How to check if my flight is cancelled as millions stranded in aftermath of air traffic control failure
The air traffic control failure which saw hundreds of flights to and from the UK cancelled on Bank Holiday Monday continues to have a knock-on effect,with the catastrophic outage branded an ‘international embarrassment’.
While some of the first repatriation flights have been taking place on Wednesday – with passengers on easyjet being brought home from Palma, Majorca, and Faro, many are still waiting to find out when they can fly, with scenes of holidaymakers sleeping on chairs. missing important life events and in some cases even running low on medication.
The issue occurred after National Air Traffic Services (Nats) said it had received flight data that caused both its primary and its backup systems to suspend automatic processing on Monday morning.
The issue meant all flight plans had to be processed manually, resulting in significant disruption for every flight heading in or out of the UK.
With disruption set to continue for some time in order to clear the backlog of passengers, how can you check if your flight is cancelled or will take off as normal?
How to check if your flight is cancelled
In the event of a flight cancellation or delay, you will normally be advised by your airline, either by text message or by email.
However, if you want to check the status of your flight yourself you can usually do so via the website, app or social media channels of the airline you are travelling with or the airport you are flying from.
There are also a number of websites and apps, such as Flightaware or Flightstats, which you can use, as these will also offer information on cancellations and delays,
You’ll need your flight number to use any of the above, although it’s still possible to locate your flight status online as long by entering your start point and destination city.
In the aftermath of the air traffic control failure, passengers have been advised to check with their airline before leaving for the airport whether their flight is running as normal.
Can you get a refund if your flight is cancelled?
You’re entitled to a refund if your flight is delayed by more than five hours, unless it’s due to extraordinary circumstance like dangerous weather or air traffic control strikes.
According to the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA): ‘Disruptions caused by things like extreme weather, airport or air traffic control employee strikes or other extraordinary circumstances are not eligible for compensation.’
However, it adds: ‘If you still want to travel then your airline must get you to your destination.’
If the airline is at fault you can claim £220 for flights of up to 1,500 km; £350 for flights between 1,500 km and 3,500 km or £260 for all other flights (this increases to £520 if the delay is longer than 4 hours).
Under UK law, airlines must also provide passengers experiencing ‘significant delays’ with food and drink (usually in voucher form), means of communication and, if their flight is pushed back a day, temporary accommodation and transport to the lodgings.
‘Significant delays’ mean waits of more than two hours for short-haul flights, three hours for medium-haul and four hours for long-haul.
MORE : ‘Fists fly’ as stranded families sleep on airport floors after air traffic control chaos
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