Urgent please Air traffic control offered indirect flight

[Serenitespring]

We’re away and have been offered an alternative flight home.
it’s an indirect flight so they offer a hotel at first airport and then another flight.
travelling with kids, is a nightmare and prefer direct flights
have hotel here so ok to wait.
does anyone know our rights, can we insist on direct flight?
am on hold to easyJet holidays atm

I think at the moment it is a case of take what you can get. If there are no direct flights then they cannot offer you one.

Nightmare though.

I agree that in the current circumstances you should probably take what you're offered.

It could be days before the next direct flight is available and at some point Easyjet will probably be in their rights to say 'we've offered you a reasonable solution, which you rejected, so you're on your own'.

Have you looked on Skyscanner to see what is available, including alternative destination airports, eg if you were due to return to Manchester, is there anything to Birmingham, Leeds or Liverpool, either with EJ or any other airline? Anything indirect but shorter connection so no hotel needed?

At least if you have a hotel, you'll have somewhere comfortable to wait and you can go for a wander around the new airport, or possibly go out for a walk, local shopping centre, etc.

Moneysaving Expert have put together an up to date guide to your rights:

Flight disrupted due to air traffic control chaos? Your travel and refund rights explained (moneysavingexpert.com)

I’d jump on that offer if I were you.

Sorry it’s such a nightmare.

Take what’s offered.

I don’t think you have a leg to stand on unless the connection is unreasonable in some way e.g. it’s 30 minutes and you’ll never make it, or the opposite and flight 1 lands at midnight and flight 2 doesn’t depart until 7am the following morning leaving you sleeping on the airport floor. If it’s a simple checked through connection with a normal time of a couple of hours then it seems like a fair and reasonable solution because they can’t just magic up 4 seats together on the direct flights.

You have my sympathy but you will be fine. I’ve been there in the US so a lot further from home, we had to fly west to pick up the connection to then fly back east to London, we got downgraded from business class to economy, I had a lap infant and no bassinet on a night flight, had to beg other passengers to move so my 5YO wasn’t sat alone. I definitely cried at the time but it’s been 6 months and I promise we’re laughing about it now.

If you reject their offer to re-route you the airline no longer has a duty of care to see you home, you'd have to organise your own transport.

Thanks for replying.
There is another direct flight that we had planned to be on - they told us yesterday that we were on a direct flight next Tuesday so we made arrangements
we’re just been told we’ve to go indirectly tomorrow. Flight landing at 10 pm and next leg at 6am in morning.
Direct flights were fine - this is a nightmare
have we any right to direct flight

No, you've no rights to a direct flight.

They legally have to find you the earliest route home; which is tomorrow indirectly. That's why they've changed it. If you reject that offer, they no longer have an obligation to get you home.

If easyJet have offered that it’s because they can’t offer you direct. Most people would prefer direct but it will probably mean waiting quite a few days for that. If you need to fly sooner then indirect is your best option

The MSE article confirms that;

"Note that your airline doesn't have a duty of care if your flight is cancelled and you've chosen not to fly or to be re-routed at the earliest opportunity."

Do you know when the next direct flight is? Some are only once a week. It is probably worth taking what is offered.

We are also stuck abroad and have an indirect flight arranged for tomorrow.

If you find something on Skyscanner it’s worth noting that you will only get a refund for the cost of your original flight, not the cost of the new flights, and your insurance won’t cover the difference.

They’re getting you home sooner! Surely not waiting until Tuesday is worth the small inconvenience of changing planes?

There is a dedicated website to sleeping at airports which has lots of hints and tips for each airport. It’s not ideal to have such a long layover but it might offer some help.

Looking at the chaos, I'd suck it up just in case it means they have no further obligations towards you once you've said no.

Have you checked for any direct flights, even to other uk airports on a different airline? If there are none available sooner that will be why you are offered indirect ones. Are there any which could connect same day with ej?

Flight landing at 10 pm and next leg at 6am in morning.
This I would make a fuss about though. I would say you’re happy to connect as it throws out more options but not if it involves 6 hours overnight sat on the airport floor and if you were to leave, go to a hotel (presuming there is one nearby) and come back then you’ll get max 4 hours sleep.

@TropicalTrama - from the OP I think easyJet have offered a hotel for the overnight wait so they wouldn’t be on an airport floor

The op seems to indicate they will get a hotel for the night so they won't stay at the suitor for that time

If they’re offering hotel for the overnight between the flights I’d take it. If you decline they don’t need to offer an alternative I don’t think.

Thank you all so much.
yes it’s the indirect route that’s the problem
we’ve booked a non refundable hotel as they told us by email we weren’t going until Tuesday.
That was a direct route.
now it’s indirect and a nightmare journey with children with the times.

We’re ok to stay out until next week and fly then directly as planned.
Is there any obligation from them about this or what should I say - to try and get the direct flight reinstated

This. Plus you can catch up on sleep during the flights.

Can you explain what your objection to the indirect flight that gets you home several days sooner is, because I can't see how it's significantly worse than a direct flight that's nearly a week later.

Even with a hotel it’s annoying as it’s not really enough time to get any decent sleep- by the time you get through the airport, to the hotel and then you have to be back at 4am the following morning for a 6am flight! Connections are fine when it’s 2 hours during the day, so grab lunch and potter along to the next gate but that sounds like a nightmare. I would definitely be asking EJ for alternative options, checking Sky Scanner first is a good shout, but ultimately if that’s all they have then you have to take and it gets you home sooner so there’s an upside. Whatever you do OP don’t refuse anything unless you’re in a position to pay for your travel home yourself and to not care about the cost.

I don't think you will be able to claim a week's hotel if you have refused their offer to travel nearer the original date. If you are happy to bear the cost to extend your holiday and fly direct next week that is up to you , not the airline.

Thanks everyone
Im aware most people would be happy to just get back any way the earliest time.
Its just in our circumstances it was better to stay in and go directly.
I haven’t heart to explain the ins and out of it.
I’m here myself and just trying to get advice, if I could request/ask to go back to the direct flight when hotel is sorted anyway and is non refundable.