Thomas cook ordered to compensate passengers of impounded plane

A Manchester court has ordered Thomas Cook to pay compensation in the sum of nearly £20,000 for a delayed flight. The flight in question left dozens of passengers stranded in Cancun, Mexico for two days ater the aircraft was impounded by Mexican authorities. This puts an end to a dispute of nearly four years.

Grounded for hours

Flight TCX325 was set to leave Cancun for Manchester in December 2012 when the SENEAM (Mexican Airspace Navigation Services) accused the airline of failing to pay a 200$ (Mexican) air navigation charge and impounded the aircraft pending the settlement of said fee. Thomas Cook stated that they were willing to pay but were not allowed to do so by cash or cheque. The authorities insisted on a different payment process. However, it was not in use until after the weekend, meaning the aircraft was forced to remain grounded until Monday morning.

Passengers were accommodated in hotels over the weekend, finally arriving in Manchester at 2:20 am two days later.  The airline rejected claims for compensation, believing the circumstances to have been extraordinary. However, after an appeal hearing in March, a judge has now granted passengers £487.80 each in compensation for the 43-hour delay.

Were you on flight TCX325 (1st December 2012)? Then you might be entitled to compensation: Check your flight  here.

Written by: Flight-Delayed