Travel question: What are our rights in case of theft after a flight delay?

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A bag was stolen after a hold-up on the way to Orlando, passport and all (Bill Dickinson)

Q My father booked flights from Geneva to Orlando to travel this weekend. His flight from Geneva was delayed and so he missed his connecting flight. He agreed to (terrible) replacement flights home to Orlando, but whilst he was waiting in the airport to sort out a hotel, his backpack was stolen with his passport. He will obviously spend several days sorting out a new document.

The airline now says it won’t help him with new flights as his passport was stolen after he agreed to the originally rearranged flights. What are his rights?

Name withheld

A Sorry to hear about your father’s experience. It sounds a nightmare for him and stressful for you. Unfortunately, the public areas of airports are real hotspots of crime, with professional thieves taking advantage of the confusion and congregation of thousands of people, all of whom are carrying documents that command high prices.

I’m not exactly clear whether or not he boarded the delayed flight from Geneva, but this is my interpretation of responsibility.

Let’s start with the position before the theft. Under European air passengers’ rights rules it is the airline whose flight was late which takes responsibility. That carrier should have rebooked him on the most appropriate flights – which would typically be via Gatwick because that has more flights to Orlando than any other in Europe. It should also have booked him a hotel if the new schedule made that necessary.

Once his passport was stolen, though, the airline could then disclaim any further liability. Through no fault of his own, he was unable to meet the condition that he has the appropriate documents for his trip. Morally, I think the airline should reschedule him free of charge, because it was due to the flight disruption that he was in the position where he was robbed. But legally it has no obligations.

Under these most unfortunate circumstances, the obvious recourse is travel insurance to cover the costs that will run in to many hundreds or thousands of dollars.

There is some possibility that he could make a case for claiming €600 (£530) as stipulated for delays in arrival of three hours or more. While the airline will no doubt say that the main reason for his late arrival was the theft, he can say that the delay caused by the first flight is sufficient grounds.

I do hope he is not too distressed and that he can sort out the whole kerfuffle smoothly.

Every day our travel correspondent Simon Calder tackles a reader’s question. Just email yours to s@hols.tv or tweet @simoncalder