Articles and guides
News on strikes and disruptions, and guides to your rights. Every article is based on the EU Regulation, court judgments and the authorities' own sources.
61 articles
Latest news
NewsStorm Austen: normal Guernsey flights expected no earlier than Saturday
Normal Guernsey services are not expected before Saturday morning, 24 October, the airport’s duty manager told The Guardian. Some arrivals occur earlier: the board marked 19:44 local time on 23 October shows GR607 landed and GR707 still delayed. Blank Saturday status fields do not confirm normal operations.
NewsKLM cancels flights during Storm Austen: your rights
KLM cancelled 20 flights on Friday 23 October because of storm winds in the Netherlands. Another 22 cancellations are expected on Saturday 24 October, its spokesperson told Reuters. The combined 42 is not a confirmed total of cancellations already carried out. Check your own booking and any rerouting offered.
NewsSaudi Arabia flight disruption: Dammam, Riyadh and Jeddah
The 22 October addition concerns Dammam: GACA reports normal operations restored after the 21 October attack. KLM’s separate suspension runs through 31 October. Earlier Riyadh and Jeddah reports below refer to their stated dates, not fresh operational updates.
NewsDammam airport after the attack: your passenger rights
Dammam airport has resumed normal operations after the 21 October attack, according to GACA’s 22 October update. The authority revised the death toll to two; eight people were injured. KLM’s separate suspension still runs through 31 October. An open airport therefore does not mean your booked flight will operate.
NewsItaly road blockades and airport fuel: what travellers should know
Southern Italy’s transport protests were easing on 22 October: Sicily roadblocks were due to be lifted and Calabria’s protest was suspended. An end to Campania’s blockades remained a hope in the reviewed Reuters report. This does not confirm restored aviation-fuel deliveries or normal operations at every affected airport.
NewsAustrian OS82 diverted to Sofia after a threat: your rights
Austrian OS82 landed safely in Sofia following a reported threat on its Tel Aviv–Vienna journey on 18 October. False-alarm reports remain preliminary. Actual arrival in Vienna is not established in the reviewed material. Onward travel and care are assessed separately from fixed compensation.
NewsIbiza and Mallorca flight disruptions: your rights
Europa Press cites Aena in its evening report for 64 cancellations: 37 at Palma and 27 at Ibiza. A further 16 flights were diverted at Ibiza. Published at 20:10 local time on 18 October, this is the article’s latest reviewed impact snapshot, superseding earlier counts.
NewsLeeds Bradford: 16–18 October strike called off
The strike at Leeds Bradford Airport on 16–18 October 2026 has been called off. The airport says Unite has withdrawn all planned strike action for this weekend, that it is operating as normal and that no disruption is expected. A revised pay offer remains on the table for hourly-paid staff. The position for 23 October to 2 November is not confirmed.
NewsIstanbul flight disruptions after heavy rain: your rights
Heavy rain caused diversions and cancellations at Istanbul Airport. More rain is forecast for the weekend, but the extent of any new flight disruption is unconfirmed. Check your booking and understand re-routing, care and EU261 coverage.
NewsItaly flight strikes on 16 October: easyJet
On 15 October, Italy’s official register lists a strike notice for easyJet flight crew on 16 October 2026. The notice for Pisa and Florence staff is no longer listed for 16 October but for 30 October. A notice does not mean every flight is cancelled. Compensation depends partly on whether the disruption is caused by the airline’s own staff or an external organisation.
NewsQantas Rome–Perth flight cancelled after bedbug reports: your rights
Qantas reportedly cancelled QF6 from Rome to Perth after bedbug reports. EU261 can apply from Italy, but the cause and compensation entitlement remain uncertain.
NewsNuremberg airport disruption on 13 October: your passenger rights
Nuremberg airport temporarily stopped traffic on 13 October 2026. BR24 now reports that operations have resumed and police suspect a technical fault behind the lunchtime alert. The earlier suspected drone sighting remains a separate report. EU261 rights depend on what actually caused your flight’s disruption.
NewsAir Corsica pilot strike ends: your rights if your flight was disrupted
A strike by an airline's own pilots is normally not an extraordinary circumstance. EU261 compensation may therefore be due if your trip was disrupted, subject to the actual circumstances. Cancellation also gives you the choice of a refund or re-routing.
