Airspace shutdown prompts claims
Following days of inactivity over UK, European and Scandinavian airspace, after the eruption of a volcano in Iceland, leaving hundreds of thousands of travellers stranded, travel insurers and airlines were deluged by claims for delays and cancellation of flights and package holidays as a result. Under European law, airlines that cancelled flights – even if the reason for doing so is out of their control – are obliged to offer passengers a refund or re-book their tickets on a new flight, and re-scheduling should happen as soon as possible, unless the passenger agrees to reschedule for a later date. Compensation from the airlines is unlikely, though, as they are not obliged to offer compensation if the reason for the delay or cancellation can be termed as ‘extraordinary circumstances’ – many travel experts believe airlines will take this approach. Travel insurers should prepare for some claims that come from customers who have lost out on accommodation they had pre-booked as a result of their flight being cancelled, although many hotels are offering different dates of stay to guests who have been affected by the ash cloud. The media is telling travellers that their first port of call should be the airline they booked with, followed by their accommodation provider – if neither of these avenues yields any results, they should then contact their travel insurer. As ever, the fact that no two policies are exactly the same is causing plenty of confusion among travellers, with many reading their small print for what will probably be the first time. A spokeswoman for RBS Insurance said customers with insurance bought through Direct Line, Churchill, NatWest and RBS could be able to claim for lost accommodation: “If a customer has a flight concealed and is refunded y the airline, but still has accommodation that they can’t cancel or use, these claims can be considered under travel delay leading to trip abandonment. Customers will need to provide written official evidence to support any claims where it is reasonable to request such evidence.” Over-50s insurer Saga has said it will honour all claims of this nature as long as customers obtain a letter from the airline to confirm the flight was cancelled due to the weather conditions. Aviva policyholders, though, will not be able to claim. A spokesperson for the insurer said: “Cancellation of abandonment of your holiday covers specific events only, such as injury, illness, death of the person insured or their travelling companion/relative, redundancy or damage to your home by fire, flood or storm.” Fortis has said it “will be treating the volcanic ash incident as a bad weather event, which means that customers may be entitled to claim under the terms of their travel insurance policy. Customers are advised to check their terms and conditions.” Air ambulance flights in and out of Europe have been significantly affected by the cloud and closure of airspace. ITIJ spoke to Patrick Schomaker of European Air Ambulance, who confirmed the effects were being felt by air ambulance companies; at the time of writing, the company had one jet stranded in Dakar, Senegal, where the crew was waiting with the German patient until European airspace was re-opened.
Following days of inactivity over UK, European and Scandinavian airspace, after the eruption of a volcano in Iceland, leaving hundreds of thousands of travellers stranded, travel insurers and airlines were deluged by claims for delays and cancellation of flights and package holidays as a result. Under European law, airlines that cancelled flights – even if the reason for doing so is out of their control – are obliged to offer passengers a refund or re-book their tickets on a new flight, and re-scheduling should happen as soon as possible, unless the passenger agrees to reschedule for a later date. Compensation from the airlines is unlikely, though, as they are not obliged to offer compensation if the reason for the delay or cancellation can be termed as ‘extraordinary circumstances’ – many travel experts believe airlines will take this approach.
Travel insurers should prepare for some claims that come from customers who have lost out on accommodation they had pre-booked as a result of their flight being cancelled, although many hotels are offering different dates of stay to guests who have been affected by the ash cloud. The media is telling travellers that their first port of call should be the airline they booked with, followed by their accommodation provider – if neither of these avenues yields any results, they should then contact their travel insurer.
As ever, the fact that no two policies are exactly the same is causing plenty of confusion among travellers, with many reading their small print for what will probably be the first time. A spokeswoman for RBS Insurance said customers with insurance bought through Direct Line, Churchill, NatWest and RBS could be able to claim for lost accommodation: “If a customer has a flight concealed and is refunded y the airline, but still has accommodation that they can’t cancel or use, these claims can be considered under travel delay leading to trip abandonment. Customers will need to provide written official evidence to support any claims where it is reasonable to request such evidence.” Over-50s insurer Saga has said it will honour all claims of this nature as long as customers obtain a letter from the airline to confirm the flight was cancelled due to the weather conditions. Aviva policyholders, though, will not be able to claim. A spokesperson for the insurer said: “Cancellation of abandonment of your holiday covers specific events only, such as injury, illness, death of the person insured or their travelling companion/relative, redundancy or damage to your home by fire, flood or storm.” Fortis has said it “will be treating the volcanic ash incident as a bad weather event, which means that customers may be entitled to claim under the terms of their travel insurance policy. Customers are advised to check their terms and conditions.”
Air ambulance flights in and out of Europe have been significantly affected by the cloud and closure of airspace. ITIJ spoke to Patrick Schomaker of European Air Ambulance, who confirmed the effects were being felt by air ambulance companies; at the time of writing, the company had one jet stranded in Dakar, Senegal, where the crew was waiting with the German patient until European airspace was re-opened.