My flights captain has been pinged by Track and Trace!

[Jamesp21]

This is a new one for me. Sat on BA255 ready to go and the captain has been informed he’s a close contact and needs to leave – they’re trying to source a replacement. Supposedly the same thing happened yesterday and that flight never departed until today. We booked using 2-4-1, how would our compensation work out if we’re delayed longer than 4 hours? Thanks.

[meta]

Not familiar with flight designation, you state where you’re flying.

This is grey area as BA can argue covid-related delay which then means not covered by EU/UK261 regulations. In normal times, staff illness doesn’t constitute exceptional circumstance. I’d let this one go.

[Jamesp21]

Flying to Barbados. Would insurance cover any loses incurred? Lost time in the hotel, airport transfers etc…

[NorthernLass]

You are entitled to the full UK261 rights – it doesn’t matter how you paid. It has been reported that Covid can’t be used as an excuse not to pay compensation any more, though BA may dispute this. The exact same thing happened to us a couple of years ago. BA initially refused to pay up so I had to go to CEDR but we got our 600 euros each after that.

On another note – I thought vaccinated people who are pinged now only had to take a LFT for 7 days rather than isolating?

[NorthernLass]

@meta – airlines can’t carry on using Covid as an excuse to avoid paying compo indefinitely. This also begs the question – why did the pilot have to self-isolate? If this is due to BA policy rather than a legal requirement, I can’t see how they can possibly claim that any delay was Covid-related.
All this needs a bit more clarification really, as it probably won’t be the only time this happens!

Jamesp21 – you need to check your insurance, levels of cover vary considerably between policies, especially for anything Covid-related.

• This reply was modified 54 years, 4 months ago by .

[Jamesp21]

2 new pilots sourced, 2-3 hour delay from now (already 1hr delay), considering getting us off the plane. Need to check how we paid for the taxes for this flight, hoping it was with my Amex Platinum! But luckily I checked my Halifax Travel Insurance today which will cover us. Thanks for your help @northernlass

[NorthernLass]

Jamesp21 wrote:

2 new pilots sourced, 2-3 hour delay from now (already 1hr delay), considering getting us off the plane. Need to check how we paid for the taxes for this flight, hoping it was with my Amex Platinum! But luckily I checked my Halifax Travel Insurance today which will cover us. Thanks for your help @northernlass

I meant regardless of whether it was a cash or reward booking! Fingers crossed you are on your way to the sunshine soon, then just enjoy your holiday and forget about the delay till you get home!

[ChrisC]

Any compensation will be based on the actual length of time between scheduled and actual times of arrival and it that is then in scope of the delay part of the regulation / case law for a Class 3 distance flight. Until that is actually know any talk of cokpensation or CEDR or MCOL is premature.

[NorthernLass]

ChrisC wrote:

Any compensation will be based on the actual length of time between scheduled and actual times of arrival and it that is then in scope of the delay part of the regulation / case law for a Class 3 distance flight. Until that is actually know any talk of cokpensation or CEDR or MCOL is premature.

As I recall it would be 4 hours or more in this instance, if OP had to disembark and re-board it could easily stretch to that.

• This reply was modified 54 years, 4 months ago by .

[meta]

NorthernLass wrote:

@meta – airlines can’t carry on using Covid as an excuse to avoid paying compo indefinitely. This also begs the question – why did the pilot have to self-isolate? If this is due to BA policy rather than a legal requirement, I can’t see how they can possibly claim that any delay was Covid-related.
All this needs a bit more clarification really, as it probably won’t be the only time this happens!

Jamesp21 – you need to check your insurance, levels of cover vary considerably between policies, especially for anything Covid-related.

Covid can still be used as an excuse because the EU guidance has not been revoked. It was different when all restrictions were relaxed in the summer. I actually got a compo for not informing me of cancellation in August. However, now because of omicron and restrictions around the world coming back again, BA can pull that card again. You can try arguing, but I am not sure that the judge would rule in their favour.

CS might give it outright if they can’t be bothered. Certainly they did in my case. However, delay would have to be 4h+.

[TGLoyalty]

meta wrote:

Not familiar with flight designation, you state where you’re flying.

This is grey area as BA can argue covid-related delay which then means not covered by EU/UK261 regulations. In normal times, staff illness doesn’t constitute exceptional circumstance. I’d let this one go.

I wouldn’t. It’s their hub airport and the pilot isn’t actually ill. They should be able to find a replacement from the many not flying right now on standby.

If double vaccinated they can do daily tests for 7 days but doubt they can enter any other country for 14 day.

[NorthernLass]

I don’t see how the UK Test & Trace system can have any authority in another country, to be honest. It’s pretty pointless anyway, not to mention giving out the wrong information regularly – my friend’s daughter was recently pinged and told to isolate for 10 days just after the rules changed to testing for 7 days! Also happened to my family in the summer and caused no end of problems with people being told to isolate when they didn’t actually need to.

[Jamesp21]

Latest:

Finally taken off around 6 hours later. We got let off for a few hours, no one there handing out food & drink vouchers, luckily we used the lounge. Everybody back onboard, doors locked, captain announces there is reduced catering… Catering has just turned up, 2 measly finger sandwiches, a scone and a dessert for an 8hr flight. Had we known this, we’d have either A) loaded up on food when we got let off or B) refused to fly until tomorrow. So not only am I now going to claim compensation for the delay, I’ll also be looking for compensation for the lack of catering. The best part – the Pilot retested negatives and is flying us to BGI. A total mess of a day.

