Welcome to the Air Travel Claim news timeline page, your go-to resource for the latest updates and developments on flight delays and cancellations from across the globe.
Unexpected disruptions in air travel can create more than just a minor inconvenience. Whether it’s due to bad weather, technical glitches, or operational hiccups, these disruptions can have cascading effects on your travel plans.
Our dedicated page ensures you stay informed with the latest updates, expert insights, and detailed reports, helping you keep on top of the latest stories in the world of air travel, as well as knowing what to expect for future travel plans. From current issues causing air travel disruptions, to expected strikes and more, we will provide the latest stories on this page.
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Technical fault affects BA Flights: A systems failure has affected British Airways which will lead to knock-on delays the airline has revealed. The IT issue was discovered at around 5 pm on Monday (18th November) with phone lines, the company’s website going down, and delayed flights. The fault has subsequently been resolved however, many flights to and from the UK were affected, with aircraft ‘out of position’ and crew over their operational hours, raising the prospect of further knock-on delays. Read more here.
Ryan Air to cut the number of flights by 10% in 2025: Europe’s largest budget airline Ryan Air, has recently announced that it is reviewing its schedules in response to the UK Government’s latest fiscal budget, which may mean up to 5m fewer passengers flying in and out of the UK. Chancellor Rachel Reeves’ latest autumn budget statement, revealed plans to increase air passenger duty (APD) which will add a further £2 of additional tax to short-haul flights. APD rates are calculated based on the length of flights and cabin class. Michael O’Leary the boss of Ryan Air blasted the Government’s plans as ‘idiotic.’ Read more here.
12 Hour Delay at Birmingham Airport: Passengers on a TUI flight from Birmingham Airport to Corfu were left stranded for 12 hours on September 12 due to a delay. Originally scheduled to depart at 6am, the flight was rescheduled to 6pm after staff announced a “fuel leak” on the plane. A video showed the announcement made via tannoy, with the new departure time communicated later. Some passengers, including a Coventry couple who received £120 in food vouchers, expressed frustration, stating that it didn’t compensate for the lost first day of their holiday. Find out more.
Drone Causes Travel Chaos in China: On Wednesday evening, a drone-related safety concern at Tianjin Binhai International Airport in North China led to delays for 29 flights and cancellations of eight, affecting over 3,000 passengers. The disruption began around 7:40 pm and flights resumed normally by 6:10 am Thursday. The airport’s yellow-level emergency response plan was activated to manage the situation, with resources mobilised to assist stranded passengers. Complaints arose from netizens about the inconvenience, including a flight that circled the airport 13 times before diverting to Beijing. The incident highlighted the strict regulations against objects impacting flight safety, with penalties for illegal drone use. Find out more.
Bad Weather in Denver Causes Flight Disruption: Denver International Airport (DIA) faced significant disruptions due to severe weather conditions, including tornadoes, hail, and thunderstorms on Tuesday. These adverse conditions caused a total of 666 flight delays and 26 cancellations, affecting global air travel. United Airlines was the hardest hit, with 254 flights delayed and eight cancelled, while Southwest Airlines reported 189 delayed flights. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) implemented a traffic management program to control the flow of flights and ensure safety, resulting in an average delay time of 1 hour and 7 minutes for arriving flights. Find out more.
Flights to the Channel Islands Delayed and Cancelled: Flights to and from the Channel Islands have faced significant disruptions due to heavy fog and technical issues on Monday, 12 August 2024. Several airlines including Aurigny, easyJet, Blue Islands, and British Airways experienced delays or cancellations. Aurigny highlighted that the complications were caused by “heavy fog and unforeseen maintenance” issues with their newly leased aircraft, G-PEMB, which had been recently added to their fleet. Despite the aircraft performing well initially, unexpected technical problems arose after its service introduction, leading to cancellations of flights to Alderney, Exeter, and London City Airports. Find out more.
Storm Debby Causes Travel Chaos Across America: Sunday was a challenging day for many air travellers in America, with nearly 2,500 U.S. flights cancelled and nearly 10,000 delayed. By Monday noon, an additional 1,500 flights were cancelled, and over 3,000 were delayed. American Airlines was notably affected, cancelling nearly 20% and delaying a third of its flights on Sunday due to Tropical Storm Debby and other severe weather across the U.S. Find out more.
Ryanair Cancels a Large Number of Flights Due to Air Traffic Control Issues: Ryanair has apologised to passengers for flight delays across its network on August 5th, attributing the issues to air traffic control (ATC) shortages across Europe. The budget airline delayed 101 of its 584 first wave departures that morning, affecting 17% of its flights. Other airlines have also experienced delays recently due to similar ATC issues. Find out more.