NewsFrance flight strike notice for 17–21 October 2026 suspended – your rights
The strike notice for French flight crew on 17–21 October 2026 was suspended on 9 October. The unions are waiting for a promised decree and say their mobilisation remains in full if it is not published. If your flight is still cancelled or significantly delayed, EU261 applies to covered flights: a refund or re-routing, care and, in some cases, fixed compensation.
NewseasyJet winter cuts: your rights if a booked flight is cancelled
If your booked easyJet flight is cancelled and EU261 applies, you can choose a refund or re-routing. Compensation may also be due after short notice. A reduction in planned capacity alone does not create a compensation claim.
NewsBrussels Airport strike on 9 October: your rights
The 9 October ground handling strike at Brussels Airport affects flights handled by Alyzia. For an EU261-covered cancellation, you can choose a refund or re-routing. Care may also be required. An external strike may, however, exclude standard compensation.
NewsWizz Air cancels Dubai and Abu Dhabi flights: your rights
The National reports that Wizz Air has cancelled planned Dubai and Abu Dhabi flights for 25 October 2026–27 March 2027. Booked passengers may have refund or re-routing rights. Standard compensation depends partly on when you were personally notified, not simply the date of the public announcement.
NewsKLM winter flight cancellations: your passenger rights
KLM is reducing its winter schedule as aircraft remain unavailable for maintenance and repairs. If your booked flight is cancelled, rebooking or a refund may be due. A late personal cancellation notice can also matter for compensation.
NewsPanama earthquake flight disruptions: your passenger rights
KLM warns of possible disruption to journeys through Panama City on 9–12 October 2026. Tocumen was reported reopened, but connections may still be affected. For a journey covered by EU261, help and replacement travel can remain due even when the earthquake rules out standard compensation.
Guides
Denied boardingDenied boarding on your connecting flight: what applies?
You land at the transfer airport and are not allowed on the next flight of the same booking because your seat has been given away. That is not the same as a missed connection. Here is how it is assessed.
Delays and reroutingDowngraded to a lower class: how the 30, 50 and 75 % are worked out
Downgrading has its own provision in Regulation (EC) No 261/2004 – and its own calculation. The Court of Justice of the EU has held that the percentage is applied to the price of the flight on which the downgrading took place, not to the ticket as a whole.
Causes and exceptions"All reasonable measures": the requirement that can defeat a refusal
A refusal may stop at the cause: bad weather, a bird strike, closed airspace. But Article 5(3) has two limbs, and the second, that the disruption could not have been avoided even if all reasonable measures had been taken, can decide the outcome even where the cause itself was extraordinary.
Delays and reroutingYour flight landed at a different airport – compensation, taxi or neither?
Where a flight is diverted to another airport which serves the same town, city or region, the Court of Justice of the EU has held that this does not confer a right to compensation on the ground of cancellation. What matters instead is when, at the end of the transfer, you actually reach the airport for which the booking was made – and who is to pay for the journey there.
Causes and exceptionsBird strikes and runway debris: extraordinary, but only for the time it actually caused
Bird strikes and tyre damage from debris on the runway count as extraordinary circumstances, but the airline must still show that it did everything reasonable. And the Court of Justice of the EU has set a limit: only the time the event actually caused protects the airline. The rest of the delay still counts.
Causes and exceptionsClosed airport and closed airspace: ash clouds, power cuts, refuelling systems, and drones
The authorities closed the runway, the airport or the airspace, and the airline points to extraordinary circumstances. The Court of Justice of the EU has examined ash clouds, power cuts, a fault in an airport's refuelling system and petrol on a runway, but we have not found any judgment on a drone alert. So there is a difference between what has been decided and what merely looks like it.
Delays and reroutingWhen the flight does not depart: delayed, cancelled or money back?
The hours pass and nobody says anything. If the aircraft eventually departs, the flight is normally delayed rather than cancelled, but once the delay is at least five hours the Regulation itself points to reimbursement of the ticket.
Money and refundsTaxes, charges and booking fees: what is included in the reimbursement?
Two quite different questions are often run together: what the airline has to pay back when it cancels the flight, and what you may get back when you are the one who does not travel. Article 8(1)(a) governs the first. The second is governed by the ticket conditions and by which taxes and charges fall away when you do not travel.
The airline's replyThe airline says ‘extraordinary circumstances’: what does the reply mean?
