Many people with flights booked over the coming weeks will be wondering how fears over the Boeing 737 Max 8’s safety could affect their travel plans.

Dozens of national authorities and airlines have now suspended use of the model as a precaution and under pressure from passengers, grounding planes until the causes of this week’s tragic airline crash in Ethiopia have been identified.

The UK’s civil aviation authority has indefinitely banned flights using the plane from leaving or entering the UK, throwing scheduled flights into doubt on some routes.

Some airlines have already said passengers will not face huge disruption despite the problems, but others have not clarified their arrangements for passengers.

TUI has six of the affected aircraft, and has already reassured passengers that flights over the next few days will go ahead as planned but on different aircraft.

READ MORE: Disruption for passengers as Boeing 737 Max 8 planes banned in UK

The large German-based firm, which operates in around 180 countries, believes it can rely on its own fleet to ensure all customers are able to travel as normal.

Another airline, Norwegian, apologised to customers but said there would be “temporary cancellations and delays without making clear what if any alternatives would be provided. “The safety and security of our customers and colleagues will never be compromised, and once authorities advise to cease operations we will of course comply,” it said in a statement.

The consumer group Which? has advised passengers due to fly on the planes in coming days that their airline should get in touch with them to confirm how they were affected.

But it said: “Airlines will likely class the CAA suspension as an extraordinary circumstance, meaning you won’t be able to claim compensation for the delay.”

It said in a post on its site that anyone held up for at least two hours had a right though to two free phone calls or emails, free meals and refreshments “appropriate to the delay” and free hotel accommodation and transfers if forced to stay overnight.

READ MORE: The airlines grounding Boeing 737 Max 8 aircraft – and the ones carrying on as usual

Passengers also have a right to be informed by UK airlines changing aircraft in another country if they are due to fly their second leg on a Max 8 plane, according to the Which? report.

In those circumstances, its travel editor said passengers must receive the option “to switch to another routing with a different aircraft for free.”

As for passengers hoping to switch off Boeing 737 Max 8 flights with airlines and in countries that have not suspended their use, they may struggle to get a refund.

Regulators in the USA are still giving the planes clearance to fly, so passengers who choose to buy other tickets for alternative flights are unlikely to get their costs covered.

But some operators, including Southwest Airlines, are offering passengers the chance to change their bookings without the standard charges applying. Others, like American Airlines, have so far not offered an exception to their policies.