Originally Posted by
Rubytheterrier
We are currently delayed by five hours and now not due to land at LHR until 23:30.
We were going to use public transport to return home but this won’t be an option as the trains will have stopped running.
it is reasonable to claim for a taxi from BA under their duty of care?
it appears none of our travel insurance policies will cover it as the delay is less than 12 hours.
Legally speaking BA can only be held liable under the Montreal Convention, insofar as you can show that the cost of a taxi is "damages" resulting from the delay. The delay must also not be due to exceptional circumstances. The 'duty of care' under UK261 ends once they get you to your booked destination airport.
In practical terms they often pay taxi/bus claims anyway in these cases, but if they refused (which they might do if the bill is really high) then you might find it tricky to pursue further.
NB the last train from T5 to Paddington is at 00:07. The last Tube from T5 is 23:41 through central London, midnight (00:00) to Hammersmith or 00:18 to Acton Town.
There's also the option of the National Express coach to Victoria at 00:45 ex T5 or the N30 towards Acton (01:35, 02:35 etc.). Any of those might at least reduce your taxi fare a little bit if you're worried about how much you'll be reimbursed.