Compensation for cancelled flights from Heathrow Airport - Virgin Atlantic, Lufthansa & BA policies explained

As travel restrictions are heavily reduced, a surge in passengers are now flying all over the world to get a well earned break.

However, widespread issues have occurred at major airports up and down the country, with staff shortages seemingly the biggest issue, due to airports and airlines axing staff during the pandemic.

With Heathrow being the UK’s busiest airport, it’s not surprising that they have had arguably more issues than any other airport.

On Thursday, 30 June, it was revealed that more flights were cancelled from Heathrow due to ‘higher passenger numbers than the airport can serve’ - but some passengers were unaware of this until they arrived at the airport.

And the problem’s are expected to pile up soon as a strike will go ahead, where some 700 British Airways staff will strike over a pay dispute, which is expected to cause major disruption.

If your flight is cancelled, you may be entitled to compensation, so here we look at some of the policies of the biggest airlines operating at Heathrow.

British Airways

British Airways operate heavily at Heathrow, with many flights leaving and arriving at the airport everyday, courtesy of BA.

Simply, if you were flying with British Airways and your flight was cancelled, you can claim a refund.

On the British Airways website, they say: ‘If you booked through a travel agent or a tour operator, please contact them directly to discuss your options or request a refund.’

Virgin Atlantic

Virgin Atlantic can take care of all of your long-haul flights, and fly to far away locations such as New York and more.

If your flight is cancelled with Virgin, they have an extensive list of different options for you to take up, such as:

Converting to a travel voucher - You can convert to a Travel Voucher which can be used up until 31 December 2023. If the new ticket price is greater than the voucher value, you just need to pay the difference in fare.

Re-book/Re-route at the earliest opportunity -  take an alternative flight

Or, you can just get a refund if your flight has been cancelled. Refunds can take up to two weeks, depending on provider and more.

Lufthansa

At Heathrow, Lufthansa is the leading airline for flights from Heathrow to German destinations such as Frankfurt, Munich, Stuttgart and more.

On the official Lufthansa website, they say: ‘If the flight for which you have a confirmed reservation is cancelled, you have the same rights to re-routing, care, reimbursement, and compensation’.

However, there are some exceptions.

Lufthansa inform passengers that they are NOT eligible for a refund if:

• You are informed of the cancellation at least 14 days before departure
• You are informed of the cancellation between 14 days and 7 days before departure and your departing flight leaves no more than two hours before the original departure time and/or you arrive no more than four hours after the planned arrival time
• You are informed of the cancellation less than seven days before departure and your departing flight leaves no more than one hour before the original departure time and/or you arrive no more than two hours after the planned arrival time.