AirHelp, the world’s largest air passenger rights organisation,  reveals the best ways for passengers to navigate the imminent winter travel disruptions. AirHelp’s data revealed that 7.3 million passengers across the UK suffered disruptions when travelling on a plane last winter. Between December 2022 and February this year, over 166,000 registered flights departed from the UK, with 23.7 million passengers travelling during this period. This is up from 2022 levels, where 2.9 million air passengers were delayed or disrupted.

Last winter, more than 203,000 UK passengers were delayed over three hours and 372,000 had their flights cancelled entirely. Of these passengers, 496,000 were eligible for compensation.

With some airlines announcing flight cancellations this winter in an effort to avoid further travel chaos, it’s vital that passengers understand their rights when travelling from UK airports. The air passenger rights regulation UK 261 applies to all flights departing from a UK airport and flights arriving into the country on a UK or EU airline, in addition to flights into the EU on a UK airline.

Under this law, passengers are entitled to up to £520 when facing delays over three hours, cancellations less than 14 days before departure, denied boarding caused by overbooking, or missed connections causing three-hour delays upon arrival. It’s important to note that passengers are not able to claim compensation when extraordinary circumstances cause disruptions.

In terms of care, UK passengers are entitled to alternative flights or a full refund in all cases of denied boarding, cancellation or missed connection, as well as accommodation for overnight delays. Passengers must also be informed of their rights, with the ability to make two phone calls, fax messages or emails, and be given food or drink after a few hours. Furthermore, in the case of an airline downgrading passengers, they should be reimbursed up to 75% of the original ticket price.

“Staff shortages, strikes and general travel chaos are forcing airlines to cancel flights this winter. Our goal at AirHelp is to educate passengers about their rights and help them enforce them in the event of inevitable delays and cancellations. Our disruption data has proved that airlines and airports based in the UK have significant opportunities for improvement, to ensure the service they are providing to passengers is as punctual as possible,” explains Tomasz Pawliszyn, CEO of AirHelp.