The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) has urged travellers “to brush up on their passenger rights” ahead of the August Bank Holiday, with social media messaging telling those taking flights to ‘Know before you go’.
August Bank Holiday Monday last year saw the shutdown of the UK’s automated air traffic control system operated by Nats, leading to delays and cancellations affecting 700,000 passengers.
The CAA noted a total of 160,000 flights were delayed and 8,000 cancelled across UK airports in July and August last year.
It also noted passenger numbers are approaching pre-Covid levels with almost 79 million passengers passing through UK airports in the second quarter of this year, up 7% on the same period in 2023.
The CAA said it wanted to remind passengers of what they are entitled to if flights are delayed or cancelled.
It also highlighted the importance of booking ahead if special assistance is required and warned passengers to be aware of baggage and liquid allowances.
Restrictions on liquids remain unchanged – nothing larger than 100mls can be carried in cabin bags.
The government briefly relaxed the 100mls rule on liquids where the latest CT security scanners are installed at airports but reimposed the restrictions within days in line with an EC decision.
The CAA has published a series of videos on social media which outline passengers’ rights and offer advice to anyone booking a holiday.
CAA consumer head Anna Bowles said: “We hope as many people as possible travel abroad with no issues this Bank Holiday but sometimes disruption is unavoidable.
“People need to know before they go exactly what they are entitled to if their flight is delayed or cancelled. We’ve produced a set of videos which are a bite-size reminder to help passengers.”
She added: “It is important airports and airlines deliver on their legal obligations to passengers when things go wrong.”
If a flight is delayed the airline should provide food and drink, and accommodation if the delay is overnight.
If a flight is cancelled, passengers should be offered the choice of a refund or alternative travel arrangements, which should include a flight on another airline if necessary.
Passengers requiring special assistance should notify their airline and arrive early at the airport, where staff at accessibility points can help
The CAA suggests consumers arranging a last-minute holiday make sure the booking is Atol-protected, noting: “Atol protection means you’ll get support and financial help in the unlikely event your travel company stops trading.”
It also advises consumers to “research your travel company before you book, particularly if it is a company you haven’t travelled with before”, to “shop around to check if it really is a good deal”, to “use a credit card if possible” and to book travel insurance.
The advice came as aviation analytics firm Cirium calculated that today (Friday) is projected to be the busiest day of the year for UK departures.
A total of 12,302 flights are scheduled to depart UK airports – equating to more than 2.2 million seats – including 3,243 departures today.
Departure numbers are almost 4% higher than last year’s August bank holiday and are set to reach 94% of pre-pandemic 2019 levels.
Heathrow will see the largest number of departures, followed by Gatwick, Manchester, Stansted and Edinburgh.
The most popular international destinations are Dublin, Amsterdam, Majorca, Alicante and Malaga.
EasyJet is expected to be the largest airline during the weekend, followed by British Airways, Ryanair, Jet2 and Tui.