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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

To ask what happens now my flight has been cancelled?

220 replies

tpwk · 28/08/2026 21:48

I was due on a flight that was cancelled tonight and the communication from the airline has been woeful.

Everyone at the airport just shrugged and said it wasn’t their problem, to go through the app and sort it out there.

I did that and I have a new flight tomorrow, and I’m in a hotel. I know things like dinner tonight and food tomorrow can be claimed back, but what about things like the Airbnb I’ve paid for for tonight in my original destination? I’ve messaged the hosts and explained that I won’t be there tonight, so I’m hopeful they’re going to keep the reservation for me, but if they don’t, then what?

How do I claim the compensation due under UK 261? What do I do now?

OP posts:
MeetMeOnTheCorner · Yesterday 18:07

All this for a bog standard Airbnb night!

jdb9803 · Yesterday 18:35

tpwk · 28/08/2026 22:07

Surely it is though as it’s their fault I’ve not made it tonight?

That's not an additional cost caused by the delay - you can't expect them to pay for a hotel for the night and for your AirBnB for the same night - you have to be responsible for one of them

Mitzuko · Yesterday 18:50

It mainly depends on the reason why the flight was cancelled. If it is for a major disruption like earthquake, weather, war etc then they are only responsible for a full flight refund but no other expenses unfortunately.

If they cancelled deliberately and offered no other reprotection you should be able to claim back expenses.

TadpolesInPool · Yesterday 19:04

I have travelled twice with easyjet this week (family emergency).

Both times all flights were severely delayed and many were cancelled. Due to thunderstorms all over Europe.

Both times we boarded about 1hr late and then sat for hours on the tarmac, hoping to get a slot. We were lucky cos I suspect the passengers waiting to take our flight back were cancelled (one flight was scheduled to arrive at 8.30pm and we landed at 1.30am).

ChasingTheDuck · Yesterday 19:07

Mitzuko · Yesterday 18:50

It mainly depends on the reason why the flight was cancelled. If it is for a major disruption like earthquake, weather, war etc then they are only responsible for a full flight refund but no other expenses unfortunately.

If they cancelled deliberately and offered no other reprotection you should be able to claim back expenses.

Not completely true as I'm in this exact situation right now. I'm entitled to rerouting and as they can't they're liable for reasonable costs (ie hotel, new flight home and public transport/food etc). I'm just not entitled to compensation. Just reimbursement of costs incurred.

lindyloo57 · Yesterday 19:08

We once had a 5 hour delay because of bad weather from madeira , i wasn't going to try a claim as was told by tui it was because of the weather so they don't pay out, but I tried one of them companies that do it for you, and we got £500 back the cost of the holiday, it was a last minute deal, yes they got cut from it, but we were happy.

TadpolesInPool · Yesterday 19:12

Oh and i forgot to say, the first time we were given a voucher for airport food....3 hours after we had been sitting on the tarmac so totally useless. However the crew were lovely and gave us free drinks and snacks.

The second time I was sent a voucher 3 hours before the plane was even supposed to take off!

Frillysweetpea · Yesterday 20:00

tpwk · 28/08/2026 22:08

It’s been an absolutely horrible evening. It was easyJet, and I’ve never experienced anything like it! Everyone was looking for help and the staff just kept saying it’s not their problem

I don't hold out much hope for you. I will not fly with SAS again after they cancelled both my outward and return flights. I incurred hotel, taxi and meals costs and lost my extra leg room seats and the only thing they have refunded to date is the cost of the meal. As long as they cover something they have loads of wriggle room to ignore the more costly expenses. The primary argument is that anything that happens after the flight isn't their responsibility - even if you wouldn't have had those costs originally. It sucks.

Buffs · Yesterday 20:02

I’m hoping it wasn’t American Airlines. The process to claim is impossible and then they don’t pay up. They regularly cancel flights and don’t compensate - complete crooks.

WoollyPigeon · Yesterday 20:09

Buffs · Yesterday 20:02

I’m hoping it wasn’t American Airlines. The process to claim is impossible and then they don’t pay up. They regularly cancel flights and don’t compensate - complete crooks.

The OP clearly says which airline in one of her early posts.

wishfulthinking25 · Yesterday 20:18

Was it to Amsterdam by any chance?

Mumsntfan1 · Yesterday 20:20

Buffs · Yesterday 20:02

I’m hoping it wasn’t American Airlines. The process to claim is impossible and then they don’t pay up. They regularly cancel flights and don’t compensate - complete crooks.

They don't have to for US flights.

Straycats · Yesterday 20:28

Similar predicament, flight was supposed to take us home, it was rerouted elsewhere. All in all an extra 43 hours, two extra hotel stays, only dirty clothing to wear and a weekend supposed to r&r before work under the bus. Airline seriously woeful lack of communication etc

Timeforachange26 · Yesterday 20:38

MorrisonsPlatter · Yesterday 12:16

My EasyJet flight to Lisbon was cancelled yesterday at an hour's notice. It was the last flight of the season.
Fortunately I had no accommodation booked.
I've booked a Flixbus for Wednesday which will involve two wait/transfers and take 50 hours. That's life I guess.

