Cancelled easyJet flight

[True Blue]

I was due to travel on a 8.30pm flight recently from Belfast to Gatwick. The aircraft had operated to Amsterdam from Gatwick prior to operating to Belfast. Note the following points:
1. The aircraft arrived late into Gatwick from Amsterdam. I checked on Flightradar and it seems to indicate that the aircraft taxied from the stand to the end of the runway, but then returned to stand. Can anyone advise if Flightradar data on this would be reliable, the importance of this point will become clear later.
2. The aircraft arrived at Gatwick at 8.50pm, but did not depart for Belfast until 11.06pm. What caused this delay?
3. It departed for Belfast at 11.06pm and landed in Belfast at 00.04am, the next day. In the airport, the flight information screens after the last change stated that gate information would be available at 23.55 and gate information did indeed come up at that time. At that stage, the aircraft was about 10 minutes out of Belfast.
4. When I got to the gate, I discovered that the flight had been cancelled. The message/email was sent at 23.53pm.
5. The aircraft returned to Gatwick, empty, departing Belfast at 00.54am.
6. Ground staff at Belfast gave the reason for cancellation as a member of crew going sick, so they had to cancel.
7. The email refusing my claim for compensation states the reason for the delay as delays at security at Amsterdam earlier causing the crew to go out of hours.
8. How hard is it to communicate the correct reason the the ground staff at Belfast?
9. If the crew did go out of hours, at what stage did Easyjet know this would be an issue? And when they did know it would be an issue, why did they not inform pax in a timely manner to allow them to make arrangements for overnight? I find it hard to believe that Easyjet systems would not have alerted them to this in advance.
10. What part did the delay at Gatwick play in this?
11. Even though I ticked the box on the app that I needed help with overnight accommodation, I am still waiting on that help 16 days later.

From the questions I have posed here, do you think I have reason to challenge the email declining my claim, which is worded n such a way as this is the end of the conversation?

[Lady London]

Post the flight number and date, can anyone with an Expertflyer subscription check it and earlier flights same day by aircraft to try to identify the true explanation please?

1. Crew sickness does not exempt an airline from paying compensation under EU261. Crew sickness, crew getting stuck on the motorway, not enough crew members with enough hours left to be legally able to fly : all and similar are not viewed as exceptional circs exempting the airline from paying compensation.

2. Problems with an incoming flight or equipment – and Easyjet is really pushing the boat out on this claiming your flight had a problem caused by problems with a different flight 2 flights earlier in the day – do not count as exveptional circs for your flight.

I’d wait for any answers here if any more can be found out about that flight and then send an LBA.

In every case they owe you hotel, transport to and from any accommodation (mileage 45p per mile, at least, if you had to go home and back, is the rate acceptable to HMRC (if it hasn’t gone up) so that should do here). At that late hour otherwise, ypu must surely be using a tsxi if accommodation is not walking distance?

Easyjet seems to like people doing selfservice on booking their accommodation in these circs, but only on their website/app presumably so Easyjet gets a reduced rate (or even commission?). Not, of course, practical for everyone and in all situations and you will be covered for choosing whatever was reasonably available and practical at the local prevailing cost if that waa needed. At that time of night I don’t think Easyjet should expect you to spend hours trying to find somewhere to sleep.

What did you choose to do in the end? Reroute?

Easyjet also owes you all meals at reasonable local/airport prices till you get an alternative flight if that’s the option you’ve chosen.

Only the compensstion is in question and so far it looks like Easyjet is doing a poor job of denying it.

[JDB]

@True Blue I wouldn’t get too focussed on the detail and sleuthing about the reasons for the cancellation. It just detracts from the core facts. There will be an officially filed reason which passengers can’t access and whatever any Easyjet agent may have said at the time to appease passengers is irrelevant to the success or otherwise of a claim. Also, crew illness is not automatically disqualified as ‘extraordinary circumstances’ and is anyway currently the subject of a Supreme Court appeal.

