BA at Heathrow
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BA at Heathrow
What on earth is going on there today?
Re: BA at Heathrow
Travel chaos kicks off bank holiday weekend as British Airways and easyJet cancel dozens of flights
Exclusive: Thousands stranded overnight, with some easyJet passengers from Rhodes routed back to Gatwick via Edinburgh and Bristol
https://www.independent.co.uk/travel/ne ... 99210.html
Thousands of passengers are waking up on Friday morning hundreds or thousands of miles from where they hoped to be, after large-scale flight cancellations on British Airways and easyJet on Thursday (24 August).
Thousands more travellers have been told their flights on Friday (25 August) are grounded, with BA cancelling 50 domestic and European flights to and from London Heathrow.
At London Gatwick, easyJet has made at least 10 cancellations on Friday.
Passengers have complained of being left to fend for themselves at airports across Europe after their flights were cancelled or held overnight following air-traffic control and weather delays.
The broadcaster Sangita Myska was booked on one of the three British Airways flights cancelled from Edinburgh to London on Thursday.
Addressing BA on X, formerly known as Twitter, she wrote: “You cancelled our Edinburgh to London flight with two hours’ notice.
“An entire plane-load of people (inc a v frustrated elderly lady) are at the airport now stuck trying to find last minute hotel rooms during the busiest part of the year – when those rooms are at their most expensive.
“The ground staff have given no reason for the cancellation, and passengers have been told to make their own hotel arrangements. Seems particularly unfair on those who aren’t used to travelling, older people or those that don’t have ready cash.”
Hotel rates are very high due to demand from people attending the Edinburgh Fringe and Television Festival.
Ms Myska, a presenter for LBC, wrote that she had been told the airline would cover only £250 in costs. She later told The Independent that she and and her husband had paid £400 for a hotel in the city.
Under air passengers’ rights rules, airlines are required to provide hotels, meals and alternative flights – regardless of the price.
From Nice, British Airways cancelled two out of its four evening flights to London; a third was delayed overnight; and the one that operated departed three hours late.
One passenger, David, contacted The Independent to ask: “Does British Airways make a habit of abandoning families with children at midnight?
“We have just had a cancelled flight at Nice after being sat on the Tarmac for an hour. BA couldn’t get us off the plane fast enough. Then washed their hands of us.”
British Airways flights were also held overnight at Dusseldorf, Marseille, Naples and Pisa.
Dozens of flights at London Gatwick on easyJet were also heavily disrupted, with many late cancellations.
The airline grounded 36 flights to and from the Sussex airport on Thursday, affecting at least 5,000 passengers.
From Murcia in southern Spain, the Thursday evening easyJet flight to Gatwick was axed at short notice. On X, a mother named Sandra wrote that her daughter was “told to arrange own hotels own transport, easyJet staff could not care”.
Passengers on the flight were told online by easyJet: “Due to extremely high demand, unfortunately we’re unable to find hotel rooms in the area.
“If you need a hotel room and are able to make your own arrangements, we’ll refund the cost of a reasonably priced room, meals and travel costs to and from your hotel.”
Another mother wrote: “My daughter is stuck in Rhodes, flight cancelled. She will fly to Edinburgh tomorrow morning, then fly to Bristol, no trains Saturday, so not sure how easy jet will get all the passengers to their destination – London.”
On the Greek island of Corfu, easyJet flights to Edinburgh and Manchester were delayed overnight.
Initially passengers were told: “We’d like to offer you a hotel room for the night, if you need one. We’re working with our hotel partner to book rooms.”
But shortly afterwards, the airline said: “Due to extremely high demand, unfortunately we’re unable to find hotel rooms in the area.”
Passengers are now expecting to fly back on Friday afternoon, 17 hours late.
On Friday, easyJet has cancelled a further 10 flights between Gatwick and Edinburgh, Faro, Milan, Nantes and Valencia.
A spokesperson for easyJet said: “Due to the impact of ATC restrictions across the network yesterday caused by adverse weather conditions across the UK and Europe which also resulted in the temporary suspension of operations at London Gatwick, some flights yesterday evening have been unable to operate as planned.
