Storm Austen ferry cancellations: new sailing or refund in 7 days, no hotel for weather
Bad weather does not cancel your right to your money back. If Storm Austen cancels your booked ferry, or delays it by more than 90 minutes, the operator must let you choose between the next comparable sailing at no extra cost and a full refund, paid within 7 days. What the weather does take away is the free hotel and the 25 to 50% delay compensation. Since the Met Office issued an amber wind warning for Cornwall, Devon and Scilly on Wednesday, the list of cancelled Friday sailings has grown: the Scillonian III, every DFDS Jersey sailing and seven of Condor's eight Friday sailings are off. Wightlink is asking Friday passengers to move to Thursday for free, and the Isle of Man Steam Packet lets anyone on an at-risk sailing change for free. Here is what each operator is offering, the rules behind it, and how to get across if your boat stays in port. Checked on Wednesday 21 October between 17:40 and 18:30 BST; we will update this page on Thursday and Friday.
Your sailing is cancelled: what to do, in order
Most operators move or contact booked passengers themselves. You only need to act if the new time doesn't suit you, or if you want your money back.
1. Read the text or email first
Brittany Ferries says its messages are more up to date than its website, and Wightlink and DFDS say they will contact you directly. Check whether you have already been moved to another sailing, as Scillonian III passengers were for Wednesday and Friday.
2. Choose: another sailing or your money back
If your departure is cancelled or delayed by more than 90 minutes, you choose. You can take the earliest comparable sailing at no extra cost, or get a refund of the full ticket price. If the trip no longer makes sense, the refund also covers legs you have already sailed, with a free return to where you started.
3. Insist on cash, not a voucher
The refund must be paid within 7 days, by bank transfer, cash or cheque. A voucher is only allowed if you agree to it.
4. Waiting at the terminal? Ask for food and drink
If your departure is cancelled or more than 90 minutes late, the operator must offer snacks, meals or refreshments in reasonable relation to the wait, where available. This applies whatever the cause, weather included.
5. Keep every receipt
Keep your booking reference, the cancellation message and receipts for anything you buy while you wait. You will need them if you complain, or if you claim on a travel insurance policy.
6. Complain within two months
Write to the operator within 2 months of the sailing date. It must reply within 1 month, and give a final answer within 2 months. If you are still not satisfied about a ferry in England or Wales, take it to ABTA, the complaint body the MCA lists for ferries.
What weather changes, and what it doesn't
The rules are in Regulation 1177/2010, which stayed in UK law after Brexit with amounts in pounds. Article 20 lists the weather exemptions. It removes two rights and leaves the rest alone.
| Right | Storm cancellation | Operator's fault |
|---|---|---|
| New sailing or full refund (Art. 18) | Yes | Yes |
| Refund paid within 7 days | Yes | Yes |
| Snacks and meals after 90 minutes (Art. 17.1) | Yes, where available | Yes |
| Hotel up to £70 a night, 3 nights (Art. 17.2) | No, if the weather endangers safe operation | Yes, plus transport to it |
| 25% or 50% of the fare for a late arrival (Art. 19) | No | Yes, from 1 hour late on crossings up to 4 hours |
Red Funnel's policy, read closely. Red Funnel's disruption page cites the Regulation. It offers the next sailing, a free change within 7 days or a full refund for delays over 90 minutes "due to a fault within our reasonable control", and rules out compensation and hotels in bad weather. The Regulation's own weather exemptions cover only the hotel and the compensation. They do not cover the choice between another sailing and a refund. If you are on a booked Southampton–East Cowes car ferry and want your money back, ask for it.
Red Funnel says it offers a drink after 90 minutes, a light snack after 4 hours and a hot meal after 8 hours "no matter what the reason". Its £70 a night hotel cap matches the law.
Who is not covered: walk-on tickets, small boats and the Channel Islands
Check these exceptions before you argue with the desk.
Open tickets with no set sailing time
Articles 17, 18 and 19 do not apply to open tickets until a departure time is fixed, except for season tickets and travel passes. Red Funnel says Red Jet foot tickets are open and get no compensation. Turn-up-and-go foot tickets on other routes usually work the same way.
Small boats and short crossings
The rules do not cover ships certified for 12 passengers or fewer, boats run by a crew of 3 or fewer, crossings under 500 metres one way, or excursion and sightseeing trips. Most harbour foot ferries, chain ferries and boat trips fall outside them.
Jersey and Guernsey are not in the UK
The UK version covers sailings from UK ports, so Portsmouth or Poole to the islands is covered. Sailings from Jersey or Guernsey to the UK are covered only if the operator is a UK carrier. Sailings from St Malo fall under the EU's own version of the same Regulation. On a Channel Islands booking, ask the operator which rules it applies.
What each operator is offering for Storm Austen
This is on top of the legal minimum. It is taken from each company's travel update page.
Wightlink now expects significant disruption to its car ferries and FastCat on Friday, possibly with periods when nothing sails. If you are booked on Friday, you can move free of charge to Thursday 22 October or another day, though not to another Friday sailing for now. Or cancel for a full refund, processed automatically within 5 working days. Booked through an accommodation provider? Wightlink asks you to contact them instead.
For the half-term rush, DFDS has added a Portsmouth–Jersey round trip on Sunday 25 October (09:00 out, 20:00 back) and a St Malo–Jersey round trip on Monday 26 October (17:10 out, 19:05 back), both subject to the weather. To rebook or claim a refund, use Live Chat or call 0344 848 6090.
