top of page

Travel Tips & Hacks

When people first come to Europe, they seem surprised when they find that you can get up to €600 compensation for even the cheapest flight, for it just being 3 hours late. 
 
** CIL are not lawyers this info is for advice only**


If anyone has anything to add or if I have anything wrong, let me know and I’ll fix it.

190618035054-heathrow-expansion-01.jpeg

What you need to know

EU261 is the legislation that tells airlines when they must compensate passengers for disrupted flights departing from the EU. You can get €250 - €600 compensation, as long as your flight is delayed by more than 3 hours (and subject to a few other rules).

It’s generally an easy process if you’re eligible, but there are a lot of little things that complicate it. I’ve linked the full law below, which is helpful to read if making a complex claim, but probably unnecessary for a basic one:

http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=CELEX:32004R0261:en:HTML

london skyline.jpg

Key Tips

1. You can usually make a claim anytime within 6 years of your flight, so it’s still not too late if you suddenly remember a late flight from a couple of years ago.

​

2. Never use a third party claims company. Their fee might look reasonable, but they will only take on the most simple claims. If your claim is complicated or will take them any more than a few minutes to process, they’ll turn you away. Hard claims ruin their “99% success” ratings, and take up too much of their time, and because they operate on a “no money, no fee” basis, the way they make money is by only taking on easy ones. If they do accept your claim, you’ll have to do most the admin work yourself anyway, and the only benefit of having them involved is that they will deal with the airline directly, for a fee of up to £150 per successful claim.

 

3. Some airlines have a claims form on their website, so for simple claims you just need to fill out a short form. Ryanair’s EU261 form is linked below, and others are usually pretty easy to find via Google: https://eu261expenseclaim.ryanair.com/ 

 

4. If you can’t find the airline’s claims form, or if the claims form isn’t accepting your claim, I recommend using www.resolver.co.uk. This gives you free advice, puts everything into a template for you, and sends it as a claim to the airline’s complaints department. It also keeps everything in one place which is useful if you want to lodge a dispute later.

​

5. Don’t trust what the airline tells you, unless they are very clear about why you are not entitled to compensation and you can accept their reasoning. When told no by the airline, most people will just drop it, even if they have a legitimate claim, saving the airline a few hundred euros. Airlines will always decline more often than they should. If you think you have a good claim, keep pushing.

 

6. As soon as the airline rejects your claim (or if they don’t respond within 8 weeks), if you think you still have a case, appeal it via an independent Alternative Dispute Resolution scheme. Most of the ADR schemes are free, even if your dispute is unsuccessful. My experience with them is that they’re slow and painful, but since there’s no cost, and it’s free money if you win, there’s no harm in trying, especially if you think your claim is legit and the airline is wrong. You can see what ADR scheme each airline is signed up to here: http://www.caa.co.uk/.../alternative-dispute-resolution/

What to do when you're delayed

If you’re waiting for a flight and it’s looking like your flight will be delayed, it’s worth keeping records to make sure you are ready to put in a claim when the time comes.

 

1. Keep receipts for food and drink you bought at the airport - reasonable expenses you have a record of will be reimbursed if departure is more than 2 hours later than scheduled.

​

2. If you remember, keep a list of key times, such as the time the flight took off, the time the flight landed, the time the plane got to the arrival gate, and the time the doors opened and you got off. These will all be useful in setting out your claim later.

​

3. Collect any evidence you can of the ‘arrival time’ - this is the time that the doors were opened and passengers were allowed off the plane (not the ‘landing time’ as airlines might claim). Take photos or videos of the closed doors, with timestamps if you’re able to, to help you prove the flight was late if the airline is arguing it was on time. More on this below.

GettyImages-93466101.webp

You might still be eligible

Below are a couple of the things people don’t realise, which often result in you actually being eligible for compensation when you might have thought you wouldn’t have been.

