What are your rights if your flight is delayed or cancelled in air traffic control chaos

Thousands of flights have been disrupted today after a technical fault caused major disruption to air traffic control. Passengers across the UK and abroad have found their flights either delayed or called due to the issue.

The situation has left many holidaymakers stranded in airports or needing to find accommodation abroad. Under UK law, those affected have legal rights which oblige airlines to provide support to customers flying from a UK airport, arriving in the country on an EU or UK airline, or arriving at an EU airport on a UK airline.

According to the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) website, in the case of a “significant delay”, the airline must provide a reasonable amount of food and drink, commonly in the form of vouchers, refunds for the cost of calls, and accommodation for passengers stuck overnight and transport to a hotel or their home. This is defined as a delay or more than two hours for a short-haul flight of under 1,500km, more than three hours for medium haul of up to 3,500km, and more than four hours for long-haul flights.

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On the day airlines are sometimes unable to organise such support, so passengers should make their own “reasonable” arrangements and keep receipts to claim money back, but the CAA adds that “luxury hotels and alcohol” are unlikely to be paid for.

Airlines are required to pay compensation if flights arrive more than three hours late, but only when it is their fault, meaning the air traffic control problems could fall under the definition of “exceptional circumstances”, meaning the carriers are exempt from paying out. The CAA says airlines should inform customers when they will be able