The phrases in an airline's reply sound alike, but they hold up to different degrees. We go through the most common ones in turn: what they can mean, when they tend to hold, and when they rarely do.
Denied boardingDenied boarding without overbooking: can you still be entitled to compensation?
Many assume denied boarding only applies to overbooked flights. The Court of Justice has said otherwise. This guide covers the definition, the procedure and what to check.
The airline's replyThe airline says ‘the delay was less than three hours’: is that right?
A few minutes can separate no compensation from full compensation. We go through which moment the airline's figure actually refers to, and what the Court of Justice has said about arrival time.
The airline's replyThe airline is not responding: what silence means and what you can do
A claim left unanswered for months feels like a no without reasons. Legally it is something else: the Regulation does not give silence the effect of a refusal or an admission, and under Article 5(3) it is the airline that must prove extraordinary circumstances. Here is what silence means, which time limits apply and why it pays to let Airlate take over.
The airline's replyThe airline says ‘for safety reasons’: what does it mean?
The words ‘for safety reasons’ say what the airline did, not why. We go through what usually hides behind them and what the Court of Justice has said about each situation.
The airline's replyThe airline says ‘it was a technical fault’: what does it mean?
The words ‘technical fault’ describe a symptom, not a cause. This article goes through what the Court of Justice has said about technical faults, which exceptions exist and what the airline should be able to show.
The airline's replyThe airline says ‘you were informed in good time’: what does the reply mean?
‘You were informed in good time’ is a claim the airline has to prove, both that notice was given and when. Here are the deadlines, the burden of proof and what to look for in the email.
The airline's replyThe airline says ‘you accepted a voucher’: what does it mean?
An accepted voucher may be a refund of the ticket, compensation or a goodwill gesture. What you accepted decides what may still be claimed.
The airline's replyThe airline says ‘air traffic control restrictions’: what does that mean?
Air traffic control can be an extraordinary circumstance, but a general statement is not enough. We go through what the airline needs to show, how the delay is divided up and how a controllers' strike differs from a strike by the airline's own staff.
The airline's replyThe airline says ‘contact your travel agent’: what does it mean?
That a travel agent sold the ticket does not release the airline that flew. We go through what the airline can legitimately refer elsewhere and what the Court of Justice has said about agents, refunds and notification.
The airline's replyThe airline says ‘we have already paid you’: what does it mean?
What the airline paid may be the ticket price, meals or compensation. What was paid, and how much, decides whether anything may remain.
The airline's replyThe airline writes ‘your claim is time-barred’: what does that mean?
‘Too old’ can mean three different things: the airline’s own terms, a limitation period or a failure to complain in time. Here we go through what each reference rests on and what actually applies.
- Money and refunds
Children, infants and fellow passengers – who on the booking can claim?
Four people on the same booking are four passengers within the meaning of the Regulation, and compensation is counted per passenger. But Article 3(3) excludes travel free of charge and reduced fares not available to the public – and the Court of Justice has held that a lap infant travelling free of charge falls outside the Regulation.
Delays and reroutingFlight brought forward: when does a schedule change count as a cancellation?
The airline calls it a schedule change. In law it may be something else entirely: the Court of Justice of the EU has held that a flight brought forward by more than one hour is to be regarded as cancelled. But it is often the date on the notice that decides whether money can follow.
Delays and reroutingSeparate tickets: who is liable when you miss your own connection?
Booking the two flights separately is often cheaper, but it moves the risk onto you. Regulation (EC) No 261/2004 attaches rights to the individual flight, and with two bookings the delay is measured against the transfer airport, not against your final destination.
Money and refundsCan you claim more than the fixed sum? Article 12 and further compensation
The delay cost more than the fixed sum covers. The Court of Justice of the EU has been clear that Article 7 cannot be scaled up to match your individual loss - but Article 12 holds another door open, on a national legal basis.
Money and refundsA voucher instead of money: do you have to accept it?
A voucher offer can look generous: a higher face value than the cash and a friendly turn of phrase. But Regulation (EC) No 261/2004 states expressly how compensation and reimbursement are to be paid, and travel vouchers appear there on one condition only: the signed agreement of the passenger.
Delays and reroutingRe-routing at the earliest opportunity: must the airline put you on another carrier's flight?