As stated above, Easyjet unquestionably owes you hotel, meals, internet until they transported you. In respect of cancellation compensation, you need to reply to Easyjet that there are apparently no features of the cancellation that constitute ‘extraordinary circumstances’ plus you have been given specific contradictory information by Easyjet staff [this isn’t intended to contradict my statement above but just to put the pressure back on them, even if technically irrelevant!] and the onus is on the airline to prove that such circumstances apply, so please can evidence be provided within 14 days, failing which you will proceed to ADR or MCOL and, in the absence of provision of such evidence, you will presume none exists. This has no evidential value, but…

[True Blue]

I managed to get a room in a hotel overnight, for 3 hours as I had to be back at the airport for a new flight at 6.10am. No vouchers were offered at all and I didn’t buy anything, but they have refunded the cost of the room I had to book.

Regarding the flights, the aircraft in question was G-EZGG. The date was 12th September. It had flown from Gatwick to Amsterdam on EZY8877, landing early at 16.27. It should have left again at 17.15, but on Flightradar that flight has unknown status against it. There is then another entry for the same flight number, departing at 21.17, but that has a divert to Ams against it. Is that where I think it taxied to the runway and then returned to gate? It is then shown as operating EZY 8880, landing at Gatwick at 20.50. It then operates the EZY837 to Belfast, departing at 23.06(it should have left at 18.30) and arrived in Belfast at 00.04 on the 13th. It then positioned back to Gatwick as the EZY9005, departing at 00.54, landing at 01.50.
I did have to smile at the email from Easyjet rejecting my claim for compensation. It said that my claim had been carefully considered by their legal department and rejected due to security issues at Ams. I received that response in 2 days! Who actually believes that my claim was considered by the legal people and I had a decision in 2 days? The tone of the email is that is the matter closed. Right.

[Lady London]

Yup. Challenge them as JDB says.
Please let us know of your success in getting compensation for what must have been a rotten night.

[yonasl]

EU/UK261 says the airline has to prove it is an extraordinary circumstance and document it. It is not your responsibility to scan the internet for the reason the flight was delayed.

So simply reply saying you want to see proof (documents) showing there was a security issue at AMS.

[True Blue]

Apologies for asking this question, but I am trying to get my head around all the points on this. With the aircraft being on the ground at Gatwick for just over 2 hours and if they knew that some/all of the crew were going to go out of hours, had they not sufficient time to get a replacement crew in place for the Belfast sector and return?

[Lady London]

yonasl wrote:

EU/UK261 says the airline has to prove it is an extraordinary circumstance and document it. It is not your responsibility to scan the internet for the reason the flight was delayed.

So simply reply saying you want to see proof (documents) showing there was a security issue at AMS.

No don’t. Only ask aboit proof concerning your own flight as that’s all you need. Don’t engage wuth theuries. Keep queries to ypur flight only. Security issue on an earlier flight, in this case 2 flights earlier and about 12 hours esrlier on a compketely different route, is not an acceptable reason fot not paying compensation due for the inadequate operational provision concerning the OP’s flight.

It must have been on his flight and not sny earlier or incoming flight, for Easyjet to qualify.

Easyjet is really “reaching”, No actuslly I would call it taking fhe p155, to claim a problem with a not connected flight 2 flights earlier and all those hours earlier exempts thrn.

Defo do not ask them for any details about any other flight -thst would be implying you arw accepting this rubbish.

We don’t really carw what official recorda will say but it should be a crew problem. They lied and said sick it seems so as not to make any normal passenger know it was their own lack of resources ie committing to run a flight and not arranging to resource it with crew and equipment. Looking at official records is to identify all the lies.

I’ve flown a lot of evening flights with Easyjet. Particularly for late day flights it was perfectly plain Easyjet just chose a plane each time out of the hundreds they had flying over Europe, parked in Europe etc , to come get us (usually an exactly predictable time late). Crew on the incoming had very often not had our flight on their list of flights today till a short time (eg half an hour or an hour not much more) before they were told to come to us. This was not an exception Easyjet were doing it all the time.

The fact that Easyjet should imply they only have one aurcraft is ridiculous. The point of the legislattion is that airlines have to compensate failures in resourcing to passengers and Easyjet have no excuse.

PS don’t get into duscussuon with Easyjet as it’s nothing to do eith their failure to provide resources for your flight – but Amsterdam Airport has been in complete meltdown for months and their CEO just “resigned” for it. So known longstanding problem so not exceptional. Easyjet might, but might not after this length of time with the known oroblems in Amsterdam,possibly get away with not compensating passengers on their Amsterdam flight but that has nothing to do with your flight.