Fog cancels flights

[NomoneyNohoney]

In the news today is reports of around 100 flights cancelled, due to fog.
Many people buy tickets that specify, 'not transferrable.'
Do airlines have to offer later/alternative flights, or do they whoop with glee, earning the revenue from the ticket sales, but with no fuel costs etc?
What responsibility is there to help people whose flights got cancelled?

[gryffron]

'Not transferable' means you have no right to use it on any other flight. It does not negate their contractual or legal obligations to provide the service you have paid for.

From: http://www.airpassengerrights.eu/en/fli ... ation.html
For cancellation due to extraordinary circumstances [bad weather] you may not have the right to compensation, the carrier must still offer you either:
a ticket refund (in full or just the part you have not used)
alternative transport to your final destination at the earliest opportunity or
rebooking at a later date of your choice (subject to seat availability).

Gryff

[Lootman]

I've flown a lot and full-service airlines always re-ticket you on a later flight or with another airline, putting you up in a hotel overnight if necessary. That goes for weather delays, ATC and immigration delays, as well as problems with the airline itself.

I don't use the ultra low-fare airlines so cannot comment on their policies, but it would be grossly unfair not to take care of stranded passengers and I'm sure there are some EU rules about it if you are in the EU.

Most planes and airports have the technology to land in almost zero visibility now. But the distances between planes has to be increased and that is what causes the delays. I was waiting at Heathrow to meet an incoming passenger a while ago and almost all airlines were able to land. But American and Thai airlines could not - might have been that they didn't have enough fuel to circle around, I suppose - I can't imagine that they don't have the radar to deal with fog. Snow, ice, lightning and high winds are another matter, of course.

[Hardgrafter]

I understood it was the ground handling where the real problems arise. Theres no autmated system for that, yet.

The best landing I ever had was last year, in Paris in really bad patchy fog weather.The lack ocross winds (you can't normally have fog and wind) probably helped. You couldn't detect the 'bump' on landing at all.