Can I get compensation for EgyptAir delay at Sharm el-Sheikh?

Q We were flying on EgyptAir from Sharm el-Sheikh to Cairo and onwards to Heathrow. The flight from Sharm el-Sheikh was nearly two hours late, and as a result we missed the connection at Cairo. We were put up in the airport Novotel and flown the next day. My daughter lost a day’s income. Can you advise what compensation we should go for, please?

Ian G

A As you know, the UK prohibits British airlines from flying to and from Egypt’s prime resort. This follows the tragedy in 2015 when a Russian aircraft crashed shortly after takeoff from Sharm el-Sheikh with the loss of 224 lives. The British government believes it was downed by a bomb placed on board at the Egyptian airport. Direct flights will not be permitted until security standards at Sharm el-Sheikh are improved to the satisfaction of the UK authorities. This is out of step with other European countries; there are many flights from Germany, Poland and Italy to Sharm el-Sheikh.

Due to the ban, UK travellers heading to and from Sharm el-Sheikh must change planes along the way. While there are plenty of options via other European airports, the most popular route is on EgyptAir via Cairo. As EgyptAir is a non-EU airline, the European air passengers’ rights rules do not apply for flights that begin outside a member state. So there is no entitlement to cash compensation in the event of long delays, missed connections or cancellations.

There are two avenues I can suggest for recompense for the financial damage incurred by your daughter. The first is that she claims from EgyptAir under the Montreal Convention. Assuming that the delay was within the airline’s control, she may be able to claim for provable losses. Other travellers report mixed success with this route.

The second is that her insurance may cover travel delays – not directly paying for lost wages, but a lump-sum payment. The trouble is: flying in or out of Sharm el-Sheikh is against Foreign Office advice, which probably invalidates your policy. So I am not optimistic about this avenue. I am looking forward very much to the reinstatement of direct flights, and I imagine you are, too.

Every day our travel correspondent Simon Calder tackles a reader’s question. Just email yours to s@hols.tv or tweet @simoncalder