Stranded passengers should make airlines pay

Passengers who were left stranded when their flights were grounded due to the volcanic ash that spread over UK air space should be refunded for food and accommodation, according to the Air Transport Users Council (AUC).

The AUC said that passengers who had booked flights back to the UK are covered under European Union rules that state airlines must look after them, even in such exceptional circumstances.

Although they are not entitled to compensation as the cancellations were out of the airlines' control, the airlines should have picked up their bills for food and hotel rooms, said the AUC.

The AUC also said airlines should allow passengers whose flights had been cancelled to rebook flights at times convenient to them, without limiting them to any time restrictions as some airlines are attempting to do. Passengers should not have to pay a fee either to rebook or cancel.

Tens of thousands of Britons are still stranded abroad, many of them ramping up thousands of pounds in unforeseen hotel expenses. Many are families trying to get back to the UK after the Easter break.

While some airlines have agreed to pay for hotels, others have told passengers they must seek refunds from their travel insurance. However, travel insurance does not usually cover so called 'Acts of God' and the Foreign Secretary David Miliband has made it clear that it is the airlines who must pay up.

Speaking to The Times on Wednesday, Mr Miliband urged people stranded overseas to enforce their rights to free food and accommodation.

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