitled to compensation.

Examples include dangerous weather conditions or air traffic control strikes.

But if the cancellation was down to the airline, such as a faulty plane or a crew strike, then you should be entitled to compensation.