Were there no flights from any airline going to Lisbon? That seems surprising

AlleycatMarie · Yesterday 20:54

tpwk · Yesterday 15:01

No I am genuinely serious. Cancelling a flight because they can’t make money off us by selling us drinks is abhorrent

But cabin crew numbers aren’t based on how many are there to sell you drinks, they are based on how many are needed to help save lives in an emergency?!

Chattygirl123 · Yesterday 21:57

My son had a flight cancelled by Easyjet a couple of years ago, thankfully within the UK. He used the app to book a flight for the next day and had to pay for a hotel.
Keep all receipts. He was easily able to claim back for the hotel on the website.

CallMeBettyBoop · Yesterday 22:30

tpwk · 28/08/2026 22:00

No, the airline are supposed to pay. Not travel insurance- they’re meant to be responsible for all costs related to the flight cancellation

Not true. Depends on the reason for the cancellation. Air traffic control restrictions, weather related events, volcanos erupting etc are classed as extraordinary events and no compensation is payable. Travel insurance covers out of pocket expenses.

LondonFlorals · Yesterday 23:08

You seem to not be accepting the responses people are providing you with here. Let me break this down for you and give you a bit more information, having worked close to the airline industry in the past

a) you are paying the airline to provide you a service (a flight. Not a holiday.). If they cannot deliver that service, they are responsible (thanks to EU legislation 261, which luckily still applies to flights from the UK into the EU, despite Brexit) for reimbursing you with all directly incurred costs (hotel and food covering the delay) and to either provide a refund or a reasonable alternative flight, which they have done. They are also required to provide you with a fixed level of compensation, depending on your original flight length (around £200 for most EU flights) if the delay or cancellation was due to a failure within their own operation, as this was. Compensation is not paid due to circumstances such as weather or strikes which are beyond their control. You are entitled to this ~£200 and you simply need to fill out a short form on their website. They are not responsible for your holiday, that is indeed what travel insurance is for and is a fact of international travel. If you missed a flight because your train was delayed to the airport, you would not expect the train company to pay for your holiday, you’d use insurance. These consumer protections are already much stronger than those elsewhere in the world, especially than the US where the airlines can bump you or cancel and don’t have to give you anything.

b) there is incredibly strict regulation about the number of staff required on a flight per passenger for health and safety reasons. If they could not fly because of a staff member being missing, they did not cancel your flight because they couldn’t ’make more money off you’ selling food and drink on board. It is to ensure there are enough staff to manage passengers in the event of an emergency. This would have been a regulatory necessity, not a commercial decision on the part of the airline if they were short a crew member.

c) airlines are incredibly complex operations. EasyJet has about 300 planes last I looked, each flying an average of 4-6 flights per day. There are thousands of staff. They need to interact with airports, air traffic control, baggage handling companies - multiple different stakeholders in the operation, across thousands and thousands of people. They always hold multiple spare/support aircraft and crew available throughout the network but inevitably things do go wrong. This is the nature of complex operations of this scale. EasyJet last I checked made about £5-10 profit per seat flown. This is not a question of cutting corners, but understanding that by flying - or indeed undertaking any kind of international travel - you do engage in some risk. (Hence travel insurance)

C) the reason we are able to fly abroad so easily nowadays is because of the low cost airline model which easyJet pioneered. It was not the norm 30 years ago. Most of us grew up camping in Dorset if we were lucky. Again, low cost airlines are not ‘out to get you’. They have democratised international travel.

OP, reading your posts and your reactions to responses you frankly come across as incredibly entitled. Have you not flown abroad much before? Delays and cancellations are a fact of travel. Some holidays don’t go to plan. Honestly, a 1 day delay, whilst annoying, isn’t going to ‘ruin’ your whole holiday. It sounds like you had a bit of bother which got sorted out and you are now safely booked on a flight the next morning. You’re not sleeping on an airport floor. You’re not stuck abroad in a disaster zone (others are right now). You are in fact still going on holiday (many cannot afford to do so)

Sounds like you’re absolutely fine to me.

OneStepForwardsTenStepsBack · Yesterday 23:50

AlleycatMarie · Yesterday 20:54

But cabin crew numbers aren’t based on how many are there to sell you drinks, they are based on how many are needed to help save lives in an emergency?!

I can imagine that should OP ever be on a plane that is falling out of the sky she will be penning an email of complaint to the airline that she hasn’t been allocated her own member of cabin crew to assist because there aren’t enough of them for one each.

Cheeseypuffs · Today 00:16

I had an Easyjet flight cancelled from Paris to the UK on Thursday night (there were lots of cancellations - possibly due to the weather, I don't know). Their initial response was for me to deal with it all through the App then the check in staff member was amazing, booked me a hotel super quickly, rebooked the flight for the next day and advised me to claim for the taxi too and from the hotel, up to £20 for dinner and to submit it on line - I was amazed at how efficient and straightforward it was! I am sorry your experience wasn't as smooth.

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