Why you could be owed up to £520 in compensation for travel chaos – check how much you could get

HOLIDAY makers face flight delays and cancellations as travel chaos continues - here's how you could get up to £520 in compensation.

Thousands of flights have been cancelled, leaving families sleeping on terminal floors and calls for the army to be drafted in.

Staffing issues, IT glitches, runway works and air traffic restrictions are behind the crisis, with half term only making the problem worse.

Transport secretary Grant Shapps has blamed the aviation industry for the chaos, while travel experts have warned holidaymakers NOT to cancel their trip.

TUI has already  if their holiday is cancelled.

But we explain how you could claim up to £520 if you've had your holiday ruined by long delays or cancellations.

It comes as Resolver consumer rights expert Martyn James told the that in the last week alone, 3,000 people have asked the site for help.Here's how to get a payout for your travel troubles.

How much could I get?

Most passengers will be protected by what's called Denied Boarding regulations.

This means that you have to be offered either a full refund for a cancelled flight or a seat on the next possible flight, or another one at a better time.

You have to be catered for if you're left waiting a while between the cancelled flight and your new one too.

That means if you've got an overnight stay between the reimbursed flight and the time of cancellation, then you'll get meals, accommodation and transfers provided for the inconvenience.

But you could also be in line for compensation.

If you're flying out of the UK, you're legally entitled to compensation once your arrival is delayed by three hours or more.

Usually if passengers are given less than two weeks' notice that their flight is cancelled, they are also eligible for compensation.

But exactly how much you get under EU compensation rules depends on when the airline told you about the delay.

The very least you can claim is £220 - but the maximum is £520 if you've been booked for a longer distance flight.

How do I get compensation?

Citizens Advice says you need to claim through your airline to get compensation.

Each airline is likely to have a different application process for this.

Go onto your airline's website for more information, or call them up.

What if my airline refuses to give me compensation?

If you're not happy with an airlines' response to your compensation claim, you can take it to the Centre for Effective Dispute Resolution (CEDR).

It is approved by the Civil Aviation Authority to provide an independent resolution service for complaints about airlines.

You need to make the complaint within 12 months of the cancelled flight for it to be assessed.