 

1. Bad weather or technical reasons aren’t always an excuse for no compensation

One of the excuses airlines can use to get out of paying compensation is if the delay was caused by ‘extraordinary circumstances’. The definition of this is where the delay “could not have been avoided even if all reasonable measures had been taken”, which is fairly imprecise. Luckily, a few court cases have made it a high barrier for airlines to use it as an excuse. Extraordinary circumstances now only include issues that are entirely and genuinely outside of the airline’s control - things like airport strikes, weather closing the airport etc. Airlines have previously tried to use it as an excuse when there was a mechanical/technical issue with a plane, but courts put a stop to that, so don't let that stop you from claiming. https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX:62007CJ0549. 

​

Sometimes airlines might try and use bad weather as an excuse for why the delay was outside of their control. For that to be a valid argument, the weather has to have directly impacted your specific flight. If an earlier flight was delayed by weather, resulting in your flight being late to leave, you could still try and set out an argument that they should have been prepared for that by having other aircraft available. I’ve put in a claim where I thought I had no chance because there was bad weather (including snow in London), but in that case the airline hasn’t even mentioned the bad weather as an excuse. My advice is to put in a claim anyway, asking them to be very specific about the reason for the direct delay to your flight, and see what happens.

 

2. Arrival time is when you get off the flight, not when the plane lands

EU Courts have decided that actual 'arrival time' (when calculating whether a flight arrived more than 3 hours later than the scheduled arrival time) is “the time at which at least one of the doors of the aircraft is opened, the assumption being that, at that moment, the passengers are permitted to leave the aircraft”. This means that if you land, and are stuck on the runway or the gate for long enough to push you past the magical 3 hour mark, you should be entitled to compensation. You can't find this time on FlightAware or any of the other flight trackers, and airlines won't admit they were late, so you may need to take photos and videos for proof. It might also be worth contacting the airport afterwards - Stansted, for example, will use CCTV to tell you when stairs were connected or when passengers got off. If you find yourself in this situation, we suggest quoting the case below to the airline.

https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX:62013CJ0452 

​

I’ve barely touched on the detail, but this getting a bit long. The main thing to remember is to claim even if you have some doubt (but make it convincing), and see what happens.

