Stobart Air refused to pay us for rerouting costs

We booked return Flybe/Stobart Air flights from Groningen in the Netherlands to London Southend, leaving on 20 December at 11am. At 1am on that day, our flight was cancelled for “operational reasons”. I immediately tried to make contact with Flybe by phone, but was told it was out of hours, and would take until 9am before the line opened.

Needing to be in London that day, I went online and booked replacements with easyJet out of Amsterdam.

Stobart has offered us both the €250 (£210) EU compensation but refuses to pay the rerouting costs of €338. I have been told Stobart will not consider claims such as travel costs with another carrier, or other expenses.

I think the rules are clear that it should pay these. CL, Groningen

By chance I am well acquainted with this service which is excellent when it runs, but suffers more than its fair share of delays and cancellations.

Dublin-based Stobart told us that it rerouted the other affected passengers on to an Amsterdam-Gatwick flight at a later time. However, because you had not waited to be offered this, it will not pay your extra costs. It claims its stance is in line with industry standards.

However, the flight compensation law firm Bott and Co disagrees and says you are entitled to the rerouting costs. “Stobart’s policy is in breach of the EU regulation, as confirmed by the CAA’s guidance on this topic,” it says.

In your shoes I would take the €250 each and either bring a claim yourself, or engage Bott to fight for the rest. Bott will take a significant fee if it wins, but it will do all the work.

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