FAQs

You can reschedule the flight up by emailing at [email protected] at least 7 days prior to the flight date. After these times you will need to attend the flight.

The weather is our friend because it is what makes every flight unique but, unfortunately, we cannot control it (no matter how hard we try). This means sometimes pilots will cancel/postpone flights because the weather conditions are not safe to fly in. 
Our pilots are all highly experienced and they decide whether it is flyable. We are not allowed to question a pilot’s judgment as this could be seen as pressuring them to fly which could compromise safety.
 Our pilots put your safety first at all times. When cancelling/postponing a flight, either on the flight line beforehand or occasionally on site, the pilot will usually try to offer some explanation as to why. Our pilots make their decision to fly based on the most relevant and up to date forecast available just before they set their flight line message. Sometimes the actual conditions may be different to what was forecasted. There are also different forecasts and they can be interpreted in different ways. So, like all weather people, we do occasionally make mistakes but unfortunately we can only go by what the forecaster says and some forecasters are better than others. We can tell you some of the general reasons why a pilot may cancel a flight:

The weather looked nice and sunny so why was it cancelled?

• The wind at ground or gradient level or the gust speed might have been too strong and outside operational limits.
• Rain may have been forecasted in the area. We cannot fly in rain because it means there will be poor visibility and it also makes the balloon heavier to fly. Getting a balloon envelope wet can lead to damage.
• Thunderstorms or CB (Cumulonimbus) clouds may have been forecasted. These are dangerous and we would not fly in their vicinity.
• If yours was a morning flight, the visibility early in the morning during our flight period could have been poorer than later in the day.
• There may have been a wind direction which would have taken the balloon towards something unsuitable, like a large town or restricted airspace.

Once you have a voucher and book onto a specific flight, you will receive a booking confirmation. This will include your dedicated flight line phone number which the pilot will update to let you know if the flight is going ahead, if it is being moved to a back-up site and any other important information. If it is a morning flight you will call the night before and if it is an evening flight you will call in the afternoon on the day.

If you have a morning flight please call: between 7-9pm the day before.

If you have an evening flight please call: 12pm-2pm the day of your flight.

In the unlikely event that the flight line is not updated within 30 minutes after these times, you can call the pilot on the emergency number which will also be provide on your booking confirmation.