  • I WANT TO CHANGE THE DATE ON MY TIER 5
    As long as the visa has not been used, you can apply for a transfer of conditions to get a new 30 day visa. Go to www.visa4uk.fco.gov.uk and then log in. Go to ‘apply for myself’ and then follow the steps, when it gets to the select visa type select vignette transfer. And follow the instructions from there. This DOES cost ££ so check all your dates carefully
  • BRP PICK UP
    You have to enter the UK within 30 days of your visa start date, from then you have 10 days to collect your BRP card. https://www.gov.uk/biometric-residence-permits/collect
  • CAN I STAY AFTER MY TIER 5 VISA DATE?
    NO. You have options but you cannot get a new T5 or overstay. Ignore **any **advice you get from others on being able to stay 30/90 days more (untrue) or that it’s fine to overstay (NOT a safe/clever/legal option!!)Do you have UK/EU ancestry? Can you get sponsored through work? Want to marry a UK/EU citizen? These can help! Use the search box on the top of the page to search first about this. You can NOT extend your Tier 5. No no no no and no. (updated, and NO) (updated advice…. still no)
  • WILL THERE BE A PROBLEM WITH ME COMING BACK TO THE UK WITHOUT MY BRP?
    As we now have eGates you should now have no problem with coming in. Do NOT go to border control. If your passport does not work (very rare) at the eGates, do not stress, go to the border guard, explain you have applied for a new BRP, they will look you up and let you back in. If you are coming back by train or boat, then you will need to advise border control and they will look you up and then let you in, but it may take time. We have only heard of very rare incidences where people have been refused entry and have had to apply for emergency BRP cards… which does take time and can cause you a lot of stress and bother.
  • SHOULD I USE BRP AS AN ID?
    DO NOT USE YOUR BRP AS AN ID… IT’S TOO ANNOYING TO REPLACE (and expensive) USE THIS – **http://www.pass-scheme.org.uk/
  • I AM WORRIED ABOUT BREXIT//SHOULD I BE WORRIED ABOUT BREXIT?
    Firstly, Canadian passports can get you into Europe, it has nothing at all to do with the UK or your visa. It will not affect any travel. It will not affect your ability to work in Europe as you will still need to obtain a visa to work in other European countries no matter what anyway. It will not affect your job in the UK unless your company is not ready for the changes. All EU citizens living in the UK up until December 31st can register for settled or pre settled status in the UK. AFTER Jan 1 2021, there will be a new immigration system set up for EU citizens, not Canadians exercising previously agreed to visas (T5 and ancestry) Sponsorship visas MAY change, but it has been indicated that the salary requirements may lower. At this stage, the UK seems likely to pivot towards better visa conditions for the Commonwealth. Already we have seen an improvement in the Tier 2 sponsorship visa: https://www.gov.uk/…/new-immigration-system-what-you…No matter what happens, your 2 year Tier 5 working holiday visa is under no threat. UPDATE, thanks to Brexit, Canadians will be able to apply for THREE YEAR working holiday visas AND the age will be extended from 18-31 to 18-35!
  • LOST/STOLEN BRP (Biometric Residence Permit)
    Way way too many of you lose your BRP cards, for the love of god please don’t take it anywhere with you except when you travel!Report it here: https://www.gov.uk/biometric…/lost-stolen-damaged Replacement info is here: https://www.gov.uk/biometric-residence-permits/replaceIt can take months to come back but if you are on a T5 visa you don’t need to send your passport in, so can continue to travel though you should not do it unnecessarily, as you will be grilled by immigration on re-entrance. PROTECT YOUR BRP WITH YOUR LIFE, even more than your passport as you can replace a passport within 10 days.
  • CAN SOMEBODY ELSE PICK UP MY BRP?
    Yep, in some cases. But read this first! https://www.gov.uk/biometric-residence-permits/collect
  • WHAT HAPPENS IF I TRY TO REENTER AND MY EGATES TELL ME TO GO TO A BORDER GUARD?
    Do not stress. This is exactly what all of us had to go through for the last 20 years! The main thing is they want to make sure you are honestly coming in to exercise the right for the holiday visa that you’re attempting to come in on. These visas are 6 months long and are given on arrival (usually by egates) Be prepared and make sure you have the following on hand if your eGates experience is rejected: + Ticket out of the UK + Proof of funds to pay for your time here on holiday + Proof of bookings while you are here on holiday + If possible, a P45, to prove you are not working here on your return (the main thing they reject/are worried about) + Anything to prove you are a genuine holiday maker here!
  • CAN I COME RIGHT BACK IN ON A HOLIDAY VISA WHEN MY TIER 5 VISA RUNS OUT?
    UPDATE – We now have eGates. This means you do not have to see a physical person, therefore you may be able to get back in to spend time here before you fly home. We are still unclear on if the eGates will identify that you are coming back but at this stage it is all good to reenter. See below for clarification if you need to see a human.**
  • I ARRIVED BEFORE MY TIER 5 VISA STARTED, WHAT SHOULD I DO??
    Do I need to leave the UK and reenter? We now have eGates, so your passport will not be stamped when coming into the UK and ALL the signs at all London airports will tell you to go directly to the eGates. You can come in beforehand, but you’ll need to take a trip out of the UK and come back in through egates for your visa to start.
  • CAN I APPLY FOR MY 2 YEAR WORKING VISA FROM THE UK?
    No chance mate. You need to apply from a country where you have the right to remain for 6+ months. This means Canada and anywhere else where you can legally reside for over 6 months. (See notes below about getting a Dutch Working Holiday visa on arrival, as you can get that, and then apply for the UK from there)
  • COLLECT BRP FROM DIFFERENT POST OFFICE
    See ‘Collect your BRP from a different Post Office branch’ here: https://www.gov.uk/biometric-residence-permits/collect
bottom of page