This post gives some very basic introductions for anyone who has very recently experienced disrupted travel. The attempt here is to give some helpful signposts rather than a comprehensive guide, allowing travellers to know where to go next. So this may be a bit succint but we are trying to prevent travellers getting overwhelmed with details. Note in particular the BA Forum Dashboard, which has a wealth of information in it, including a glossary for any abbreviations which are unclear.
Other useful threads
July 2022 Flight Cancellations and Operational Changes
August 2022 Flight Cancellations And Operational Changes.
September 2022 Flight Cancellations And Operational Changes
October 2022 Flight Cancellations and Operational Changes
Current FastTrack queues at LGW/LHR
If you need more help or advice, if something is not clear, don't hesitate to put your question below and someone will doubtless give you some good advice.
It's a work in progress started by the BA forum moderators and ambassadors, there is a meta thread here for any comments on the contents, so that we can improve this thread over time and over experience.
1) My flight is cancelled - what do I do?
Your options with a flight cancellation are to accept a full refund (even if just one short connection is cancelled), or to be rebooked - this is always the customer's choice, not the airline's choice. The BA App is your first port of call - refresh this frequently and it may well give you a rebooking option within the app. In particular note that onboard wifi on aircraft can link free of charge to your app, so cancellations and other flight disruptions can be sorted inflight. One question that may help you is to think clearly and realistically about what you want and need. It really helps if you are clear in your mind what your preferred option is, and in that respect, does it really matter if you are (e.g.) a day late? If your ticket is an Avios redemption ticket on a BA operated aircraft then you can be rebooked on services that have space, it doesn't need Avios availability.
2) Is my flight really cancelled?
There are two sources of data which are always up to date and are used by the rest of BA too. For flights in the next 10 days see:
ba.com/flightstatus
For flights further off use
ba.com/schedules
3) How can I get rebooked? What other airlines?
Ideally you can rebook yourself online, particularly if you have a simple booking. Complex bookings, and BA Holiday bookings may require a telephone call. All telephone numbers can be found via
ba.com/contactus
It won't always appear on the app but on some routes BA will rebook you to other airlines including Iberia, AA and other oneworld airlines, Qatar, Lufthansa, Swiss, Austrian, TAP among others. BA can also rebook on LNER train services. The complete list is here, but do ask about specific services, this is a complex area.
https://www.britishairways.com/asset...dates/rooc.pdf
4) How does rebooking work online?
In the App or Manage My Booking there could be a disruption menu, showing available options. It sometimes won't show all options, and sometimes it takes a while for the screen to be populated with alternative flights. Sometimes not all options are showing so by all means ask below if something seems missing.
5) What are the current rebooking policies?
You can currently rebook all trips that involve a flight from LHR before 25 July for up to 12 months. Full details in this thread
New flexibility for BA flights departing (LHR?) to 25 July
6) I have a BA Holidays booking and I've hit a problem.
There is currently a special advisory for BA Holiday (BAH) bookings which in some cases allows for a voucher refund for holidays before 30 September. BAH bookings are not easily changed online and BAH staff are also overwhelmed with phone calls. The advice we have there is that if you have an on the day problem send a succinct email with your phone number and a brief outline of the problem, and someone will call you back. However if you are stuck you may need to take whatever is reasonable and proportionate to keep going. So by all means book a hotel or extend your current hotel if a flight is cancelled. Generally speaking BA contact centre staff can't help people on BAH bookings.
https://www.britishairways.com/en-gb...=1657739368259
7) My flight is showing as severely delayed. What should I do?
Sometimes a flight will show as delayed quite ahead of time and it is good to check the app regularly to see if your flight is scheduled as delayed. One thing to remember is that delays can come and go. At times, it may get gradually worse, but similarly, a delay can improve (for instance if it is due to a mechanical issue on an aircraft or a late arrival, and a replacement aircraft is found). If this is your only flight, you should go to the airport in line with the original scheduled departure (if you don't, the airline check in desks may close, or if the delay is revised and you miss your departure, you will be deemed a no show). If this is part of a connecting itinerary and the late flight would result in a missed connection, you should either try to call BA or go to the airport and speak to the ticket office to see if there is any rerouting available. It is a good idea to check possible itineraries first and propose them to the person you speak to (on BA or on partners such as IB or joint venture partners). Do not panic, very often, a solution will be found. Note that this is a case where you should
not attempt to book yourself on a different airline.
