Vueling cancelled our flight to Florence, then ignored a refund request
Last year I used the British Airways website to book a June 2022 flight from Gatwick to Florence for me and my husband. The flights cost £770, and when the confirmation email came through, it turned out they were with BA’s sister firm, the Spanish airline Vueling.
However, two hours before we were due to take off, Vueling cancelled the flight, “due to meteorological reasons” in Florence.
Phone calls made by various other passengers to family in Florence soon established the weather there was sunny and calm, so we assume the flight was cancelled for another reason.
We made our way by train from Gatwick to our home near Southampton and managed to book a flight with another carrier to Florence two days later. We lost two days of our holiday, plus hotel costs.
Since then, we have been trying to get a refund of the outward-bound leg of the flight and compensation for cancelling as per the EU rules.
Vueling initially just ignored our requests. Eventually, after involving the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), it responded in September, reiterating the flight had been cancelled as a result of “extraordinary circumstances”. It refused compensation, and no refund was paid.
In March, it accepted our request for a refund but only for the £20 paid for the extra train journey from the airport back home, not for the cancelled flight.
After further correspondence, it said I had to contact BA to get the refund. BA has, in turn, refused to accept responsibility and told me to take my claim to Vueling.
Almost a year on, I have received £20 and am at a loss as to know what to do next.
AB, Hants
This letter arrived within days of another from a reader who was similarly complaining that Vueling had ignored his demand for compensation after
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