Storms Across Europe Disrupt Travel from UK Airports: August has started with significant disruption for airline passengers due to storms across Europe and air-traffic control restrictions. Thousands of travellers have faced cancellations, including at least 60 British Airways flights on Friday, affecting up to 10,000 passengers. Cancellations include flights from London Heathrow to Toulouse and Milan, London City airport to Palma, Glasgow, and Berlin, and long flights from Gatwick to Agadir and Heraklion in Crete. EasyJet also cancelled 14 flights from Gatwick to niche airports like Toulon, Pula, and Tivat. They cited adverse weather and air-traffic control restrictions as the cause and are offering refunds, transfers, and necessary accommodations. Find out more.
Air Canada Leaves Passengers 400 Miles from London: An Air Canada flight from Halifax to London Heathrow has caused travel chaos by landing in the wrong airport. The Boeing 737 Max reached the eastern tip of Newfoundland before turning back west to Montreal, leaving passengers 400 miles further from London than when they started their journey. The reason for the issues has not yet been discovered. Find out more.
Protests Across Europe Cause Delays and Cancellations: Germany’s busiest airport, Frankfurt, cancelled over 100 flights on Thursday after environmental activists breached security fences, prompting a response from police, firefighters, and airport security. By 7:50 a.m. local time, all runways were operational again, but further disruptions are expected. The activists aim to highlight climate change and demand an end to fossil fuel use by 2030. Frankfurt Airport condemned the protests, citing safety risks. Similar protests occurred across Europe, including Finland, Norway, Switzerland, and Spain. German legislation is being considered to impose stricter penalties for airport disruptions, potentially leading to two-year prison sentences. Find out more.
The Olympics Opening Ceremony Causes Cancelled Flights in France: Airports in Paris were closed for six hours on Friday for security during the opening ceremony, leading to the cancellation of hundreds of flights, especially Air France and EasyJet. By Saturday morning, air travel began returning to normal with only a few cancellations or delays at Paris Charles de Gaulle airport. A flight from Gatwick landed just under an hour late. Find out more.
CrowdStrike Outage Causes Travel Chaos: Airports are expected to be busy following global computer system outages caused by a faulty Microsoft Windows update by CrowdStrike. Passengers may still face delays and cancellations and should check for disruptions. The outages impacted various services, including GPs, pharmacies, banks, and trains. London’s Heathrow and Gatwick, Manchester Airport, and Belfast International reported ongoing disruptions. As of Friday 19 July, 338 UK flights were cancelled. The Port of Dover faced increased footfall with long wait times. CrowdStrike CEO George Kurtz apologised for the inconvenience, confirming it was not due to a security breach. Find out more.
Tarom Airlines Cancellations: Multiple Tarom Airlines flights were cancelled at Henri Coandă International Airport in Bucharest due to pilots calling in sick, as the union demands better wages. Passengers faced significant frustration and delays, with some seeking refunds. Although no official strike has been announced, internal sources suggest one is possible. The cancellations also affected a flight for Romanian ministers heading to a NATO summit. The Romanian Minister of Transport has issued an ultimatum to the airline’s management. Find out more.
Supreme Court Ruling Against British Airways on Flight Delays: Tens of thousands of passengers could benefit from a Supreme Court ruling that entitles compensation for flight cancellations due to airline staff illness. This decision follows a couple’s successful quest for £220 compensation after their flight was cancelled due to a pilot’s illness. The court rejected British Airways’ claim that such situations were extraordinary circumstances beyond their control, establishing that staff illness is inherent to airline operations and does not exempt airlines from paying compensation. Find out more.
Aer Lingus Strike: Aer Lingus flights will resume normal operations from 17 July after resolving a pay dispute, though cancellations will continue up to 16 July for flights to and from Birmingham, Cork, Dublin, London Heathrow, and Manchester.
Gatwick Airport Strikes in July: Planned strikes by around 300 Gatwick workers, including security screeners and passenger services staff, have been postponed pending a union vote on a new pay offer.
Airline and Airport Strikes in Italy (June and July): An air traffic controller strike on 21 July at Milan Linate and Bergamo Orio al Serio airports may cause delays or cancellations, but no strikes are allowed between 27 July and 5 September.
Airline and Airport Strikes in Turkey: Ongoing strikes by Air Traffic Controllers at Antalya airport, causing delays, will continue until 14 July.
Air Traffic Control Strikes in France (June and July): Industrial action at Paris airports Roissy-Charles de Gaulle and Orly is planned for 17 July, and such strikes may also impact flights over French airspace.
