A passenger of British Airways, Kiemon Stewart, is set to receive a compensation of £2,000 ($2,550) after experiencing a delay of over seven hours on the tarmac, as reported by BelfastLive. Stewart, an ex-Royal Air Force pilot, was en route from London Heathrow to Belfast on October 2.
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The day was marked by weather alerts for thunderstorms and heavy rainfall in London, leading to issues at the airport. Due to air traffic control restrictions, the plane missed its departure slot and had to return to the stand for refueling. The flight had to be re-crewed after the pilots and cabin crew reached their work time limit.
Passengers were given only a bag of pretzels and a beverage during the delay. The Airbus A320 finally arrived in Belfast seven hours behind schedule, according to Flightradar24 data. Stewart sought compensation in a small-claims court in Northern Ireland, referring to the incident as a "comedy of errors".
He argued that the weather was merely a secondary factor and held BA's "operational and commercial decisions" responsible for the delay. As BA did not dispute Stewart's claims in court, the judge ordered the airline to pay him £2,000 ($2,550). However, BA insists that the delay was caused by weather conditions, not their decisions. A BA spokesperson expressed regret for the delay caused by air traffic control restrictions due to adverse weather in London and South East England on the day of the flight.