Darren,

Under EC Regulation 261/2004 airlines etc. are not liable and to add compensation to already massive bills could put company’s out of business. (To quote the regulation below). However each company will come up with it own measure and let’s not forget most Tour Operators and some airlines have been assisting customers.

(14) As under the Montreal Convention, obligations on operating air carriers should be limited or excluded in cases where an event has been caused by extraordinary circumstances which could not have been avoided even if all reasonable measures had been taken. Such circumstances may, in particular, occur in cases of political instability, meteorological conditions incompatible with the operation of the flight concerned, security risks, unexpected flight safety shortcomings and strikes that affect the operation of an operating air carrier.

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Nick that link has nothing to do with ABTA.

I am coming to this from a consumer pov, and I accept my view might be different if I was stuck somewhere because of this, but no, I don’t think anyone owes travellers anything. Airlines & Tour Operators appear to be doing their best to get people home and that’s all that we should reasonably expect. No company should be forced to bankrupt themselves over a volcano erupting!

Sometimes there just isn’t anyone to blame and we have to stop assumng someone else will take responsiblity for us. Do what you can to get yourself home if you can’t wait, accept you’ve been phenomenally unlucky, and take the hit.

Equally I’ve heard people complaining that their employers are making them take extra holiday or not getting paid, well…yes. Why should your employer take the hit? Technically it’s unauthorised absence and if they wanted they could put you on a disciplinary for it!

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Sorry my mistake

Consumer advice due to volcanic ash now up on abta website: http://bit.ly/aWwl4y

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This is so much the customer can expect under these circumstances.
Off Airport car operators have taken customers to the airport and back and secured their cars in the meantime and most have given refunds or a credit note with no extra charge for those returning many days later. The industry has lost millions in 6 days and some may even be on the brink. All fixed costs have remained the same and the work load has gone up.
It is becoming clear that the international tolerance level for ash of zero is well below reality. if anyone is to blame it is the government for taking so long to come to this conclusion.
If the likes of Willie Walsh and others had not tested their planes the airports would still be closed.

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No one died.

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In my little head, the way i see it our CAA told the planes they could not fly, they then a week later said they could but at own risk. Why not take that stance in the first place.

Its a tricky one but I think the CAA should foot the bill, but being a government dept that means we foot the bill and I dont partcularly like the idea of that with the national debtwe have already.

So i just laid the blame but dont want to pay, so who does ?

No easy one there !

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I think in this case you can’t expect airlines and travel operators to cough up for a genuine act of God – they’ve lost millions as it is. You can’t always expect someone else to foot the bill, but I’m not sure if most peoples’ travel insurance would cover this situation either.

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EU reg 261/2004 was brought in to protect the EU consumers from the explosion of Ryanair style poor customer service. Even if the cancellation is due to circumstances outside their control the rules state the customer has right to care meaning transport to temporary accommodation and food if stranded. This case was extreme but Monarch who I was flying with did nothing to help and yet Thomson and Easyjet laid on coaches and hotel rooms. I am now seeking reimbursement for my costs incl making my own way home. The EU regs are the law- who are the airlines to try and duck their legal obligations?

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You don’t pay low airline fees and expect exemplarary customer service. It’s like catching a bus. To my mind, the EU ruling was adopted as part of a general ‘duty of care’, not to ‘spite’ Ryanair or anyone else. That ruling is intended to be used when, for instance, you’re stuck within the departure zones by way of a delay directly attributable to your carrier. It’s not, nor ever was intended to mean ‘compensation’ payouts totalling thousands of €/£/$ were your right.

This was an unprecedented freak of nature that caused governments to act, and to close down the airspace in the sake of safety. Not just for those in the air, but also for those on the ground. If anyone’s to ‘blame’, it’s those that perhaps advised too early to shut down their airspace to passenger aircraft. With 20/20 hindsight, it’s easy to point the finger and invoke your ‘rights’ under EU reg 261/2004.

But, I firmly believe that if you want cheap air travel to continue to be available for all, then leave the airlines out of this, and take up your claims with the travel insurance companies you insured your travel arrangements with. That’s if you were all savvy enough to do so. And if they’re not wriggling their way out of this saying it was an ‘act of God’. If not, then stop moaning and get over it. As I said earlier, no-one died in the making of this compensation claim!

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@Gary,
I am sorry you where left out but Monarch was one of the first to react from what we saw in the trade and others took that example to heart. There will be some customers missed…. from all company’s…. how ever if you send your receipts into customers services they will look at them…. do not give up and do not expect a fast reply they are over loaded.

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you cant blame the airplain thing because they are not the one who is making the weather though they all have the equipment to determine weather there is something wrong with the weather.

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Airliners cannot fly through volcanic ash clouds as the ash clogs up the jet engine and chips away at the impeller blades witch suck in the air to force the thrust out. It is a greater cost to humanity than the price of an aircraft if they were to go ahead and allow flights during this time as it could be a very bad mistake.

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Did you see the film The Man Who Sued God? An insurance company refused to pay a claim on the basis that it was an “act of God”. The man then sued the Catholic Church on the basis they were God’s representatives on earth. It’s a funny movie!

I don’t see the case for making an exception out of the volcano. Insurance companies should pay up in the normal way. The “act of God” excuse is BS and should be struck out of insurance contracts everywhere. But equally, consumers should not expect compensation if they didn’t buy insurance. That’s what it’s for.

Where appropriate, airlines and tour operators should provide some compensation in the normal way. The key phrase is “where appropriate” – they already don’t have to pay compensation when it’s not their fault. There’s no reason they should pay more compensation than they normally would and no basis for arguing they should pay less.

It would be a big and unfair burden to make airlines and tour operators foot the entire bill. Equally it would be a big and unfair burden to make consumers fit the entire bill. That’s no more reasonable.

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our flight to australia was cancelled because of the volcanic ash cloud from birmingham emirates were brilliant and gave us a refund straight away. unfortunatly we booked an internal flight in australia with quantas airlines because we could not get to australia we had to cancel the flight. quantas have offered vouchers which must be used within australia during the next 12 months only. we have no reason or intention to go to australia in the future the insurance company and credit card company have refused to help.

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