The complete guide to airport delays

Strikes in Europe are trying the patience of British holidaymakers before they even board their aircraft. SIMON CALDER has some advice for them on coping with the chaos.

LONDON - Whose fault are the delays at British airports? Ours, in the sense that Britons' demand for millions of cheap summer holidays has had two effects that conspire to create delays.

The first is that the tour operators, in a very competitive market, cut costs wherever they can. Travel is a stressful and poorly paid industry, and there are plenty of employees who feel action is justified to improve pay and conditions.

The second is that Britain's charter aircraft are worked extremely hard, typically making three "rotations" (return flights) between the UK and holiday destinations each 24 hours, with flight crews working tough hours right through the summer.

Even when everyone is working normally, there's a good chance that your flight will be late - especially if it's a charter. The Association of European Airlines is warning of serious delays because of airspace congestion. So when a small group of workers takes action, as the Balearic bus drivers did last weekend, the impact reverberates throughout what loosely resembles a "system". Just watch the impact a fortnight from now, when airspace in northern Italy will be closed for the G8 summit in Genoa.

Yesterday, air traffic controllers in Italy took the day off and stranded thousands of travellers - some British holidaymakers hoping to fly from Manchester to Rome face delays of 48 hours. Then there are the people who fly the aircraft. There is a world shortage of qualified pilots, and the end of the Cold War means the supply of military flying officers has dwindled. With the number of passengers flying worldwide increasing relentlessly at 5 per cent per year, pilots realise that now is a convenient time to press their demands.

The good news is that a three-month strike of pilots from the US domestic airline Comair ended on Monday. The bad news is that on Tuesday, pilots from the Spanish airline Iberia began the first of a series of one-day strikes, scheduled to take place every Tuesday in July; next month, the action shifts to Mondays. One in three of Iberia's European flights were cancelled on Tuesday.

On the same day, flight crews from Cathay Pacific began working to rule which has caused delays on flights linking Heathrow and Manchester with Hong Kong. Dozens of departures were cancelled or delayed yesterday, as the arrival of Typhoon Utor compounded the effects of the pilots' action.

Other airlines are doing all they can to avoid disputes, because rumours of impending strikes have an adverse affect on ticket sales. But insiders expect flight crews working for a number of airlines to be encouraged by yesterday's settlement that gave Lufthansa pilots a 30 per cent rise.

Travellers may not have noticed, because of the chaos at Britain's airports last weekend, but Air France cabin crew struck and caused the cancellation of 180 flights, while Belgian ground handlers walked out on Wednesday. The perennial summer favourites, such as French air-traffic controllers and Spanish baggage handlers, have not yet begun to flex their industrial action muscles. The last two weekends in July are prime targets for anyone keen to maximise disruption. And yesterday the Greek Federation of Civil Aviation Unions warned it will take action over the government's plan to sell off the national airline: "We will not be passive observers of this futile Olympic Airways' privatisation".

Which airports, airlines and destinations are most delay-prone?

Figures for March this year, the most recent, make bleak reading for anyone heading from Manchester to Athens or from Stansted to Palma, with two out of three flights behind schedule. Overall, the worst airports for charter delays are Stansted (45 per cent late) and Gatwick (44 per cent). Luton and Manchester are only slightly better (41 per cent late at each). The best performer is Edinburgh.

Bear in mind that summer delays are likely to be more substantial, since there is far less slack in the system. The CAA says that, last summer, charters to Palma, Larnaca, Malaga and Corfu were more likely than not to be delayed. Britannia passengers were least likely to suffer a delay of an hour or more - only one in eight departures was affected, compared with one in four on Airtours International. For scheduled flights, Luton performed worst in March, with 44 per cent running late. Newcastle and Birmingham did best, with only 23 per cent behind schedule. The CAA picks out Toronto, Zurich, Chicago, Basle and Istanbul as destinations with particularly poor punctuality.

If flights are being delayed or cancelled, should I stay at home until I know what's happening?

