News
Flight disruption to and from Sharm el-Sheikh | FairPlane UK / 06.11.2015
The recent tragedy in Egypt has led to the British Government cancelling all flights to and from Sharm el-Sheikh. The Government suspect that the Russian flight 9268 was blown up by a bomb placed in the luggage hold.
The situation is very difficult both for passengers stuck in the resort and also for those about to fly there.
Flight disruption
The Government have imposed serious restrictions on Airlines such as EasyJet and Thomson who are operating flights to Sharm el-Sheikh. They are insisting that no hold luggage is permitted with the luggage hold sealed on both the outward and inward bound flights.
At least this means that holidaymakers stranded in the resort can return home as flights resume but they will be without their luggage which will follow either by land or flown in military planes.
Whilst in the resort, the stranded passengers should have been provided with free hotel accommodation and food and drink by the airlines, notwithstanding that this crisis was not their fault. It is a term of the EU regulations that operators must look after their passengers when incidents such as this occur. Passengers stuck in Sharm el-Sheikh are not however entitled to any sort of compensation for the situation unless they have travel insurance and their policy allows them to make a claim for this. The problem is that the situation is highly unusual and so it is unlikely the Travel Insurance terms and conditions would cover such incidents.
The situation for passengers who have booked holidays to Sharm el-Sheikh in the coming weeks is different. Until the security situation is brought under control, the tour and flight operators are suggesting that people cancel their holidays and rebook another destination as they will be unable to carry any hold-luggage even when flights resume. Passengers should be able to receive a full refund should they not wish to rebook another holiday. If you have Travel Insurance in place, you should contact your insurer to see if they will cover you for any losses or for inconvenience. As the cancellations are beyond the control of the airlines, obviously the EU flight cancellation regulations would not apply and no compensation would be payable.
