BA to Mauritius 12th Dec 24 hr delay

[FlyingDr]

Delayed from 9.00 to 11.15. Then cancelled
Baggage left on plane rescheduled 7.15pm 13th
Further delay (food not loaded !!!) and departure at approx 8.15pm
23hrs 45mins
What is the compensation and the process of claiming

[Lady London]

What was the reason given by the airline?

At first glance you are due £520 for very delayed arrival, or technically, the same for cancellation with less than 14 days notice. You are also due your expenses for all of hotel for 12th December, transport to and from hotel, meals during the delay, and comms expenses such as internet or a couple of phone calls, if these were caused by the delay/cancellation. Duty of care expenses are due to you regardless of the reason it was cancelled.

However compensation is not due for some types of reason for the delay/cancellation (though generally not as many of these exceptional reasons as airlines like to claim 🙂 ). So it’s important to note carefully what did the airline say was the cause at each stage (particularly as the story may change).

If there was no reason qualifying as an exceptional circumstance then you must contact BA in writing requesting £520 compensation under EU261 / its UK equivalent for the delay and cancellation which resulted in your travelling and arriving 1 day later than booked. Enclose copies of all your receipts for any additional expenses as above : list them under “duty of care”. I suggest you put in your request,a request to be paid within 6 weeks. Technically the legislation says 7 days so 6 weeks is fine.

If they haven’t paid within 6 weeks then you send a Letter Before Action to BA Legal give them 14 days. After that if not paid it’s 8 weeks so you proceed to CEDR or MCOL (this will be a clear case with precedent so I suggest MCOL).

For detail as you go through search the HfP website for comments from Jonathan (excellent on Letter Before Action) and meta.

Quickly find out the reason for the delay and cancellation if they weren’t stated to you as they disappear from some sources about 48 hours after the flight.

If you post the reason given here, someone will doubtless be able to let you know if it’s one of the few exceptions or not.