“We have been doing all possible to minimise the impact for our customers, providing those on cancelled flights with options to rebook or receive a refund as well as hotel accommodation and meals where required and we advise any customers who source their own that they will be reimbursed.
“The safety and wellbeing of customers and crew is easyJet’s highest priority and while this is outside of our control, we would like to apologise to customers for the inconvenience caused.”
British Airways cancellations at Heathrow on Friday include three round-trips to Rome, two to Copenhagen, Edinburgh and Stockholm, as well as links to Athens, Venice and Vienna.
A spokesperson for BA said: “Like other airlines, due to adverse weather conditions experienced in the London area and across Europe, we’ve made some minor adjustments to our short-haul schedule.
“We’ve contacted affected customers to apologise and offer them rebooking options or a full refund.”
Also from Heathrow, KLM has cancelled a flight to Amsterdam and Lufthansa has grounded a Munich departure.
Friday 25 August had been predicted by the aviation analyst, Cirium, as the busiest day of the year. Such is the scale of cancellations that the target is likely to be missed.
PP
Exclusive: Thousands stranded overnight, with some easyJet passengers from Rhodes routed back to Gatwick via Edinburgh and Bristol
https://www.independent.co.uk/travel/ne ... 99210.html
Thousands of passengers are waking up on Friday morning hundreds or thousands of miles from where they hoped to be, after large-scale flight cancellations on British Airways and easyJet on Thursday (24 August).
Thousands more travellers have been told their flights on Friday (25 August) are grounded, with BA cancelling 50 domestic and European flights to and from London Heathrow.
At London Gatwick, easyJet has made at least 10 cancellations on Friday.
Passengers have complained of being left to fend for themselves at airports across Europe after their flights were cancelled or held overnight following air-traffic control and weather delays.
The broadcaster Sangita Myska was booked on one of the three British Airways flights cancelled from Edinburgh to London on Thursday.
Addressing BA on X, formerly known as Twitter, she wrote: “You cancelled our Edinburgh to London flight with two hours’ notice.
“An entire plane-load of people (inc a v frustrated elderly lady) are at the airport now stuck trying to find last minute hotel rooms during the busiest part of the year – when those rooms are at their most expensive.
“The ground staff have given no reason for the cancellation, and passengers have been told to make their own hotel arrangements. Seems particularly unfair on those who aren’t used to travelling, older people or those that don’t have ready cash.”
Hotel rates are very high due to demand from people attending the Edinburgh Fringe and Television Festival.
Ms Myska, a presenter for LBC, wrote that she had been told the airline would cover only £250 in costs. She later told The Independent that she and and her husband had paid £400 for a hotel in the city.
Under air passengers’ rights rules, airlines are required to provide hotels, meals and alternative flights – regardless of the price.
From Nice, British Airways cancelled two out of its four evening flights to London; a third was delayed overnight; and the one that operated departed three hours late.
One passenger, David, contacted The Independent to ask: “Does British Airways make a habit of abandoning families with children at midnight?
“We have just had a cancelled flight at Nice after being sat on the Tarmac for an hour. BA couldn’t get us off the plane fast enough. Then washed their hands of us.”
British Airways flights were also held overnight at Dusseldorf, Marseille, Naples and Pisa.
Dozens of flights at London Gatwick on easyJet were also heavily disrupted, with many late cancellations.
The airline grounded 36 flights to and from the Sussex airport on Thursday, affecting at least 5,000 passengers.
From Murcia in southern Spain, the Thursday evening easyJet flight to Gatwick was axed at short notice. On X, a mother named Sandra wrote that her daughter was “told to arrange own hotels own transport, easyJet staff could not care”.
Passengers on the flight were told online by easyJet: “Due to extremely high demand, unfortunately we’re unable to find hotel rooms in the area.
“If you need a hotel room and are able to make your own arrangements, we’ll refund the cost of a reasonably priced room, meals and travel costs to and from your hotel.”
