Flight disrupted due to Heathrow Airport fire? Your travel and refund rights explained

More than 200,000 air passengers have had their flights to or from Heathrow cancelled after the airport closed on Friday 21 March due to a power outage caused by a fire at a nearby electrical substation. Thousands of homes also supplied by the substation have been left without power and more than 100 people have been evacuated from the local area.

Important: Your rights depend on whether your flight is EU/UK-regulated

All the rules we talk about below come from this simple fact. The flight must be regulated either by UK or EU rules (which are the same rules in effect). Here's what's covered:

• Flying FROM Heathrow on any airline? You're covered – we've rounded up your rights below.

• Flying TO Heathrow on a UK or EU airline? You're also covered – see below for your rights.

• Flying TO Heathrow on a non-UK/EU airline? The UK/EU rules don't apply, so you'll need to approach the airline directly for any support regarding delays or cancellations. Alternatively, you could also try your travel insurer.

Flight cancelled? You're entitled to an alternative (or refund)

When a flight is cancelled, however long before it was due to take off, you have a legal right to choose between EITHER a refund for the flight that was cancelled OR an alternative flight (airlines call this re-routing) to your destination.

If you choose to be re-routed, you should be offered an alternative flight at the earliest opportunity and it DOESN'T have to be with the same airline. Some have agreements with other airlines and may try to book you on one of these initially – though if this alternative is not suitable, stick to your guns and ask for a more convenient flight.

Of course, given the scale of the disruption, it may be difficult to get through to the airline to arrange a replacement flight. Keep trying, or check to see if you can sort it online through the airline's 'Manage my booking' portal.

DON'T just book a new flight yourself. Your airline has a responsibility to help. Booking yourself should be a last resort, if you've exhausted all possible avenues through the original airline. If you do have to do this, make sure you keep all evidence to help your claim – see our Flight cancellations guide for more information.

Your airline must help during the disruption

If your flight is delayed, or it's been cancelled and you've opted to be re-routed, or you're stuck at the airport abroad, your airline is responsible for providing a so-called 'duty of care'. This includes:

• Regular updates on what's going on. As Heathrow is currently closed, you won't be able to ask for updates at a check-in desk, but your airline should be issuing updates via its website, app and social media accounts. You should also check the email you used when booking in case you've been sent an update.

• Food and drink. Your airline should provide food and drink (or vouchers to buy them) if you're delayed for more than two hours on a short-haul flight, three hours on medium haul (for example, Manchester to Malaga) or four hours for long haul. If it's unable to, you can buy your own and claim it back, but make sure you keep receipts. Check if your airline's website has any guidance on what it'll cover.

• Accommodation (if needed). If the flight is delayed overnight you're entitled to a hotel, and the airline must also provide transport to and from it. Ideally it will arrange the hotel for you, so always check before you book somewhere.

• A 'means of communication'. In this day and age, this just means the airline's likely to reimburse you for the cost of any relevant calls you make.

Important: If your flight was cancelled or delayed by more than five hours and you choose to claim a refund, your airline will no longer be responsible for any care or assistance, so don't ask for a refund or accept one unless you're sure you won't need any of the above.

Keep your receipts if you buy your own food, drink, accommodation, or extra travel

As we've mentioned above, if your flight has been delayed or cancelled, your airline should be proactive in providing you with food and drink (and a place to stay overnight, if necessary). If it doesn't, you should be able to claim back any reasonable expenses. When you contact your airline, you should include:

• Receipts. To show how much you spent on food and/or a place to stay or alternative travel arrangements. Remember only reasonable expenses are covered – so it's unlikely you'd be able to claim for alcohol, for example. Check if your airline's website has any guidance on what it'll cover. If it does, you can include this information in your claim alongside your receipts.

• Proof you didn't just go for the most expensive option. If you had to book a place to stay overnight, it can be useful to include the rates of nearby hotels to demonstrate that you didn't just pick the most expensive option. It's unlikely an airline will cover the cost of a luxury hotel if there's a cheaper alternative you could've used nearby.

• Proof of delay. It can be useful to include how long your flight was delayed by – as what you get is based on how long you had to wait. Include any updates you received by text or email, or screenshots of updates posted on the airline's website or social media.

You're unlikely to get any extra compensation in this scenario

In some cases, you can claim additional compensation of between £210 and £520 if your flight was delayed or cancelled and your airline was at fault.

Crucially, however, you CAN'T claim this extra compensation if the delay or cancellation is out of the airline's hands due to an 'extraordinary circumstance' – which would include the fire and subsequent power outage at Heathrow. So extra compensation is unlikely to be due here.

If your flight was part of a package holiday, contact your travel company

If your flight is cancelled or delayed and you've booked a package holiday, you have the same travel, refund and compensation rights we've outlined above.

However, if your flight is cancelled, you should contact your travel company directly to rearrange your flights.

If your flights can't be rearranged, or the new flights cause a "significant change" to your holiday, your travel company must offer you an alternative holiday or a full refund. According to trade association ABTA, a significant change is generally a delay of 12 hours or more on a 14-night holiday.

If you aren't covered by UK/EU rules or your airline isn't playing ball, check your insurance

If you didn't travel on a UK or EU-regulated flight, or your airline isn't helping, you may want to check if you're covered by your travel insurance.

Depending on your travel insurance policy, you may have limited cover for delays and cancellations, though not all policies offer this. Some may pay you a lump sum based on the length of delay, while others will simply refund costs you've incurred, such as hotels or alternative transport. You'll need to contact your insurer or check your policy terms and conditions for what situations it'll cover.

Additional reporting by the Press Association.