[meta]

@Jamesp21 duty of care still applies on long delay. You can have two phone calls plus refreshments. And contrary to my previous advice, now that we have more info, I’d go for delay compensation of 600 euros per person. They could have found a replacement pilot and flew you sooner rather than wait for the same pilot to be retested. This is definitely not an extraordinary circumstance. Just make sure that you clearly state the turn of the events in your LBA and MCOL submission. I’d also try to find what BA filed with airport control as reason for the delay. Check Expertflyer if you have access asap or someone here with subscription can post it.

[John]

NorthernLass wrote:

I don’t see how the UK Test & Trace system can have any authority in another country, to be honest.

They don’t. But the pilot was in the UK… I wonder if it would apply on a BA aircraft outside the UK? As they were at LHR it was relatively easy to get new pilots, but if they weren’t I wonder if BA control would just say eff it let’s go, and the pilots can self isolate back in London (rather than 10 days crew hotel, 200 pax hotel, fly out a new set of pilots)

Very bad luck, if they called him 30 minutes later his phone would be off. Feels like an extraordinary circumstance to me

[meta]

Not extraordinary circumstance as the same pilot who was pinged flew the plane in the end. BA wasted 6 hours instead of getting another pilot to take off sooner. They should have a standby pilot everywhere as per EU case law.

[Jamesp21]

Got this letter handed to us when we landed. Admittance of Operational Issues and addresses the lack of catering.

BRITISH AIRWAYS
Delayed BA255 20th December 2021 Heathrow Barbados
Dear Customer,
We’re sorry for the lengthy delay to your journey to Barbados today.
As you may be aware, your flight was delayed because of operational issues arising from the
need to replace a member of today’s flight crew at short notice.
Unfortunately, because of the delay, the catering available for your flight was also impacted
which meant we were unable to provide our usual level of service on board.
We understand the impact this will have had on your journey with us today. We’re sorry for
this frustrating experience and would like to thank you for your patience and understanding.
Our Customer Relations team are aware of the challenges on your flight and will be in touch
with you over the coming days. We hope that despite the impact to your journey, you’re able
to enjoy your time in Barbados and for those that are celebrating, we would like to you wish
you a Merry Christmas.
We look forward to welcoming you back on board again soon.
Tom Stevens,
Director of Brand and Customer Experience at British Airways

[NorthernLass]

That’s surprisingly transparent from BA and good evidence for a compensation claim. When we were delayed coming back from NYC a couple of years ago they shamelessly lied to me about the reason in the email they sent initially rejecting my claim, then tried to say they had made a mistake when it went to CEDR!

[meta]

Yes, I am also really surprised. They used to always lie and wriggle out. Can it be that it has trickled down from BA legal? I am hearing more and more similar reports from various people. However still don’t think it’s reached critical mass point.

[Jamesp21]

A further update from BA, are they offering us £100 eVouchers for the entirety of the issues or just for the catering?

Dear Mr Xxx

Further to the letter from Tom Stevens, I’m very sorry your recent flight to Barbados was delayed. I can appreciate how disappointing this must have been for you, particularly as you were sat on board for such a long time prior to departure. Please accept my apologies for this.

It’s vital for both our customers and our business that we operate our services as scheduled. We know that our customers rely on us to do this. Regrettably, there are times when we have no choice but to delay a flight. As you’re probably aware, we needed to replace a member of today’s flight crew at short notice, and this caused the delay.

Unfortunately, the delay meant that we couldn’t offer our usual catering service on board. I’m aware additional snacks were loaded onto the aircraft, but I realise this doesn’t make up for what happened. You can be sure our handling of the situation will be reviewed so we can try and make improvements to our service.

By way of an apology, I’d like to offer you an eVoucher for £100.00. I’ve included your eVoucher details below with a link to some helpful information about how you can use it.

• eVoucher number: xxx
• Name: xxx
• Value: £100.00
• Expiry: 22/12/2022

If you have any questions about how to use this eVoucher, or for the Terms and Conditions, please go to: http://www.ba.com/evoucher

Again, please accept my apologies for what happened. We recognise you have a choice when it comes to booking your flights, so we thank you for choosing to travel with us. We look forward to welcoming you on board again soon.

Best regards

[NorthernLass]

It doesn’t have any bearing on your UK261 rights (which, incidentally, they are supposed to inform you of!) They’re probably hoping that people will accept it and not take it any further.
If you’re asked to accept the voucher, don’t agree to anything. Submit a claim for your delay compensation via the online contact form.

[NorthernLass]

https://www.msn.com/en-gb/travel/news/passengers-stranded-on-ba-flight-for-barbados-as-pilot-tests-positive-for-covid/ar-AAS2KWe?ocid=msedgntp

You’ve made the national press!

[meta]

Yes, you should reply and say that you’d also like your EU261/UK261 delay compensation. £100 probably covers their duty of care on the ground, but did they actually offer no food at all for the entire flight?

[meta]

I’d also be pushing for £100 in real cash and not a voucher. Issuing a voucher doesn’t cost them anything. I’d phrase it something along the lines that I am not sure I would want to fly and spend money with BA.

[Thegasman]

meta wrote:

I’d also be pushing for £100 in real cash and not a voucher. Issuing a voucher doesn’t cost them anything. I’d phrase it something along the lines that I am not sure I would want to fly and spend money with BA.

I think £100 is reasonable for food issues.

Not sure I agree they should be able to immediately replace any member of crew on any flight though. Clearly the Test & Trace ping was unforeseen & there may well be issues with replacement crew needing pre flight testing to be allowed to enter Barbados. Note that Barbados insists on tests administered by a healthcare professional & prohibits “rapid PCR” tests.

BA can’t have enough flight crew on airport standby that prophylactically meet the criteria for every destination as this counts against duty hours. The 777/787 flight crew are also fairly busy at the moment, it’s the A380/ex 747 guys sat around doing very little & they’re no use here.

In pre-Covid times you could call a pilot from standby to fly anywhere at no notice, that’s simply not possible right now.