Another mother wrote: “My daughter is stuck in Rhodes, flight cancelled. She will fly to Edinburgh tomorrow morning, then fly to Bristol, no trains Saturday, so not sure how easy jet will get all the passengers to their destination – London.”
On the Greek island of Corfu, easyJet flights to Edinburgh and Manchester were delayed overnight.
Initially passengers were told: “We’d like to offer you a hotel room for the night, if you need one. We’re working with our hotel partner to book rooms.”
But shortly afterwards, the airline said: “Due to extremely high demand, unfortunately we’re unable to find hotel rooms in the area.”
Passengers are now expecting to fly back on Friday afternoon, 17 hours late.
On Friday, easyJet has cancelled a further 10 flights between Gatwick and Edinburgh, Faro, Milan, Nantes and Valencia.
A spokesperson for easyJet said: “Due to the impact of ATC restrictions across the network yesterday caused by adverse weather conditions across the UK and Europe which also resulted in the temporary suspension of operations at London Gatwick, some flights yesterday evening have been unable to operate as planned.
“We have been doing all possible to minimise the impact for our customers, providing those on cancelled flights with options to rebook or receive a refund as well as hotel accommodation and meals where required and we advise any customers who source their own that they will be reimbursed.
“The safety and wellbeing of customers and crew is easyJet’s highest priority and while this is outside of our control, we would like to apologise to customers for the inconvenience caused.”
British Airways cancellations at Heathrow on Friday include three round-trips to Rome, two to Copenhagen, Edinburgh and Stockholm, as well as links to Athens, Venice and Vienna.
A spokesperson for BA said: “Like other airlines, due to adverse weather conditions experienced in the London area and across Europe, we’ve made some minor adjustments to our short-haul schedule.
“We’ve contacted affected customers to apologise and offer them rebooking options or a full refund.”
Also from Heathrow, KLM has cancelled a flight to Amsterdam and Lufthansa has grounded a Munich departure.
Friday 25 August had been predicted by the aviation analyst, Cirium, as the busiest day of the year. Such is the scale of cancellations that the target is likely to be missed.
PP
Re: BA at Heathrow
Bank holiday weekend travel chaos as easyJet and British Airways cancel dozens of flights - with passengers furious at the airlines' 'disgraceful' and 'shambolic' customer service
Cancellations began on August 24 due to poor weather conditions in Europe
Unhappy travellers took to 'X' to vent their frustration over cancelled flights
READ MORE: Revealed - what to do if your flight is cancelled or delayed
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/travel/arti ... rvice.html
Thousands of Britons have seen their bank holiday travel plans disrupted after British Airways and easyJet cancelled dozens of flights.
Both airlines made significant flight cancellations on Thursday (August 24) as a reduction in flying was imposed by Air Traffic Control over parts of Western Europe due to poor weather conditions.
The chaos continued into Friday, with British Airways and easyJet cancelling at least 40 more flights between UK airports and destinations in the U.S, Greece and Spain, among other destinations.
Unhappy travellers took to 'X', formerly known as Twitter, on Friday morning to vent their frustration over cancelled flights, with some citing issues with the airlines' customer service.
Barry Sheerman, the Labour MP for Huddersfield, wrote: 'Chaotic scenes at Heathrow as flights cancelled and people stranded.'
Thousands of Britons have seen their bank holiday travel plans disrupted after British Airways and easyJet cancelled dozens of flights
And user ‘Fi Golden’ wrote: ‘Going to the U.S to get married, but oh wait, BA cancelled our flight from Glasgow two hours before and told us to leave the airport and go home because there was nothing the staff there could do. Called the useless customer service line and got an automated voice saying they're dealing with a lot of calls and to try again later.’
User 'Lionel' wrote: 'British Airways - cancelling our flight once was bad enough but then twice with less than three hours' notice and not answering the phone is an absolute disgrace.'
While user 'Ella' tagged easyJet in a tweet and said: ‘'Flight cancelled from Alicante to Bristol, no other flights until Monday and no help in finding accommodation for the four extra days we have to stay here for. Sort it out.' She added that the situation was a 'shambles'.
