Your rights if you flight is cancelled or delayed due to Storm Éowyn

More than 1,000 flights have been cancelled to and from airports in the UK and Ireland today, Friday January 24, due to Strom Éowyn.

The Met Office has issued a rare red weather warning for Northern Ireland and parts of Scotland, with winds of up to 100mph forecast in some areas. Elsewhere, an amber warning is in force for large areas of northern England and Scotland, while a yellow warning covers the rest of the UK.

Strong winds have caused travel disruption across the UK, with flights particularly impacted. According to aviation analytics firm Cirium, as of 10am on Friday a total of 1,070 flights have been cancelled to and from UK and Irish airports, around 20 per cent of all scheduled flights.

Airlines including Jet2, easyJet and Ryanair have all informed passengers of disruption to flight schedules, with some such as Loganair making the decision to cancel their flights altogether due to the weather conditions.

Several flights have been cancelled from Manchester Airport today, mainly routes to Belfast, Dublin and Scotland, while other routes have been delayed.

If you’re flying today and your flight is affected by the storm, you might be wondering if you’re entitled to any compensation. However, as a storm is considered ‘extraordinary circumstances’ it’s unlikely that you will receive anything. But if your flight is cancelled, your airline is legally required to find you an alternative or offer you a refund.

Guy Hobbs, a Which? Travel expert, explains what passengers’ rights are: “Many travellers will understandably be concerned about flight delays or cancellations as a result of Storm Éowyn.

"If your flight is cancelled or delayed, you're unlikely to be owed compensation by the airline as weather events are