Many Brits book their flights to return home to see their families for Christmas, Easter etc. Also people love to go on holiday. But sometimes flights can be re-scheduled. Lets find out out what are your rights when a flight delays.
The facts are that airlines can only change their flight schedule 14 days or more before departure - and they have to tell you.
The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) explained: "Where an airline has made a change to your flight, it is known as a schedule change."
The CAA highlighted that this is NOT the same as cancelling flights.
They told The Telegraph: “Scheduled changes should always be notified to passengers at least 14 days in advance and the changes should only be to the time or the date and not the flight number.”
If an airline changes the time or date of your flight without giving you 14 days notice, then you should be entitled to a refund.
If your flight number has changed, this may mean that the flight has been cancelled and you might therefore be eligible for compensation or a refund.
Alterations to the flight schedule tend not to be very significant, however, sometimes they can reach up to 12 hours.
If this is the case, and your travel plans are heavily affected, unfortunately there is no law about what customers are entitled to.
Instead the CAA advise travellers check the airline or tour operators' small print as they may not be offering you what they are obliged to, such as similar alternative flight to your original booking or a refund if that cannot be arranged.
If you are not happy with the changes to the schedule, most airlines will offer you the opportunity to rebook, but be warned, as normal re-booking costs may apply.
Also, check your insurance cover as flight changes could result in missing connecting flights or hotels stays and airlines are not liable for such losses.
So why do airlines change their flights?
Most airlines tend to sell tickets as far as a year in advance, but they do actually finalise the flight times until about three months before the departure date.
During this time a lot can happen, from strike action to new routes, which is why they sometimes need reshuffle their flights.
For this reason, it is also very important for travellers to give the airline or the tour operator their correct contact details.
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