MailOnline Travel Editor Ted Thornhill was also caught up in the disruption. He says: 'My flight from Marseille to London Gatwick on Thursday was delayed by almost four hours. In Marseille we sat at the gate with the doors closed for three hours, with the captain explaining that thunderstorms in northern France had prompted air traffic control to place restrictions on flight routes.
'He sounded as frustrated as we passengers all felt.
'Then we were held up at Gatwick once we'd landed as departures had been suspended because of heavy weather, which meant our gate was occupied.
'To their credit, the pilots were very apologetic and invited passengers up into the flight deck to help pass the time on the tarmac in Marseille. And the cabin crew were quick to hand out water and free snacks.
'The gate staff, however, at Marseille were unimpressive. Their communication was woeful. They didn't seem to care one jot about our plight. They couldn't even muster the energy to get on the PA system and utter a quick apology.'
Commenting on the cancellations, Rory Boland, Editor of Which? Travel, said: 'Thousands of travellers are having their holiday plans thrown into disarray by delays and cancellations and yet again we are seeing passengers complaining about a complete failure from airlines to communicate properly about disruption or provide adequate support and help with rerouting and refunds.
Both easyJet and British Airways made significant flight cancellations on Thursday as a reduction in flying was imposed by air traffic controllers over parts of Western Europe due to poor weather conditions
'Year after year it's the same old story and passengers are fed up of airlines disregarding their rights and getting away with it. The Civil Aviation Authority must be given the powers it needs to take action against airlines when they fail customers in the event of disruption – including the ability to fine companies directly. The Prime Minister must now prioritise legislation to deliver the government’s commitment for stronger enforcement powers in the King’s Speech later this year.'
A statement from BA says: ‘Like other airlines, due to adverse weather conditions experienced in the London area and across Europe, we've made some minor adjustments to our short-haul schedule. We've contacted affected customers to apologise and offer them rebooking options or a full refund.’
The airline added that it had ‘taken action on short-haul routes with multi-frequencies to ensure customers are able to travel as close to their original departure date as planned’.
MailOnline Travel Editor Ted Thornhill was caught up in the disruption, with his easyJet flight from Marseille to London dramatically delayed on Thursday. Above is his view of the beginnings of the storm system that the plane was diverted around
And a statement from easyJet said: 'Due to the impact of ATC restrictions across the network yesterday caused by adverse weather conditions across the UK and Europe which also resulted in the temporary suspension of operations at London Gatwick, some flights yesterday evening have been unable to operate as planned.
'We have been doing all possible to minimise the impact for our customers, providing those on cancelled flights with options to rebook or receive a refund as well as hotel accommodation and meals where required and we advise any customers who source their own that they will be reimbursed.
'Due to the knock-on impact of yesterday’s weather and air traffic restrictions, we advise customers to check the status of their flight on our Flight Tracker or via the app.'
The statement adds: 'The safety and wellbeing of customers and crew is easyJet’s highest priority and while this is outside of our control, we would like to apologise to customers for the inconvenience caused.'
PP
Cancellations began on August 24 due to poor weather conditions in Europe
Unhappy travellers took to 'X' to vent their frustration over cancelled flights
READ MORE: Revealed - what to do if your flight is cancelled or delayed
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/travel/arti ... rvice.html
Thousands of Britons have seen their bank holiday travel plans disrupted after British Airways and easyJet cancelled dozens of flights.
Both airlines made significant flight cancellations on Thursday (August 24) as a reduction in flying was imposed by Air Traffic Control over parts of Western Europe due to poor weather conditions.
The chaos continued into Friday, with British Airways and easyJet cancelling at least 40 more flights between UK airports and destinations in the U.S, Greece and Spain, among other destinations.
Unhappy travellers took to 'X', formerly known as Twitter, on Friday morning to vent their frustration over cancelled flights, with some citing issues with the airlines' customer service.
Barry Sheerman, the Labour MP for Huddersfield, wrote: 'Chaotic scenes at Heathrow as flights cancelled and people stranded.'
