How to insist on your travel rights

Querying staff at the airport (AP)

An estimated 20,000 British holidaymakers were stranded in the Egyptian resort of Sharm el-Sheikh by the UK government's unprecedented ban on flights from the airport. Operations started up again 48 hours later, but restrictions on flights mean the repatriation of passengers has been much slower than hoped. Some of the people stuck in the resort have said they have received no help from their travel firms – often, they say, because they are travelling independently rather than on a package holiday.

While there are many good reasons for opting for package holidays, in this case the type of trip is irrelevant – the standard European rules on passenger rights, known as EC261, stipulate that anyone whose flight on an EU airline is delayed for any reason can expect accommodation and meals to be paid for until the journey home.

Airlines are supposed to arrange these, but anecdotal evidence suggests that some have fallen short – or hoteliers have demanded extra money. The biggest scheduled operator, easyJet, has set up a UK helpline (0161 774 9879) to assist customers.

If you do have to shell out, then airlines will refund reasonable expenses on presentation of itemised receipts – but not for alcoholic drinks.

So, direct costs will be covered. But many travellers are in the awkward position of losing money that was spent on additional travel arrangements such as fixed domestic flights or train connections that were timed to match the original UK arrival date, or excess parking charges. Airlines won't cover such costs, but travel insurance might.

One more aspect: lost wages. To get home in a day you could buy a new ticket out of Sharm el-Sheikh to either Cairo or Istanbul, to which frequent flights have been operating, and connect there. But it is unlikely that travel insurance or the airline you were originally booked with will pay.