Can passengers claim compensation for Gatwick runway chaos?

Simon Calder answers your questions on new ways to explore Philadelphia, rail travel in central Europe, and compensation for flights disruption

The runway at Gatwick was closed following a problem with a departing BA plane (Alamy/PA)

Q You covered the British Airways plane at Gatwick airport that stopped in the middle of the runway. It seems to have caused all kinds of mayhem. Does that mean passengers who were affected by it can claim compensation from BA?

Phil P

A At lunchtime yesterday, the world’s busiest single-runway airport was closed to arrivals and departures for 50 minutes. The cause: a British Airways flight to Vancouver whose pilots decided to abandon its departure and came to a halt in the middle of the runway.

No one was hurt, but 16 flights were diverted and dozens more heavily delayed or cancelled. A British Airways spokesperson later told me: “Our pilots took the precautionary decision to cancel take-off due to a technical issue. Safety is always our top priority and we apologise to customers for the inconvenience caused.”

Thousands of passengers faced severe disruption. They include the 300 or so travellers booked on BA to Vancouver, whose flight was promptly cancelled; passengers on easyJet and other budget airlines stranded when “knock-on” delays scuppered their departure; and outbound Emirates passengers who missed their connections in Dubai due to leaving Gatwick four hours late.

Under air passengers’ rights rules, the presumption is that airlines must pay between £220 and £520 in compensation to every passenger who arrives at their destination three hours or more later. Carriers can avoid this liability if they can demonstrate the issue was caused by “extraordinary circumstances”, which can range from poor weather to industrial action by air-traffic controllers.

All airlines except British Airways get a free pass: they can point to the disruption caused by the BA incident. British Airways passengers – whether on the rejected Boeing 777 to Vancouver or other BA flights – might make a claim.

I imagine the airline will say that the cause was “unexpected flight safety shortcomings”. You could take the case to Alternative Dispute Resolution or go to Money Claim Online, but British Airways is likely to say that the pilots’ decision was entirely taken on safety grounds and certainly unexpected.

The final element: if you were on easyJet or Wizz Air, can you claim from BA for actual financial harm as a result of the Gatwick incident? A tenacious lawyer might argue that case, but I doubt such a claim would succeed.

The Independence Hall is where the Declaration of Independence and the US constitution were drafted – you can still see George Washington’s original chair (Getty/iStock)

Q I have a full day in Philadelphia between flights. I was last there about 30 years ago and did the obvious “independence” things. So what’s new that you would recommend?

Jonny L

A Philadelphia deserves far more visitors. “The City of Brotherly Love” is a mighty and fascinating location. Many tourists are simply too distracted by the big hitters, Washington DC and New York City, to pay much attention to the metropolis between them. By US standards Philly has a deep history, providing an architectural repertoire from cobbled 18th-century streets to skyscrapers.

I suggest a refresher visit to the Independence National Historical Park. Philadelphia was central to American liberty – and is home to some key locations. They include Independence Hall, where the Declaration of Independence and the US constitution were drafted (you can still see Washington’s original chair) and the cracked Liberty Bell – a symbol of freedom. The Benjamin Franklin Museum enjoyed a massive refurbishment a decade ago, so do look in to find out more about the life and legacy of this founding father. The African American Museum, a few blocks away, tells the stories of some of the people excluded from the first declarations of American liberty.

Beyond the independence trail, the most compelling location is the Eastern State Penitentiary – once the most famous and expensive prison in the world. Inmates included Al Capone. Its last prisoner left in 1971, but in the 1990s (probably after your last visit) it reopened as a slightly macabre tourist attraction: all crumbling cellblocks and haunting guard towers. Unfortunately, the much-anticipated Calder Gardens, dedicated to the local artistic hero Alexander Calder, is behind schedule. The centre will not now open until 2025 – but at least there will be something to look forward to on your next visit.

For eating and drinking, the Reading Terminal Market is unbeatable. This week Luhv Food opened a new location in this historic market. Enjoy your day.

By late September the crowds in Prague will mostly have moved on (Simon Calder)

Q We are planning a trip to central Europe in late September and early October, taking in Prague, Vienna and Budapest. We want to travel between them by train but we are not sure about booking tickets: should we get them in advance or can we just buy them when we get there? And should we go for first class?

Name supplied

A This trip sounds excellent: a lovely part of Europe at a time when the weather should be kind while the crowds of summer will have disappeared.

Travelling by train between these great cities is also an excellent idea, though perhaps I can also tempt you to visit Bratislava? While it is not in quite the same cultural premier league as the other three cities, Slovakia’s capital has its own character and rewards for the visitor. Handily, Bratislava is also much less expensive than its more celebrated Czech, Austrian and Hungarian counterparts.

Rail travel between the cities offers superb scenery and excellent value. At that time of year there should be plenty of empty seats. Yes, you could arrange tickets in advance, but I see no great advantage except enabling you to secure slightly better fares – though these will involve committing to specific departures.

Between Prague Hlavni (the main station, on the edge of the city centre) and Vienna’s Hauptbahnhof (slightly outside the Ring), there are 11 trains a day on competing companies, Railjet and RegioJet. Fares are always keen. The journey takes four hours and, on Railjet, includes draught beer on tap. Second class is just fine, but if first is only slightly more expensive it is worth considering.

If Bratislava is tempting, please take the Twin City Liner ferry down the Danube from Vienna: they are at least daily and take 75 minutes. Onward trains – from either Vienna or Bratislava – to Budapest are every hour or two, again with no need to plan ahead.

To research trains, I use the Trainline app and website. It works well to set out the range of competing options. But I always book direct to avoid the company’s fees.

A power surge caused disruption to dozens for flights from Manchester airport on Sunday (Reuters)

Q My son and his two mates were due to fly out of Manchester on Sunday to Cyprus. The original flight time was 5.30pm, and halfway to the airport the airline said the flight had moved to 8pm. So he turned the taxi around and headed for home. At 4pm they set out again. They checked in, navigated security and headed to the gate. At 9.30pm they were advised the flight was cancelled because the flight crew had gone over their hours. They went home to St Helens. On Monday they were rebooked on a different airline, with neither pre-booked seats nor catering. The flight was a further four hours delayed. They have been offered £200 in vouchers. Do you think they should get more and/or cash?

Bri M

A This is probably the most extreme case I have heard of passengers being royally messed around by the power surge and subsequent disruption at Manchester airport on Sunday. Instead of arriving in Cyprus around midnight that day, they will have touched down in the early hours of Tuesday morning – a sorry start to a holiday.

For the original delay and disruption, no compensation is payable: the voltage spike that knocked out key systems at Terminals 1 and 2 at Manchester airport was clearly way beyond the airlines’ control. Therefore they get no cash compensation. All the added taxi costs on top of the original single journey to the airport should be claimable, as well as meals while waiting.

The Monday afternoon/evening flight is a tricky one. No doubt the airline will say this was all one big, miserable failure, and politely decline a compensation claim – pointing out its voluntary offer of a voucher. However, some case law holds that “follow-on” flights are regarded as a separate journey. They could point out it was on a different airline, different day, and ask for compensation of £350 each. But they might need to go to Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) to test their argument.

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