8) How can I get a hotel?
If you are going to find yourself in need of a hotel there are various options. If there's any assistance from BA at your relevant airport go down this route first but if not then it is prudent to book yourself if you can. BA would in most cases refund you up to the value of £200 but there have been recent reports of BA honouring above this. It's worth expanding your radius west of Heathrow too as some hotels might invariably be cheaper. Booking.com, last minute.com, Trivago are amongst the main well known websites to look at. You may also want to have apps for Hilton, IHG, Marriott and Accor on your phone. Note that Premier Inn and Travelodge don't always release inventory to other sites, so sometimes hotels are all booked out with the exception of these two large chains, so worth a look there. Also consider areas along the M4 to Reading and around the M25 towards Surrey, they may be further away but late at night they can be really quick to get to. BA often books Heathrow stranded passengers into the Renaissance but you are free to book your own hotel.
9) Can I claim food and drink?
Yes, if you are delayed by more than 5 hours. Buy what you need and photo the receipts, sometimes BA will offer meal vouchers but in many ways it's best to sort yourself out. BA's guideline is £25 per person per day, but the real guideline is to be reasonable and proportionate. Note in particular that if a BA service is delayed overnight there is a strong risk there won't be much catering since chilled food may have to be thrown away. If you have lounge access that is normally deemed your allowance, but some lounges have very little food in them and don't allow items to be taken away. You can also claim wifi / communication expenses.
10) What to call BA about and what not to call?
Generally information queries may well be best answered in this Flyertalk forum, and if you are not sure, by all means give an outline of your query here and we may be able to save you a long wait on the phone. At the other extreme, anything involving money or complex rebooking arrangements may well need a phone call, some things are not avoidable. For BA Holidays queries it is important to select the right BAH option. Consider installing Skype on your phone - it's useful for the unexpected times when you have to call via wifi. Some reports suggest that the Bremen contact centre is less busy than others, and you can try the Prague number to reach them. Full telephone numbers are here
ba.com/contactus
11) Alternative ways to contact BA apart from calling?
You can use Twitter by Following British Airways and then send them a Direct Message. Sometimes they may take a while to respond. If you log into your BAEC account you may well see a Chat option at the bottom of the screen. They can rebook via Chat, but can't handle rebookings that involve money or credit cards. But a full cancellation can be handled via Chat.
12) My bags are missing - what do I do?
When packing bags that will be checked in at the airport, always take a photo of the contents, add a piece of paper or envelope with your contact details and consider using AIrTags to track baggage progress. If your bags don't appear, check your phone - if BA have your mobile number they may send an automatic text if your bags missed your flight and a report number. Otherwise report the missing bag at the airport if you can to get the report number, however you can do it the next day online (bit flakey) or by phone if necessary. It is OK to buy essential items, such as clothes and cosmetics, to keep you going until your bags reappear, just photo the receipts. More advice here:
ba.com/baggage
Tracking / World Tracer:
https://www.britishairways.com/trave...missingbaggage
BA Missing Baggage customer number: 0344 793 0785 (06:00 hrs to 20:00 hrs UK time)
Delayed/lost luggage rights
13) Security is slow - I may miss my flight
If you are on a single booking (PNR) then if you get stuck in security BA will rebook you. In T5 head to the customer service desks by gate A13 or the similar desks in the lounges. Clearly in the current circumstances it is best to allow plenty of time, but usually 2 hours before departure is fine at LHR even now.
14) Should I transfer airside or landside at LHR?
Airside transfers are often very slow at the moment at LHR. So consider going out via the UK Border and re-entering via landside. This has risks. T3 in particular sometimes has long queues. If you have less than an hour between flights you best stay airside since you can be rebooked more efficiently that way.. But if you have more time than this, if you can use the e-gates and are BA Gold /
oneworld Emerald or travelling First then consider using the First Wing to avoid queues. If you are risk adverse, stick to airside. Domestic connections are best done airside, connections from JER or DUB probably best done landside.
