Fire delay means no Roman holiday for easyJet passengers

http://www.theguardian.com/money/2015/jul/26/fire-delay-rome-easyjet-flight-cancelled

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After reading of the experience of the person whose easyJet flight was cancelled out of Rome at the last moment, I would like to share our experience from just last week.

We had an easyJet return flight to Rome booked for Monday 15 July and returning on 18 July. A few weeks before our departure date we received an email which said that easyJet might change the airport we were flying to and from at the last moment due to a fire at a Rome airport in May.

This seemed quite acceptable, but 36 hours before we were due to leave with our 13-year-old grandson, on a trip for which we had prepaid for the hotel and day trips, we received a text at 4am saying our flight was cancelled. This was devastating.

We managed to book a Monarch flight for the same day arriving at the original airport, but at an additional cost of £250. I cannot believe that if the truth was that the problem was because of the fire in May, easyJet didn’t have more warning – and it also didn’t seem to affect any other airlines. HR, by email

We have had several letters from very annoyed easyJet customers flying in and out of Rome’s Fiumicino airport who have also found their flights cancelled at the last moment. Although the fire was serious, you’d think the airlines would have used the past few months to come up with a plan to allow them to operate without axing services at the last minute. Indeed, we have only heard from easyJet customers who have been abandoned in this way.

Previously, easyJet told us that the cancellations were due to circumstances beyond its control. However, this week the airport’s press spokeswoman told us that the decision of which flights had to be cancelled was very much that of the airline, and was not dictated to it by the airport. EasyJet then admitted that it gets at least five days’ notice of required cancellations.

In our view this makes easyJet’s decision to not pay compensation to affected passengers shameful, and we suggest that affected people should bring a claim under the terms of EU air compensation rules for denied boarding, worth €250 each. Go to the small claims court if yours is not paid. We don’t see how the airline can argue “extraordinary circumstance” for an event that happened so long ago.

On a positive note, Fiumicino airport announced this week that it is now back to normal, meaning there should be no more cancellations as a result – blaming the fire at least.

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