Will air passengers affected by the 19 July outage receive any compensation?

In the aftermath of the tech issue that wrought chaos among airlines, airports, and other sectors on 19 July, it is only now that we are seeing the full impact of the glitch.

According to flight monitoring platform FlightAware, approximately 38,000 flights scheduled for the 19th and 20th were delayed globally, while up to 4,200 were cancelled.

While this has caused considerable stress for airlines, airports, and passengers, the big question now is whether or not airlines will compensate passengers for such delays.

Unfortunately for most, the answer is anything but clear cut.

It depends on where you are

According to Tara Spielhagen, CEO of digital disruption payment systems developer Swiipr, the circumstances may not necessarily warrant refunds or similar compensation for travellers.

Spielhagen said: “Passengers impacted by the global outage today are unlikely to be entitled to flight delay compensation as it will almost certainly be considered an extraordinary event, being something that was outside an individual airline’s control.”

The sentiment was echoed by Anita Mendiratta, special advisor to the UN Tourism secretary-general, who said: “If it is not the fault of the airline, compensation is unlikely.”

However, Spielhagen was quick to point out that passengers in certain countries are entitled to certain levels of assistance in the event of a delay or cancellation.

She said: “In the UK and other European countries, passengers are still entitled to assistance during extended delays even in such circumstances. [This may include] the provision of food and drink while they wait for their journey.

Spielhagen further explained that in many other countries, including the US, airlines also have to provide assistance to their passengers under their terms and conditions.

Now what?

Given these circumstances, the course of prudence would be for affected passengers to get in touch with their airline to know whether or not they are entitled to compensation.

For those who qualify for a refund or vouchers to the equivalent of their fare, getting in touch also lets them know what steps to take to facilitate their claim.

There is a caveat to this: it could take days for one to get through to the airline. This is due to the fact that not all airline websites or mobile apps have gone back online since the 19th. Email would essentially be out of the question at the moment, and landlines and mobile hotlines may still be tied up.

Mendiratta, however, suggests another route: credit card companies.

She said: “Credit cards used for purchase of air tickets may have compensation clauses built in to address disruptions.”

Where does travel insurance come in?

For those unable to reach their airline within 14 days from their scheduled departure or those advised that there are no refunds forthcoming, travel insurance is key.

Depending on the policy agreement, one may be entitled to a certain amount of remuneration.

But keep in mind that some insurance firms only cover delays running more than eight to 12 hours, so it does help to go over the fine print before your trip.

(Sources: Swiipr, Euronews, FlightAware)