My plan B is Lanzarote... got any island tourist tips?
Simon Calder answers your questions on Lanzarote, airline obligations and cash compensation
Q I think you will be proud of me. I was emailed at 3am saying my 6.15am flight to Croatia was cancelled – with options to fly from a different airport or go somewhere else. I am now at the airport with wine in hand and going to Lanzarote in an hour. What do you particularly recommend there?
Jayne R
A Top marks for sorting out a plan B so swiftly in stressful circumstances. Lanzarote is far from a direct substitute, with nothing like the dramatic coastline of Croatia and pretty port towns with 2,000 years of history. But there is much to enjoy.
The outstanding resort is Puerto del Carmen, with a sublime harbourside location. Arrecife, the capital, is not one of the great Spanish cities, and feels to me rather like a humdrum service centre. Inland, though, you can find plenty of interest in the dramatic volcanic landscape, intricately decorated by the island’s favourite artist, César Manrique. His work drew inspiration from the geology and colours of his home island, and his home – constructed amid a meadow of volcanic debris – is a work of art in its own right. Today it houses the César Manrique Foundation and is well worth exploring. The main attraction isn’t the paintings – it’s the venue. It was created from volcanic bubbles, and feels positively organic. There’s even a sunken swimming pool in a collapsed lava tube.
At the northeast of the island, one of Manrique’s finest works is the Mirador del Río. This viewpoint, 1,500ft above the Atlantic, provides spectacular views from a venue hewn out of an escarpment. Central to the field of vision is La Graciosa, a tiny speck of a Canary Island – but one you can visit on a boat trip across the choppy strait.
For more volcanic action the Montañas del Fuego (“Fire Mountains”) are located in the Parque Nacional de Timanfaya. Visits here invariably feature dishes cooked using the heat of the volcano. Touristy but fun.
Q We are stuck in Kos, trying to get to Belfast. We are booked on a package holiday. What are our rights? Does the company have to find us a way home? Also, our travel insurance has run out. Will we need to pay to extend it?
Caz B
A Whether you are on a package holiday or have made independent arrangements, the obligation of the airline is the same. If a carrier cancels your flight home from somewhere in Europe, it must find you an alternative way of getting you home as soon as possible – including with a rival if need be.
The 2,000-mile journey from Kos to Belfast isn’t an easy one to cover, but a three-hop trip via Athens and a European hub such as Paris, Amsterdam or London may work. The cancelling airline must also book you a hotel room and provide meals while you wait. Being on a package holiday may make the duty of care easier. In many circumstances, the travel firm can just say, “stay where you are”, as the flight cancellation will mean outbound holidaymakers won’t be able to reach their destination.
On travel insurance: as the delay is evidently beyond your control, insurers will routinely extend your policy until the airline can get you home. In the unlikely event you have to make a claim, you might need to get confirmation in writing from the airline explaining the reason for the delay and the actual departure time. In any event, as a UK resident, you are entitled to treatment on the normal terms of the Greek health service. Your travel insurance may also make a modest payment commensurate with the length of the delay returning home – eg £25 for every complete 12 hours that you are late.
Q We’ve finally got home after a nightmare of a journey with Tui, complete with cancelled and then delayed flights. To be fair, Tui has issued us with a discount voucher for a future holiday. We’ve travelled with Tui before and normally had no issues, so we will probably use it. But talking to other passengers, it seems some of them are intent on getting cash compensation too. How do you rate our chances?
Victoria A
A I’m sorry to learn that you were among the more than 100,000 passengers caught up in the unholy trinity of the CrowdStrike IT update failure, storms across Europe and air-traffic control delays.
The default legal position for any flight cancellation (or arrival over three hours late) is that you are due hundreds of pounds in compensation. The only way the airline can dodge that is to demonstrate that “extraordinary circumstances” caused the problem.
Weather and air-traffic control delays count – and, in the case of the IT outage, the CAA has an interpretation. It wrote to airlines saying: “The disruptions directly caused by the global IT issue are likely to be viewed as ‘extraordinary circumstances’. As a result, passengers are unlikely to be entitled to fixed-sum compensation.” But the CAA adds that its view does not preclude passengers from seeking compensation, including through the courts, “if they disagree with the Civil Aviation Authority’s interpretation”.
In the particular case of Tui, whose crewing rosters were undermined by the CrowdStrike failure, a lawyer might argue that the software chosen was within the control of the firm. This could be the subject of a test case – and if it is, there will be plenty of publicity to enable other passengers to claim.
It is always the passenger’s right to be given a clear explanation of the reason for a cancellation. If, for example, a technical issue with a plane was partially involved, that could provide grounds for a successful claim. Initially, you should apply directly to the airline, but if your claim is rejected you can consider a legal approach – or go through alternative dispute resolution, which has the advantage of being free.
Email your question to s@hols.tv or tweet @SimonCalder
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