Why Airlines Cancel their Flights | 5 Reasons for Flight Cancellation — travelwithjen.co

The recent announcement by the ACCC asking airlines why they have an escalated increase in the cancellation of aircraft, prompted me to give you a few of those reasons myself. Weather A phenomenon beyond an airlines control even though they are blamed all the time, it causes havoc. If there is bad weather domestically within a country say Australia with aircraft that cannot land, depart or is diverted.This leaves the airline in the position of having aircraft everywhere they are not supposed to be. Its a logistical nightmare having to reposition those aircraft ready for the next day’s normal schedules. If a regional aircraft cannot land and its the last flight of the day, the first flight of the next morning is cancelled. This is due to no aircraft to take off.  The weather has a knock on effect for at least 24hours. As global warming affects regional weather, it is likely delays may occur. Schedule Maintenance Aircraft are regularly required to be taken out of service for scheduled maintenance to keep them safe in the air. If one aircraft is taken away (ie an aircraft that spends its day going back and forth between Sydney and Melbourne) it will cause numerous flight cancellations. Crew Rest If the last aircraft of the day is late arriving there is such a thing as crew rest. This means crews require a minimum break time between being back on duty. To achieve the first flight of the day, the last flight of the night could be cancelled due to insufficient crew rest time.  Mechanical Issues Last minute mechanical issues even with engineers at hand doing their best sometimes ends up as cancellations that couldn’t be avoided.  So that aircraft again will not have finished its day travelling between other ports so numerous flight numbers are cancelled. Pacific bound flights Flights in the Pacific are not covered by the same protection as in the EU.  What happens in the Pacific would be up to the individual Airline and their duty of care factor.  The below is the EU rights. This wouldn’t involve anything beyond the airline’s control ie: weather. Cancelled flights: your rights If you’re travelling with an airline based in the EU or with a non-EU based airline flying from an EU airport, you’re protected by the Denied Boarding Regulation. The regulation states that the airline has an obligation to offer you assistance if your flight is cancelled or the delay is expected to go beyond a certain point.Depending on the length and circumstances of your delay you could be entitled to: a refund or an alternative flightfood, phone calls and accommodationflight cancellation compensation Image via Pinterest

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