As travel plans have been thrown into disarray in the last few months, with the latest in a series of travel disruptions for holidaymakers as they suffer strikes, IT glitches and hurricanes, travel insurance experts are advising travellers on how to protect themselves.
New data shows that in Northern Ireland, there were over 1400 cancelled flights in the last 12 months.
The data, from the Civil Aviation Authority, analysed by CompareNI.com shows that from June 2023 to May 2024 there were 1457 flights cancelled across all three airports in Northern Ireland.*
Belfast City (George Best) Airport had the highest number of cancelled flights out of the three airports with 996, followed by Belfast International with 440 and City of Derry with 21.
Airlines and airports can face many challenges that may cause flight delays or cancellations, especially during the summer months when airports are busier than usual. A recent survey by CompareNI.com found that a quarter of those surveyed had experienced a delayed or cancelled flight in the last year and nearly a fifth (19%) had lost money as a result.**
Commenting on the data, Ian Wilson, Managing Director at CompareNI.com, said: “Many people will be travelling and visiting airports over the next few weeks as summer travel hots up. Understandably travellers are likely nervous given the raft of recent issues causing delays and cancellations but there are ways to protect themselves and recoup any losses.
“Amongst the mayhem of cancellations, it can be tricky to know who can and should help resolve the situation. It’s important to stay in close contact with the airline, if the cancellation or delay is their fault, they usually offer vouchers, refunds or replacement trips – depending on how far travellers are flying and how long they’re delayed. Be sure to keep all emails and communication from the airline to help claim back any compensation needed.
“Note if the cancellations or delays are not the fault of the airline such as adverse weather conditions, they likely won’t provide compensation. Amid the current travel turbulence, it’s sensible to check travel insurance policies cover travel disruption – it should protect against the likes of technical issues, strikes and missed or delayed departures that were not the traveller’s fault. Just be sure to check the policy details, insurance providers can vary in their coverage and stipulations.
“A watch out for travel insurance is to purchase it at the same time as the holiday itself, to help ensure coverage for issues on the run up to departure. Also make sure to check the travel announcements from the Foreign Office, if they advise people not to travel to a particular area and they do anyway, the insurance will likely be invalid.
“It’s also important for travellers to make sure their holiday is ATOL or ABTA protected which can help with replacement holidays, flights and refunds on package holidays.
“If they paid for a cancelled flight on a credit card, the credit card company will usually try to help them get the money back from the cancelled source or give them a refund themselves so it can be worth making important purchases using a credit card for additional protection.”
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