Was your holiday flight delayed? You could be entitled to £530

THOUSANDS of UK holidaymakers will be owed compensation of up to £530 this Christmas and New Year as a result of flight delays and cancellations.

But there is widespread uncertainty about entitlement to compensation.

This means many travellers do not claim when they could and should. Such confusion over passenger rights will not be helped by the current court battle between budget airline Ryanair and aviation watchdog the Civil Aviation Authority, which centres on claims made under EU Regulation 261. The Irish airline argues it does not owe compensation to passengers affected by strike action staged by employees earlier this year. Ryanair refunded those passengers whose flights were cancelled, but has steadfastly refused to pay customers who experienced delays and officially complained.

It says the strike action amounted to ‘extraordinary circumstances’ and it is therefore not liable. The authority disagrees and is aiming to enforce its position in court. The rules generally dictate that passengers are owed compensation if their flights land at their destination more than three hours late.

This applies when the airline is at fault – but not as a result of ‘extraordinary circumstances’ such as extreme weather.

A spokesman for the authority says: ‘Passengers who think they are due compensation because of a delay they have suffered should appeal directly to their airline. If an airline rejects a claim, passengers can refer their case to an independent dispute resolution body.’

The sums owed depend on the length of flight: €250 (£222) for short-haul; €400 (£354) for medium-haul; and €600 (£530) for long-haul.

Delays of more than five hours mean a customer can abandon plans to travel and request a full refund for the flight’s cost. If an airline cancels a flight, it has to provide customers with an alternative option, even if it is a flight with another carrier – known as rerouting. Details of how to make a flight delay claim can be obtained either from an airline or from the Civil Aviation Authority website at caa.co.uk.