We had a shambolic Spanish departure

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Leaving Alicante was never going to be easy but no one could have expected what happened (Getty)

Q We booked flights with KLM from Aberdeen via Amsterdam to Alicante, with the Amsterdam-Alicante part of the trip on Transavia. The outbound flights were uneventful. But when we went to check in at Alicante two hours before our morning flight to Amsterdam with Transavia, with a print-out of our reservations, we were told, “You’re not on our system”.

We were eventually put on an afternoon flight to Bilbao, a connection to Amsterdam and then to Aberdeen where we eventually landed at 9.50pm.

KLM told us to contact Transavia, saying “I hope you will soon get a satisfactory resolution for your claim.”

Transavia said: “The flight wasn’t delayed or cancelled so from our side you are not entitled to compensation.”

What should we do?

Robert L

A Transavia is the low-cost airline of the Air France-KLM group and therefore a sister company of the Dutch airline KLM. The fact that your reservation was somehow lost between the two of them is concerning. Fortunately, the legal position seems to me to be quite straightforward. You had “a confirmed reservation on the flight concerned” and presented yourselves “for check-in, as stipulated and at the time indicated in advance”. You were therefore denied boarding as defined by the European air passengers’ rights rules, and the airline that turned you away owes you €400 (£348) each – together with any additional expenses for meals during the protracted journey home, if these were not provided.

For each airline to refer you to the other shows an alarming lack of customer care. But the airline that refused to allow you on board was Transavia. Remind them of their legal obligation, and at the same time say that if they decline to pay, you will take legal action and require an address for the service of legal documents.

This is likely to be in the Netherlands, so you will need to take action under the European Small Claims procedure. And while you’re at it, you might want to report the whole dismal experience to the Dutch equivalent of the Civil Aviation Authority: the Human Environment and Transport Inspectorate (ILT).

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