No. The standard advice is always to check in on time, which means anything between an hour and three hours before the original scheduled departure time. There are two good reasons for this. The first is pressure on check-in staff and desks which means the process cannot be extended for delayed flights. The other is that when chaos rules, short-notice aircraft changes can mean that the Airbus originally intended for Alicante is switched to the Athens run and will leave on time after all.

One more possible reason: staff having a bad day and enforcing company rules to the letter. Our writer Darius Sanai arrived a few minutes late at Lubeck airport for a Ryanair flight to Stansted. Even though the aircraft hadn't yet arrived at the tiny airport, and there were plenty of empty seats, he was not allowed aboard: "There were the passengers, reading magazines and drinking beer, just a few feet away through the metal detector thing. We were told very firmly we had missed the official check-in time and we weren't getting on."

So you're at the airport, there's a delay. What are you entitled to?

On Ryanair, which takes a "robust" attitude to customer care (ie there isn't any), nothing. On most other charter and scheduled airlines, you'll get a voucher for food and drink. The amount you're entitled to, and the time by which you qualify for it, depends on the airline (on scheduled flights) or the tour operator (for charters). First Choice's policy is typical: light refreshments after three hours, a meal after four hours, and a hotel after eight hours "if necessary (and possible)". At some airports, empty hotel rooms are so scarce that you may end up having to spend the night in the departure lounge.

Can I swap flights to dodge delays?

Probably not without buying a new ticket (and somehow retrieving your baggage, if you've already checked in). Only rarely will someone travelling on a restricted ticket be rebooked on another airline. Your chances of switching to a different flight are highest if you are travelling on a scheduled airline, and happy to take a flight on the same carrier to a different destination, and carrying only hand luggage. At Gatwick, I was allowed to swap from a delayed BA Miami flight to an Orlando departure; this would have been impossible had I checked any baggage in.

At what point can I give up and go home, or opt to holiday in Cornwall or the Lake District?

Travellers on easyJet have the best deal. If the aircraft is more than an hour late, then you can opt not to travel, and get a full refund of your fare - or transfer to another flight on the same route at a time of your choosing.

Otherwise, the best hope is to check the small print of your travel insurance. The standard policy usually includes the option to cancel your trip after a 12-hour delay, and get all your money back.

If I decide to put up with the delay, what compensation do I get?

Again, easyJet is exceptionally generous, refunding passengers' fares for delays of more than four hours - so in effect you get a free flight. Otherwise, you'll probably get nothing from the airline or tour operator.

In America, it's a different story; on a five-hour delay on Alaska Airlines between Las Vegas and Seattle last year, passengers were given a cab ride to the Strip and back, a $10 meal voucher, a phone card of the same value, and $25 off a future flight.

If you get stranded at an overseas airport, the tour operator should be a bit more generous, such as providing free phone calls home. But don't bank on it. To be fair, UK airlines and tour operators face crippling losses from airport chaos. Last weekend's fracas cost several million pounds.

Instead, you should check the small print of your insurance. The typical policy offers a token payment of perhaps £20 for the first full 12 hours, and £10 for each 12 hours after that, with a maximum - for the truly unfortunate - of £100. To claim, you need a letter from your airline confirming the duration of the delay. Some scheduled airlines facing very long delays may also make payments to cover additional expenses.

Should I spend that on shopping?

Your choice, but wait until you get airside before you start spending. In most major airports in Britain, you will save the VAT - even if you are travelling within the EU, which no longer has duty-free privileges. Exactly the same sun cream or camera film from Boots costs 17.5 per cent more if you buy from the branch before security control, rather than after it.

Any chance of an airline going bust this summer?

Sabena's prospects don't look too healthy. Belgium's loss-making airline is co-owned by Swissair and the Belgian government, who are having an almighty row about financing the airline; at present, flights are operating normally. In France, the troubled independent airlines Air Liberte and AOM are facing an uncertain future, but several possible buyers have emerged.

Tickets bought directly from an airline that subsequently goes bust are, in theory, valueless; in practice, other airlines usually step in with free or heavily discounted flights.

- INDEPENDENT