15) Why has BA invited me to move my flight?
You don't have to move your flight! BA and HAL are trying to reduce workload so offering flexibility, it doesn't necessarily mean your flight will be cancelled. Be aware that if you take up this option on a booking originally made before 9 June you may be losing some Buy with Confidence protections, so you need to think this through. More information here:
New flexibility for BA flights departing (LHR?) to 25 July
16) What about compensation?
The main thread on EC261 / UK261 is to be found below and that is the best place for queries and data points. Note that for the recent round of cancellations BA appear to be denying compensation since BA is blaming HAL for this. However a number of us feel that BA should in fact pay EC261 and then claim the costs from HAL - this is provided for in the Regulations.
The 2021/22 BA compensation thread: Your guide to Regulation EC261/2004
LHR asks BA and other airlines to stop selling tickets for the summer….,
17) Can I rebook my own flights (e.g on easyJet).
With caution, and there is not an automatic right to do this. Firstly you must give BA a proper chance to rebook, and that means at least a few attempts at telephoning BA. The CAA's guideline is that BA should rebook on the same day as the cancelled service where possible. If BA's best option excludes another viable airline which has a same day service then you can take the risk of booking it and inviting BA to pay up for this. BA has reluctantly done this, particularly in the face of a claim via MCOL (Money Claim Online, the UK's small claims court). BA cannot currently rebook on Ryanair, easyJet or Jet2, since they are not IATA members and therefore not part of the inter-airline agreement for this area.
18) How do I complain?
For claims - EC261, baggage expenses, meals, hotels, and complaints about BA's service, there is a customer portal here. Some reports have suggested it is best not to log in to your BAEC when filling this out, but to add your BAEC details in later. Also you can add photos of receipts and other claimable items - it may be best not to add this first time around, submit the claim without receipts, then use the reference number to add in receipts as an update to your claim, either straight away or later on.
ba.com/complaints
19) My flight is disrupted, can I fly to another destination?
When your flight is cancelled (regardless of when it is), BA normally allows you to move to a destination within 300 miles of the one you booked. However, this is not allowed in case of delays under 5 hours. You cannot do this online, so you will need to call BA or ask for that at the airport. For both cancellations and long delays, BA will also normally allow you to switch your flight to a "co-terminal" (ie another airport in the same city, for instance Gatwick instead of Heathrow, or Newark instead of JFK).
20) What is a "trip in vain"?
Sometimes, the new arrangements that an airline can propose are so disruptive that they would render your trip pointless. Imagine that you plan a nice weekend away with two nights at destination, but because of a cancellation, the airline can only fly you there in such a way that you would arrive at destination in the evening of day 2 and leave in the morning of day 3. That would not be much of a weekend any more and may not tempt you at all. Or imagine that you are flying somewhere for a wedding or a conference but a delay in the flight means that you would actually arrive after the occasion is over. That is what is called a "trip in vain" - the arrangements offered to you would defeat the very purpose of your trip. Airlines normally have to recognise a trip in vain, so that the airline will have to fully refund your trip and take you back to your point of origin if you are no longer there at the time the disruption becomes known. Two important notes: 1) it is important to remember that under EC261/2004 (or the UK261 equivalent), the trip in vain is one option (ie the full refund), so once you take it, you cannot have a second bite of the apple and also ask for the airline to rebook your trip. 2) before deciding that your trip is in vain, remember that a cancellation allows you to rebook all of your sectors. So to go back to the example of the 2 night weekend, if your outbound is disrupted and BA can only fly you on the Saturday instead of the Friday, but you would actually be able to return on the Monday instead of the Sunday and you would like to, it may be preferable to ask to move your (non disrupted) return to protect the length of your stay than to claim a refund.
21) Zen Section: how to chill in LHR
So you are hot and bothered in LHR - what to do?
- Consider going down to the passageways, which is a cooling off zone See Passageways guides in the BA Forum Dashboards
- LHR T5 air conditioning units are to be found as floor based units in several areas. There is a particularly effective bank by Paul Smith under South lounge complex, even if the seating is limited
- Consider using the passageways to go to T5B (for the quiet BA lounge) or T5C where there are often empty quiet areas. You will need to use the passageways for getting back, not the transit.