What are your rights and what can you expect from airlines and railways amid travel chaos due to technological disruptions? | Business News

With technological disruption affecting transportation systems around the world, many are facing delays of unknown length and possible cancellations.

If this had happened two years ago, when travel reopened after COVID-19 lockdowns, there’s a good chance travelers would complain to airlines about trips those companies canceled due to capacity issues.

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But as this is an extraordinary (and indeed unprecedented) circumstance, no compensation is due for flight delays or cancellations.

Airlines, however, have a duty to care for passengers caught in the chaos.

This means providing meals and accommodation if necessary.

Travel rerouting should also be offered, but may not be beneficial or even possible given the global nature of the failure.

What to do?

If you haven’t checked in yet, the advice from airlines and airports is to arrive early and avoid leaving your luggage to avoid long queues.

“If you check bags, make sure you keep medicines, keys and any other essentials in your hand luggage,” says the editor of Which? Travel Rory Boland said.

No one knows how long the outage will last and when a fix might be implemented, so keep an eye on what the airport and airline are saying.

Train problems

Although most trains are running across the country, there have been last-minute service changes and cancellations.

Refunds and compensation are due when a train is late. Most operators issue compensation for a 15-minute delay, others 30 minutes.

If your trip is cancelled, you will be entitled to a full refund.

Customers must receive a complaint within 28 days. Keep your travel ticket to send as proof.