Travel question: Can I get compensation after drunk passengers ruined my trip?

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Today’s reader had an unexpected stop in Athens (Getty/iStock)

Q We were flying from Hurghada to Birmingham when there were problems on the plane with a couple that were obviously drunk. The pilot decided to land in Athens. By the time all was sorted with the couple arrested, the crew were out of hours so we could not continue to Birmingham. In total we did not land home until 17 hours after we should have done. The airline now says that it is not paying compensation since it was beyond its control. But there was a problem on the transfer coach with these people, and they were allowed to board. So who is to blame?

John L

A How maddening for you (unless you had the luxury of time and were therefore able to enjoy an unexpected stay in Athens). And it will have been extremely expensive for the airline, too, with costs running into tens of thousands of pounds – for hotels for everyone on board, handling charges, extra fuel and losing an aircraft out of the fleet for about 12 hours.