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Advice for passengers hit by delays at Heathrow

Your Money
Written By:
Your Money
Posted:
Updated:
24/05/2013

Air passengers facing long delays at Heathrow this Bank Holiday weekend should check their insurance policies to see if they can make a claim for compensation.

Advice from Gocompare.com says most travel insurance policies include some kind of cover for delayed departures. The cover usually comes into force after a delay of 6, 8 or 12 hours and it is intended to compensate the traveller for the extra expenses they may incur while waiting for their flight at the airport, such as for meals and drinks.

Typical cover may be a payment of £25 for each insured person after a 6 hour delay with further payments being triggered for additional 6 hour periods spent waiting to take-off.

Passengers wishing to make a claim are being advised to get confirmation from the airline of the original intended flight time and its eventual departure time in order to prove to their insurers that their delay was long enough to warrant a claim.

Caroline Lloyd, travel insurance spokesperson from Gocompare.com, said: “As they would be departing from an EU-based airport, travellers will be covered by the EU regulations for delayed flight provisions, so anyone affected should keep in regular contact with their airline throughout any delay.

“In a situation such as this, which would be classed as ‘extraordinary circumstances’, people are not entitled to financial compensation, but the airline has a duty to give customers provision for meals, refreshments and even accommodation and hotel transfers depending on the length of the delay.

“Passengers who are delayed at Heathrow today or over the weekend and have travel insurance should check the delayed departure cover their policy provides as they may be able to put in a claim for a small amount of compensation when they return from their trip.”

Passengers are also being advised to check what information their insurer requires before processing a claim as providing them with this from the outset increases the chances of their claim being dealt with expediently and successfully.


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