Will we get a refund for a flight disrupted by birds?
Q Our recent flight from Rhodes to London was delayed by 24 hours. The airline said it was due to “a bird strike compromising the aircraft’s safety”. The airline put us up in a hotel and paid for meals. We applied for compensation under European air passengers’ rights rules, but the claim was rejected. They said it
was down to “technical reasons” – which we thought weren’t a legitimate excuse for not paying out. Where do we stand?
SmartMart59
A Sorry to hear about the disruption. I hope the delay did not cause too much disarray. On some occasions, I have found long delays in a lovely location abroad not inconvenient, for example enjoying an extra day in Madeira, Guayaquil and the Dominican Republic when British Airways, Avianca and Tui, respectively, encountered technical issues. On all three occasions, they did exactly the right thing in organising hotels and meals as well as transfers to and from the airports. But I recognise that in many circumstances a long delay is frustrating and inconvenient – which is why European air passengers’ rights rules stipulate a pay-out of hundreds of pounds (£350 in this case) for delays of three hours or more unless the airline can provide a watertight explanation of why it shouldn’t have to do so – which will require proof of an “extraordinary circumstance”.
Basically, if the main cause of a delay is regarded as being within the control of the airline then it must pay out. Long waits caused by technical problems involving, for example, the failure of a part, qualify for compensation. But a bird strike is regarded as an “extraordinary circumstance” if it directly impacts the flight in question. So, if the inbound flight to Rhodes suffered the problem there would be no question of compensation. But if, say, it happened on a different flight the previous day and the knock-on effect was to delay your departure, the matter is not so cut and dried.
It is down to the airline to provide its defence against paying out, by setting out the circumstances that caused it. So do ask – and, if you think the explanation is questionable, you can consider legal action to claim compensation.
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