Birmingham Airport flight compensation rules as Brits look to claim money back after airport is evacuated
Birmingham Airport has been evacuated, with thousands of people urged out of the travel hub due to a police incident.
The situation, which unfolded this afternoon (23 October), saw West Midlands Police arrive on site with West Midlands Fire Service on standby. The police said they were called to reports of a 'suspicious vehicle', adding it is a 'precautionary measure'.
An airport spokesperson said: "West Midlands Police is currently dealing with an ongoing incident on-site. Airport operations are currently impacted, and passengers should not come to the airport at this time.
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"The Airport’s social channels will be updated as and when the situation changes. For passengers with immediate flights this afternoon they should contact their airline and check the airport’s website for updates.”
Footage on social media shows people being walked out of the airport and cars being turned around, with roads in to the airport shut by emergency services.
People using the airport have also reported being stuck on planes after their flights arrived at the same time as the incident.
Flight compensation rights if you're impacted
The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) explains your rights when it comes to claiming compensation if your flight or holiday is impacted, whether that be delayed or cancelled.
"The UK law on flight compensation uses the term 'extraordinary circumstances' to refer to situations where delays or cancellations have been caused by things that are not the responsibility of the airline," the CAA explains.
"If extraordinary circumstances apply, you are not entitled to compensation."
Annoyingly, the regulation does not define what it means by 'extraordinary circumstances'. There have also been a number of cases in the European and English courts on exactly what it means, with technical problems removed from this definition a decade ago.
The CAA says: "The cases have centred on whether technical faults on an aircraft could be an extraordinary circumstance. In June 2014 the English Court of Appeal issued a judgment in the Jet2 v Huzar case which provided clarity in the UK that technical problems were not an extraordinary circumstance."
Another ruling said technical issues became extraordinary when it was 'a hidden manufacturing defect and damage to an aircraft caused by sabotage or terrorism'.
What counts as 'extraordinary circumstances'?
The CCA says that there are six main types of extraordinary circumstances you won't be able to claim compensation for. They are:
- Weather conditions incompatible with the safe operation of the flight
- Strikes (unrelated to the airline such as airport staff, ground handlers, air traffic control or border force)
- Acts of terrorism or sabotage
- Security risks
- Political or civil unrest
- Hidden manufacturing defects (a manufacturer recall that grounds a fleet of aircraft)
Given the nature of the incident in Birmingham concerns safety, it is unlikely you will be successful in claiming for compensation.
If you think you still have a case, you can file a claim with your airline who will explain why you have or haven't been successful.
Tom Earnshaw