Q. If my outward flight has been cancelled am I entitled to a full refund or will my return be a no show? And what happens if I am already on holiday, and my return flight has been cancelled?

A. If your flight is cancelled, or delayed for more than five hours then there are rules in place right across the European Union to ensure that you are looked after at the airport and this should include the provision of refreshments, meals and hotel accommodation. If you didn’t go to the airport because you thought your flight might be cancelled then you should have the choice of either another flight or a refund. This protection should apply to both parts of your journey, unless you have two single tickets with different airlines and you miss the return because your outbound flight was cancelled. The position here is a bit less clear. It is worth mentioning that this situation is fluid and at the time of writing some airlines are calling for a relaxation of the rules requiring them to provide prolonged assistance to passengers because of what they consider to be an unreasonable financial burned it is placing on them for an event that they argue is outwith their control.

Q. We booked a holiday which was advertised on the internet with the company SUN4U departing 15/04/2010, the money for the whole holiday was paid to SUN4U which included the flight and accommodation The flight was with Ryanair but it was cancelled due to volcanic ash. Ryanair have agreed to refund the cost of the flights.
 The company SUN4U are refusing to refund any money for the accommodation, firstly saying it wasn’t a package holiday now saying it’s an ”act of God”.
Could you advise where we stand with this?

A. I haven’t had a chance to speak to SUN4U about this case but I have had a look at their Website and it seems as if they offer a variety of purchase options, some of which they class as ‘Package Holidays’, and some of which they don’t, even although as you say, you paid for your flight and accommodation direct to the company.

You may not be covered if you have ‘created’ your own holiday by booking a flight and accommodation seemingly from one company but effectively from two providers. You can be sure you’re covered only if the agent issues a receipt or booking confirmation that refers to ATOL protection and has an ATOL number so you might want to go back and have a look at your booking agreement to see what it says.

Q. With travel and holiday plans at unprecedented levels of disruption, what is Consumer Direct Scotland concentrating on? Yes, tips for Xmas shopping. Nationally, Consumer Direct and Consumer Direct Scotland have taken millions of pounds worth of funding from Trading Standards yet it is the local authority staff who are expected to deal with the huge numbers of consumers in need of advice.

A.I know this may have been a slightly tongue in cheek email but it is, I think, worthy of an answer. I can understand why someone would have a concern that Consumer Direct is seemingly ignoring one of the biggest stories around for the last couple of weeks. But it is also true to say that every Newspaper, TV station, Radio Show and most websites are full of information and advice about what help and rights are available for travellers affected by the recent volcanic eruption. I think it is to the credit of Consumer Direct that they have decided to maintain their focus on the campaign they have recently started to help people to plan for Christmas in advance. Too many organisations start to offer their Christmas advice a week or two before the day itself, when it is far too late to plan anything effectively.

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