1000’s of passengers have been given compensation
BA handed over £6.9 million to passengers (Picture: Getty)
Passengers are being paid hundreds of thousands of kilos in compensation annually over delays or cancellations from airways.
Figures from the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) present nearly £11 million was awarded within the 12 months to October 2025 to travellers whose claims have been initially rejected or left unresolved, earlier than being escalated to an impartial adjudicator.
Shopper teams say airways are intentionally making an attempt to discourage individuals from pursuing claims. Passengers instructed the BBC that carriers “tried to confuse” them to be able to make them quit.
Graeme Bowd, who runs a Fb group advising shoppers on airline claims, mentioned: “Weddings get missed, holidays get ruined and enterprise conferences get cancelled. Folks discover it extraordinarily irritating once they can’t get their compensation claims settled.”
The vast majority of the payouts got here from British Airways, adopted by Wizz Air, Ryanair and EasyJet.
BA handed over £6.9 million to passengers whose claims had been initially rejected or ignored. Of 10,679 complaints made towards the airline, 81% have been in the end upheld in favour of shoppers.
Wizz Air paid £1.7 million, Ryanair £1.68 million, and EasyJet £371,000.
BA insisted the “overwhelming majority” of its flights run with out problem. EasyJet mentioned: “We all the time pay compensation whether it is due and have a straightforward kind clients can declare by way of on our web site.”
Wizz Air declined to remark, and Ryanair has been approached for a response.
Mr Bowd highlighted how airways usually depend on “inventory excuses” akin to “antagonistic climate” or “air site visitors management restrictions,” even when they don’t seem to be legitimate.
He added: “The overall precept is that they don’t count on everyone to say. If passengers will be fobbed off or annoyed lengthy sufficient, most will quit.”
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For Laurie Watson, a cancelled flight dwelling from Athens sparked a battle with BA. Initially instructed antagonistic climate was guilty, he checked experiences and challenged the airline.
A CEDR adjudicator later discovered “no persuasive proof” of climate disruption and ordered BA to pay him £700.
Equally, Heather Follows, whose BA flight to her sister’s wedding ceremony in Canada was cancelled as a result of an engine problem, was awarded £1,560 after adjudicators concluded the airline had “not sufficiently demonstrated that there have been no affordable measures it might have taken to keep away from the cancellation.”
BA mentioned: “The place clients submit claims that meet the legislative necessities, our groups work laborious to course of them as rapidly as doable.
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“Most delays and cancellations happen as a result of circumstances past our management, however we all the time do our greatest to make issues proper.”
EasyJet added: “If a flight is disrupted, we take our tasks critically and all the time attempt to make sure clients are properly knowledgeable and taken care of.”
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