Scottish airport chaos: what are your compensation and refund rights if flight is delayed or cancelled?

Passengers whose holiday or travel arrangements have been affected the major air traffic control disruption on Monday morning have a right to be re-routed or a refund, according to consumer experts.

Flights are being disrupted in Scotland and northern England due to a “technical issue” at an air traffic control centre in Scotland, National Air Traffic Services (Nats) said.

Engineers are dealing with the issue at the Prestwick Centre.

A Nats spokesperson said on Monday morning: “Our engineers are continuing to investigate the issue at our Prestwick centre in Scotland.

“Airports south of Manchester are broadly unaffected, however flights heading north and flights departing Scottish airports are currently subject to some delay.

“Passengers should check with their airlines. This is unrelated to the issue two weeks ago. We apologise for the disruption.”

Rory Boland, Editor of Which? Travel, said: “The extent of the outage means many more flights are likely to be cancelled or delayed today due to the knock-on impact.

“If your flight is cancelled, you're entitled to choose between being re-routed on a different flight or getting a refund.

“Rerouting will usually be your best option, as once a refund is accepted your airline has no ongoing responsibility towards you or any costs you may incur for accommodation, meals or transport during your delay.

“You'll also avoid paying over the odds for a new ticket if prices shoot up.

“Crucially, if you opt to be rerouted, your airline must get you to your destination at the earliest opportunity, even when that means booking you with a rival carrier.

“It’s important to stand your ground on this point, as all too often we see examples of airlines flouting the rules and forcing passengers to wait longer for a spot on their own planes."

Luke Petherbridge, spokesperson for Abta, the former Association of British Travel Agents, which has about 200 members in Scotland, said: “If your flight has been delayed or cancelled, customers will have rights, which will vary depending on whether they booked their flight separately or as part of a package.

“Abta members will be supporting those booked with them, to help make alternative arrangements, and we have advice to help people understand their rights.

“While the immediate priority is supporting customers, as this isn’t the first Nats outage to cause widespread disruption, the industry and the public will want answers as to what has gone wrong, what lessons are being learned, and how the system will be made more resilient to avoid this happening again.”

Simon McCulloch, chief commercial officer at insurer Staysure, said: “Your airline should be your first port of call.

“Under UK261 regulations, in the event of a cancellation, you're entitled to a full refund or an alternative flight, and delays of more than three hours may also qualify for compensation.

“This kind of disruption is typically covered under standard travel insurance policies, for things like reasonable additional accommodation, transport costs, missed connections, certain expenses caused by a lengthy delay and potentially cancellation/abandonment, depending on the policy wording.

“It's worth checking your policy's definition of 'travel delay', 'missed departure', 'abandonment' or 'travel disruption' as cover levels vary.

“If you're travelling today, check your flight status with your airline before heading to the airport, and keep receipts for any costs you incur as a result of the delay.”