Travel Question of the Day: Can I claim compensation for a heavily delayed flight in Australia?

Have a travel question that needs answering? Ask our expert Simon Calder

If you're facing delays outside the EU, can you still claim compensation? (Getty)

Q My wife and I had a three-week holiday in Australia and Singapore. One of our internal flights, from Cairns to Sydney, was delayed by over five hours because the aircraft door could not be closed. We consequently lost half a day of our holiday in Sydney and missed our transfer from the airport to our hotel. Austravel, with whom we booked, did reimburse us for our extra transfer cost.

Is it too late to claim compensation for the problem, or does this form of compensation not apply in Australia?

Peter Doody, Warrington

A I can understand you asking about compensation, because if the same scenario occurred within the EU then you would be due cash from the airline. But Europe’s passenger-rights rules are way out of line with the rest of the world — far too generous, according to the airlines — and there seems no appetite for adopting them in other countries, including Australia.

The only avenue I can see for compensation would be under the Montreal Convention, whose rules on payments for delays broadly apply only in the case of demonstrable financial loss.

Since Austravel, quite decently, refunded your extra costs, I imagine you could not show additional damage.

Regrettably, your loss of enjoyment is not counted.

I fear you will have to put it down to experience, as I had to do with a Canadian domestic flight this summer that was 12 hours late, wrecking my plans for a visit to Ottawa.

Every day, our travel correspondent, Simon Calder, tackles a reader’s question. Just email yours to s@hols.tv or tweet @simoncalder