What rights do passengers have when flights are cancelled?

The closure of Heathrow airport on Friday wrecked the travel plans of around 200,000 people.

Here the PA news agency answers eight key questions on assistance, refunds and compensation.

– What flights are covered by UK consumer law?

Flights operated by an airline departing from a UK airport, flights operated by a UK or EU airline arriving at a UK airport, or flights operated by a UK airline arriving at an EU airport.

– What options do passengers have?

They will have the choice of being re-booked on to an alternative flight, or accepting a refund.

– What does re-booking involve?

If a flight is cancelled, airlines are required to get you to your destination if you still want to travel.

Most will book you on to another of their flights, but you may be entitled to travel with another airline or by an alternative mode of transport if it will get you to your destination significantly sooner.

Passengers doing this are often required to purchase their own tickets and submit a claim to their original airline for reimbursement.

– What assistance should be provided by airlines?

Airlines have a duty of care to stranded passengers.

This includes a reasonable amount of food and drink (often via vouchers), a means to communicate (often by refunding the cost of phone calls), and accommodation and transfers if an overnight stay is required.

– What happens in reality?

Airlines often fail to provide this assistance during major disruption because they are overwhelmed by requests and there are not enough available rooms in local hotels.

The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) says in this scenario, passengers can organise their own assistance and claim the costs back from the airline by submitting receipts.

– Does that mean I should book a luxury hotel suite and order champagne?

Airlines are unlikely to reimburse you for that. The CAA advises passengers not to “spend more than is reasonable”.

– How long must assistance be provided?

Until your flight takes off or you accept a refund after deciding not to travel.

– Am I entitled to compensation for a delayed flight?

Not for Friday’s incident, as the fire was outside airlines’ control.