If your flight is cancelled, Article 8(1) says you must be offered the choice between three things, and the wording puts the choice with the passenger, not the carrier. If you choose re-routing at the earliest opportunity, the Court of Justice has held that a carrier invoking extraordinary circumstances cannot, in principle, merely settle for its own next flight if that flight arrives only on the day after the originally scheduled arrival.
Causes and exceptions"It happened on an earlier flight": when can the airline blame the morning's disruption?
Aircraft fly in rotations, so a disruption in the morning travels with the aircraft all day. The Court of Justice of the EU allows an airline to point to an extraordinary event on an earlier flight with the same aircraft, but only if it can show a direct causal link to your particular delay.
BaggageDelayed, damaged or lost baggage: how compensation works
Baggage is the big exception in the EU's passenger rules: Regulation (EC) No 261/2004 does not cover the suitcase. The Montreal Convention does. There the liability limit attaches to the passenger rather than to the bag, and for damaged or delayed baggage it is the short complaint deadlines, seven days and 21 days respectively, that decide whether a claim can be examined at all.
Causes and exceptionsTechnical faults: when does the airline's exception hold?
Has the airline refused compensation citing a "technical fault"? The Court of Justice of the EU has held time and again that technical faults are as a rule inherent in an airline's normal activity, and therefore not normally an extraordinary circumstance.
The airline's replyThe airline said no: how to dispute a refusal
A refusal is not the last word. Under Article 5(3) of Regulation 261/2004 it is the airline that must prove the exemption applies, and a standard sentence about a technical fault or the weather rarely meets that requirement.
Causes and exceptionsCrew illness or death, and how airport staff shortages differ
Airlines sometimes point to illness or a staff shortage when they refuse compensation. The Court of Justice of the EU has drawn the line: the carrier's own crew belongs to the normal exercise of its activity, while a shortage of staff at the airport operator may be assessed differently.
Delays and reroutingHow flight delay is calculated: arrival time is what counts
A delay of three hours or more sounds simple to measure, but what actually counts as arrival? The EU Court of Justice has answered: it is the moment the aircraft doors open, and in borderline cases a few minutes can decide the whole claim.
- Money and refunds
Refund or compensation: two separate rights, not an either/or
A refund of your ticket and the fixed compensation under the EU air passenger rights rules are two separate rights, not an either/or. When a flight is cancelled you may, under certain conditions, be entitled to both at once.
The airline's replyHow far back can you claim flight compensation?
The EU air passenger regulation contains no time limit of its own. Instead, national rules decide how far back you can claim compensation for a delayed or cancelled flight, and national law may also require you to notify the airline within a reasonable time.
Causes and exceptionsStrikes and flight compensation: when can you claim?
Airlines may point to a strike when refusing to pay compensation. But the Court of Justice of the EU has drawn a clear line: a strike by the airline's own staff is usually not a valid excuse.
Delays and reroutingMeals, hotel and care during a flight delay
During long delays and cancellations, the airline should normally provide meals and refreshments, and a hotel and transport if you need to stay overnight, at no cost to you. This right to care applies even when the cause is extraordinary, and if the airline does not arrange it you can ask for necessary and reasonable expenses back against receipts.
- Delays and rerouting
New EU flight delay rules: what changes from 23 October 2027
Regulation (EU) 2026/2202 has been published in the Official Journal. This guide explains what changes, what stays the same and why today's rules apply until 23 October 2027.
- Baggage
Will hand luggage become free? What the new EU regulation says
The new EU regulation makes the personal item free of charge, but not the cabin bag. Here is Article 11a explained, with its key sentences quoted – and what the Court of Justice has already said about hand baggage.
Causes and exceptionsThunderstorms and lightning: is compensation paid when your flight is cancelled?
When a thunderstorm halts air traffic, airlines cite extraordinary circumstances – usually rightly. But their duty to look after passengers remains, and every case turns on its own facts.
Denied boardingDenied at the gate: late check-in, passport or visa
Sometimes the airline is entitled to stop you at the gate, and then there is no compensation. Sometimes it has misread the rules. Here is the difference, stated honestly both ways.
Causes and exceptionsSnowstorms, ice and de-icing: when can a winter delay give flight compensation?
Winter weather is a common reason in airlines' replies. We go through what the Regulation and the Court of Justice say, which winter problems often hold up and which do not.
Delays and reroutingCancelled flight at Christmas and New Year: rerouting, hotel and compensation
Over the holidays flights are full. Here is what the Regulation says about rerouting, care while you wait and compensation.