dampened. British Airways is allowing short-haul passengers to take flights from Gatwick or London City
instead, or change departure dates to any time up to 12 August. But there are precious few spare seats on
any flights at this time of year to switch into.
How will the airport experience be different on Monday and Tuesday?
First, you will be expected to get there earlier. Heathrow recommends you turn up at the terminal two
hours before departure for short-haul flights and three hours ahead for long-haul trips (as an aside, I am not
sure why there should be a difference; everyone has to go through the same queues, and in my experience
long-haul passengers have less cabin baggage and therefore tend to be speedier).
Next, flying on British Airways, you’ll be told to check in all but a small shoulder bag or rucksack. BA says
there will be no charge for checking in what would, in normal circumstances, be cabin baggage.
Then you’ll discover how badly – or smoothly – things are running.
Wouldn’t it make sense to turn up even earlier?
Individually, yes: arriving at 5am, could see the security search lines at their shortest.
Collectively, no.
As we have seen on previous occasions, if everyone decides to turn up ridiculously early then chaos results.
A kind of self-fulfilling prophecy could conceivably bring the airport to a standstill.
What if your flight is cancelled – or you miss it because you’re stuck in the queue?
Normally airlines take no responsibility for planes missed due to long security queues. But I think it will be
different this time, with flexibility shown to passengers who are unable to reach the gate in time; they are
likely to be re-booked on the next available flight.
Note that this is not a legal obligation, and so a passenger in this position could not expect to be flown on a
different airline.
The position if the flight is cancelled is very different. The airline is obliged to get you to your destination as
quickly as possible – which could involve flying you from a different London airport on another airline,
which they have to pay for.
Will passengers whose flight is cancelled get compensation?
Since the cause of current cancellations and any future disruption is not the airlines’ fault, there is no
entitlement to a cash payout under European air passengers’ rights rules.
What are your rights if you miss an onward connection as a result of delays at Heathrow?
If you are travelling on an end-to-end ticket, eg Heathrow-Dubai-Singapore or Heathrow-
Chicago–Nashville, but you arrive too late for the onward connection, then you will be protected. If the first
flight is cancelled, you could find yourself re-routed to your final destination. But if you’ve bought the
onward flight separately, for example a separate booking from Dubai to India, there is no recompense.
What about people who have booked hotels or cruises: will they be able to claim on travel insurance for
any losses?
If the hotel or cruise was booked as part of a package in the same transaction, then the travel company has
to help you sort out a new flight or give you a full refund.
If, however, you bought the holiday elements separately, then your only hope is travel insurance. That
tricky small print will reveal if you are covered for “consequential losses”.