Thousands of Britons have seen their bank holiday travel plans disrupted after British Airways and easyJet cancelled dozens of flights
And user ‘Fi Golden’ wrote: ‘Going to the U.S to get married, but oh wait, BA cancelled our flight from Glasgow two hours before and told us to leave the airport and go home because there was nothing the staff there could do. Called the useless customer service line and got an automated voice saying they're dealing with a lot of calls and to try again later.’
User 'Lionel' wrote: 'British Airways - cancelling our flight once was bad enough but then twice with less than three hours' notice and not answering the phone is an absolute disgrace.'
While user 'Ella' tagged easyJet in a tweet and said: ‘'Flight cancelled from Alicante to Bristol, no other flights until Monday and no help in finding accommodation for the four extra days we have to stay here for. Sort it out.' She added that the situation was a 'shambles'.
MailOnline Travel Editor Ted Thornhill was also caught up in the disruption. He says: 'My flight from Marseille to London Gatwick on Thursday was delayed by almost four hours. In Marseille we sat at the gate with the doors closed for three hours, with the captain explaining that thunderstorms in northern France had prompted air traffic control to place restrictions on flight routes.
'He sounded as frustrated as we passengers all felt.
'Then we were held up at Gatwick once we'd landed as departures had been suspended because of heavy weather, which meant our gate was occupied.
'To their credit, the pilots were very apologetic and invited passengers up into the flight deck to help pass the time on the tarmac in Marseille. And the cabin crew were quick to hand out water and free snacks.
'The gate staff, however, at Marseille were unimpressive. Their communication was woeful. They didn't seem to care one jot about our plight. They couldn't even muster the energy to get on the PA system and utter a quick apology.'
Commenting on the cancellations, Rory Boland, Editor of Which? Travel, said: 'Thousands of travellers are having their holiday plans thrown into disarray by delays and cancellations and yet again we are seeing passengers complaining about a complete failure from airlines to communicate properly about disruption or provide adequate support and help with rerouting and refunds.
Both easyJet and British Airways made significant flight cancellations on Thursday as a reduction in flying was imposed by air traffic controllers over parts of Western Europe due to poor weather conditions
'Year after year it's the same old story and passengers are fed up of airlines disregarding their rights and getting away with it. The Civil Aviation Authority must be given the powers it needs to take action against airlines when they fail customers in the event of disruption – including the ability to fine companies directly. The Prime Minister must now prioritise legislation to deliver the government’s commitment for stronger enforcement powers in the King’s Speech later this year.'
A statement from BA says: ‘Like other airlines, due to adverse weather conditions experienced in the London area and across Europe, we've made some minor adjustments to our short-haul schedule. We've contacted affected customers to apologise and offer them rebooking options or a full refund.’
The airline added that it had ‘taken action on short-haul routes with multi-frequencies to ensure customers are able to travel as close to their original departure date as planned’.
MailOnline Travel Editor Ted Thornhill was caught up in the disruption, with his easyJet flight from Marseille to London dramatically delayed on Thursday. Above is his view of the beginnings of the storm system that the plane was diverted around
And a statement from easyJet said: 'Due to the impact of ATC restrictions across the network yesterday caused by adverse weather conditions across the UK and Europe which also resulted in the temporary suspension of operations at London Gatwick, some flights yesterday evening have been unable to operate as planned.
'We have been doing all possible to minimise the impact for our customers, providing those on cancelled flights with options to rebook or receive a refund as well as hotel accommodation and meals where required and we advise any customers who source their own that they will be reimbursed.
'Due to the knock-on impact of yesterday’s weather and air traffic restrictions, we advise customers to check the status of their flight on our Flight Tracker or via the app.'
The statement adds: 'The safety and wellbeing of customers and crew is easyJet’s highest priority and while this is outside of our control, we would like to apologise to customers for the inconvenience caused.'
PP
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Woody
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- Joined: Tue Aug 25, 2015 6:33 pm
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Re: BA at Heathrow
When all else fails, read the instructions.