Delays Caused by Gatwick Plane on Runway: Thousands of air travellers experienced disruptions at Gatwick Airport after a broken-down aircraft caused the runway to close for 50 minutes. The incident, involving a British Airways flight to Vancouver with “hot brakes,” led to the cancellation of 23 flights. The runway is now cleared and operating normally. British Airways stated that the pilots cancelled take-off due to a technical issue, prioritising safety. Passenger Patrick Wiltshire, flying from Dubai to London, was diverted to Brussels, missing his taxi and evening event. Find out more.
Paris Airport Strikes Set to Cause Delays and Cancellations: Between June 11 and 13, Paris-Charles de Gaulle and Paris Orly airports are expected to face delays and cancellations due to air traffic controllers’ walkouts at Paris Orly, organised by the union UNSA-ICNA. Previously, such strikes led to 70% of flights at Orly being cancelled. Travellers are advised to monitor their flight status regularly and avoid arriving excessively early at the airport. The strikes protest the new “48-hour law” requiring advance notice for strikes and the perceived neglect of Orly Airport by French civil aviation authorities. Additionally, Ryanair cancelled 100 flights on June 6 due to these strikes. Travellers are recommended to buy travel insurance for protection against such disruptions. Under EU Regulation 261/2004, passengers have rights concerning denied boarding, cancellations, and delays. Find out more.
Middle East and Baltic Flight Disruptions: Airlines are avoiding Iranian airspace due to Israeli retaliatory strikes, causing longer flight times and potential delays, particularly on routes to Asia and Australia. Passengers transiting through the Middle East may face increased risk of missed connections. In the Baltics, suspected GPS jamming by Russia has led to some flight cancellations and potential route disruptions.
New US Airline Compensation Rules: The US Department of Transport now mandates automatic cash refunds for domestic flights delayed by three hours or more, and international flights delayed by six hours or more, as well as for any cancellations. Passengers are also entitled to refunds if booked services like specific seating or Wi-Fi are unavailable, and for bags lost or delayed by twelve hours or more. These new regulations, replacing voucher compensation, provide better protection for travelers and must be implemented by airlines within six months. Find out more.
Heathrow Strikes: The Heathrow border strikes began on May 31 and will last until June 2, affecting Terminals 2, 3, 4, and 5. This strike by hundreds of PCS union members is expected to cause longer queues and delays at passport control. Refuelling workers’ planned strike from May 4-6 has been called off. All airlines will be impacted as the industrial action affects all travellers arriving at Heathrow. The strikes are a protest against proposed job cuts and roster changes by the Home Office, with PCS demanding more flexibility and improved proposals to resolve the dispute.
Brussels Airlines Pilots Set to Strike: Brussels Airlines pilots will go on a four-day strike from March 27 to 30, coinciding with the start of the Easter holidays for Dutch-speaking schools, after wage negotiations failed. Initially, unions threatened rolling strikes from March 23 but postponed them as talks seemed promising. However, further negotiations broke down, leading to the confirmed strike. This follows a recent cabin crew strike with limited impact. Previous pilot strikes saw 70-80% of flights cancelled.
Heathrow Airport Strike: The Public & Communication Services Union (PCS) members will strike at London Heathrow from April 29 to May 2, 2024, followed by a potential ‘work to rule’ until mid-May. This action by UK Border Force officers, who handle immigration control and passport checks, is in response to proposed changes to working arrangements and will likely cause severe passenger disruption. Find out more.
Lufthansa Staff Strike: Lufthansa, Germany’s largest airline, is experiencing a strike by some of its staff, leading to delays and cancellations until March 9, 2024. Passengers affected by these disruptions may be eligible for compensation under EU and UK law, which covers delays over three hours and cancellations within 14 days of departure, with potential compensation up to £520. This industrial action impacts flights operated by Lufthansa and its subsidiaries, including Eurowings and Austrian Airlines. Find out more.
Storm Ciaran continues to cause havoc amongst travellers: Storm Ciarán is the third named storm of this year and will bring with it damaging winds and heavy rain. The Met Office have issued severe weather warnings, and the impact could be felt for some days, and possibly lasting through into the weekend. The UK is only one of several countries to be affected by Storm Ciarán. France and the Netherlands are also affected, and the consequences of travelling to and from many destinations within Europe are likely to impact thousands of people. Hundreds of flights into, or out of the UK have either been cancelled or delayed. Airlines will be altering their schedules to cope, and sadly this will affect many passengers. If you are planning to fly today or over the next few days, we urge you to check with your airline as soon as possible. Find out more here.