Can I claim for delays in the cold snap?

By Liz Phillips for MailOnline
Updated: 09:03 EDT, 13 January 2010

The severe weather and strike threats have thrown travel plans into chaos this winter. But what are your rights if your journey is cancelled or delayed or if you cannot make a flight departure? We investigate.

Punishing weather: But if a train or plane is cancelled, what can you do?

›› If your flight is cancelled or delayed

Cancellations because of bad weather are beyond the airlines' control, so you have no automatic right to compensation.

However, the airline must still get you to your destination - even if it means using a different operator - and look after you in the meantime, even if the delay is due to the weather.

Under EU rules, it must provide food, refreshments and overnight accommodation where necessary, as well as two free phone calls or emails if you are delayed for at least two hours.

If a delay is for five hours or longer, it must refund you the cost of the ticket if you decide not to fly.

These rules apply to flights anywhere in the EU or on European airlines further abroad. They don't apply if you're on a non-EU aircraft and in an airport outside the Union.

However, the Air Transport Users Council says that most countries have reciprocal arrangements which are broadly similar and will help with disputes.

You can only claim compensation under the Montreal Convention for delays or cancellations if they are within the airlines' control. The exact amount varies.

›› If you don't make it

If the flight is delayed or cancelled because of bad weather, this is where travel insurance should step in. Most policies will compensate you for losing out on your hotel and car hire.

Some will even pay a lump sum to cover these costs if you abandon your trip altogether, though you need to check to find out the minimum length of time you must be delayed before you can claim.

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Malcolm Tarling, of the Association of British Insurers, says this might apply from as little as eight hours.

You might also be covered for missing your plane because your journey to the airport was disrupted by the weather, provided you have set off in plenty of time and travelled by public transport. In most cases, you will not be covered if you drive in your own car.

›› And train delays...

The minimum standards are laid down by National Rail's conditions of carriage, but they apply to refunds where the problems are within the train operator's control - and bad weather is clearly beyond this.

However, each of the 24 train operators has a Passenger Charter which goes further than the basic rules laid down, but it does mean you are relying on their goodwill.

Compensation usually applies to delays caused by bad weather, but there are exceptions.

First Great Western's charter, for instance, excludes refunds for disruptions beyond their control, including bad weather.

In the case of weather-related delays, the amount you will be repaid varies from company to company. With East Coast, for example, you will get back half the cost of your single ticket (or that portion of a return ticket) if you arrive 30 minutes or more late.

But arriving an hour or more late brings a full refund on that part of your journey, while two hours or longer means you will get a full refund on a return ticket, even though only one leg of your trip was delayed. East Coast runs trains from London to Inverness.

Virgin, on the other hand, is less generous. For arriving one hour late, the refund is 25% - though it has to be only 45 minutes late on shorter journeys between Wolverhampton or Birmingham and London. You will get a full refund for a leg only if it is held up for two hours or more.

If you have a restricted ticket that only applies to certain train times, you will be allowed to travel on a later train. And if a cancelled train means you decide not to travel, you will get a full refund.

Amy Stockton, of the consumer watchdog Passenger Focus, says: 'It is critical that passengers claim, as it sends a clear message back to the industry that they must do all they can to keep services running.'

Claim forms are available from staff on the train, at the train station and from the operators' websites. You need to provide your ticket or proof of payment and claim within 28 days.

The refunds usually come in the form of National Rail vouchers, which can be used on any train.