Condor has cancelled Friday's Poole and St Malo sailings to and from Guernsey and the 08:15 Guernsey–Portsmouth, and moved the overnight Portsmouth–Guernsey to 22:00. On Wednesday evening its booking website was down for maintenance; Condor says bookings can be made or changed through its contact centre on 0345 609 1024. Saturday's Poole sailings were shown on time.
Friday's Scillonian III is cancelled. Passengers in both directions are moved automatically to Saturday 24 October; the times will be confirmed later and that sailing is still under review. Saturday is not suitable for day trips, so day-trip passengers will be contacted within five days to rebook or get a full refund. Friday passengers who would rather travel on Thursday (07:15 from Penzance, 11:00 from St Mary's) can ask the Passenger Relations Team.
The Scilly flights have a weather advisory for Thursday afternoon and Friday, but no cancellations yet. Passengers booked then can move to another date with no amendment fee, where seats allow; day trippers are advised to cancel or rebook. New bookings for those days are closed to keep seats free for people already booked.
When a Southsea–Ryde hovercraft is shown as cancelled, Hovertravel says its tickets are accepted on Wightlink's FastCat from Portsmouth Harbour. Its service was disrupted on Wednesday evening.
Seven of Friday's eight sailings between Douglas and Heysham, Liverpool and Larne, and almost all weekend sailings, are marked at risk. Each has a decision time, the first at 17:00 on Thursday. Passengers can change free of charge in their online account or on 01624 661 661 or 08722 992 992.
If your boat stays in port: alternatives by destination
Your operator owes you re-routing on comparable terms at no extra cost. If you book another company yourself, expect to pay for the new ticket and claim a refund on the old one.
| Going to | If yours is cancelled | Status on Wednesday evening |
|---|---|---|
| Isle of Wight | Three operators, six routes, among them: FastCat to Ryde, hovercraft from Southsea, Red Jet to West Cowes, car ferry to East Cowes, Lymington–Yarmouth | Wightlink expects significant disruption to car ferries and FastCat. Hovertravel tickets valid on the FastCat. Red Funnel with no storm notice |
| Isles of Scilly | Move to the Thursday 22 Scillonian III, or try Skybus from Land's End | Friday's boat cancelled, passengers moved to Saturday (under review). Skybus advisory, no cancellations |
| Jersey | DFDS extra sailings on Sunday 25 (Portsmouth) and Monday 26 (St Malo) | Every Friday sailing cancelled |
| Guernsey | Condor's overnight from Portsmouth, now leaving at 22:00 on Friday, or Saturday's sailings from Poole | Friday's Poole and St Malo sailings cancelled |
| France | Brittany Ferries' Portsmouth–Caen and Plymouth–Roscoff | Friday's Caen and Roscoff sailings on time. Portsmouth–St Malo running about 30 minutes late |
| Isle of Man | Change free of charge to another day with the Steam Packet | 7 of 8 Friday sailings at risk, most of the weekend too |
The Met Office warnings: an amber wind warning for Cornwall, Devon, Plymouth and Scilly from 03:00 to 10:00 on Friday, with gusts of 60 to 70 mph and perhaps 80 mph on exposed headlands, inside a yellow warning from 00:00 to 14:00. The yellow area covers the south coast from Cornwall to Kent, and south Wales, including Pembrokeshire and Cardiff, where the Aquabus on the Taff only sails in fair weather. Winds ease through Friday afternoon, so a late Friday or Saturday sailing may be the easier rebooking in the south. Another low is likely to bring strong winds to the north of the UK over the weekend, so check before you choose.
Key dates and deadlines
From the storm to your refund.
Timeline
| Thu 22 Oct, 17:00 | Isle of Man Steam Packet decides on Friday's Douglas–Larne sailings; the others follow on Friday. |
| Fri 23 Oct, 00:00 | Met Office yellow wind warning begins. |
| Fri 23 Oct, 03:00–10:00 | Amber wind warning for Cornwall, Devon, Plymouth and Scilly. |
| Fri 23 Oct, 14:00 | Yellow warning ends. Winds ease through the afternoon. |
| Within 7 days | Deadline for your refund to be paid after you choose it. |
| By 23 December 2026 | Two months from a cancelled Friday sailing: the last day to complain to the operator about it. |
Sources
- Regulation (EU) No 1177/2010 as it applies in the UK: Art. 2 (scope), Art. 17 (assistance), Art. 18 (re-routing and refund), Art. 19 (compensation), Art. 20 (exemptions), Art. 24 (complaints).
- Merchant Shipping (Passengers' Rights) Regulations 2013, reg. 8 (the MCA as enforcement body) and MGN 504(M) (complaint bodies).
- Met Office: Storm Austen named, 20 October 2026, Amber warning issued as Storm Austen approaches, 21 October, and the UK warnings page (times in UK time).
- Operators: Wightlink, Red Funnel disruption policy, Hovertravel, Isles of Scilly Travel, DFDS Jersey routes (updated 21 October, 07:15), Condor, Brittany Ferries, Isle of Man Steam Packet. Read on 21 October 2026.
Updated
By uka.lauttainfo.com
An independent guide to British ferry crossings, from Hebridean island runs to tidal foot ferries. Every page is dated and taken from the operator's own information.
Taken from the law and the operators' own pages: Regulation (EU) No 1177/2010 as it applies in the UK, on legislation.gov.uk; the Maritime and Coastguard Agency's MGN 504(M); the Met Office's amber warning announcement and warnings page; and the travel update pages of Wightlink, Red Funnel, Hovertravel, Isles of Scilly Steamship, DFDS, Condor, Brittany Ferries and the Isle of Man Steam Packet, read between 17:40 and 18:30 BST on 21 October 2026 (first published on 20 October). This is general information, not legal advice. Your operator's text or email is the final word on your sailing.