Flight Delay Compensation
Did Your Flight Get Delayed or Cancelled?
You Could Be Owed Up to £1,040 Per Couple.
What Is Flight Delay Compensation?
Flight delay compensation is a fixed cash payment you are legally entitled to receive from your airline when your flight arrives late. It is not a goodwill gesture; it is a statutory right enshrined in law.
In the UK, that law is UK Regulation 261/2004 (commonly called UK261), and for EU flights it is EU Regulation EC261/2004 (commonly called EU261). Following Brexit, the two regulations operate in parallel but are substantively identical, meaning passengers travelling to or from the UK or EU benefit from the same strong protections.
Under UK261 and EU261, if your flight arrives at its final destination 3 hours or more late, and the airline was responsible for the delay, you could receive between £220 and £520 per person, regardless of the original ticket price.
Key fact: The compensation amount is set by law. Airlines cannot legally offer you less, and they cannot replace it with vouchers unless you explicitly agree.
Am I Eligible to Claim?
You are entitled to flight delay compensation if all four of the following conditions are met:
1. Your flight arrived 3 or more hours late.
Eligibility is based on your arrival time at the final destination, not when the plane pushed back from the gate.
2. The flight is covered by UK261 or EU261.
This depends on where the flight departed and which airline operated it (see the coverage table below).
3. The airline was responsible for the delay.
Technical faults, staffing problems, and operational issues qualify. Severe weather, air traffic control strikes, and other events genuinely outside the airline's control do not.
4. Your flight took place within the claim time limit.
In England, Wales, and Northern Ireland you have 6 years; in Scotland you have 5 years.
If you are unsure whether your flight qualifies, our free eligibility check will give you an answer in under 60 seconds.
Which Flights Are Covered Under UK261 and EU261?
UK261 and EU261 cover a wide range of routes, but not every flight qualifies. The regulation is based on the departure airport and the airline's country of registration, not your nationality or where you bought your ticket.
| Your flight | Covered? |
|---|---|
| Departing from any UK airport (any airline) | ✅ Yes |
| Departing from any EU airport (any airline) | ✅ Yes |
| Arriving in the UK on a UK or EU airline | ✅ Yes |
| Arriving in the EU on a UK airline | ✅ Yes |
| Arriving in the UK on a non-UK/EU airline | ❌ No |
| Both airports outside UK and EU, non-UK/EU airline | ❌ No |
What if my flight is not covered?
If neither UK261 nor EU261 applies to your route, you may still have options. The Montreal Convention, an international treaty covering 140+ countries, can provide recourse for losses caused by flight delays. You would need to contact the airline directly and demonstrate that you suffered a quantifiable loss. Additionally, your travel insurance policy may provide cover for delays regardless of the route.
How Is the Delay Measured?
This is one of the most important, and most misunderstood, aspects of flight delay claims.
Your compensation is calculated based on your arrival time, not your departure time.
Even if your flight left the gate late, what matters is when it touched down at your final destination. More precisely, the European Court of Justice ruled in 2014 that a flight is officially considered to have "arrived" at the moment at least one aircraft door opens for disembarkation.
What this means in practice
- ✗Your flight departs 4 hours late but makes up time in the air and lands only 2 hours 45 minutes late. No compensation applies, as you arrived fewer than 3 hours late.
- ✓Your flight departs on time but is held in a holding pattern and arrives 3 hours 10 minutes late. Compensation applies, as the arrival delay exceeds 3 hours.
Multi-leg journeys
If your trip involved connecting flights booked under a single reservation, the delay is measured at your final destination, not at any intermediate stop. A 45-minute delay on your first leg that causes you to miss a connection, resulting in an arrival at your final destination 4 hours late, can still trigger a compensation claim.
How Much Compensation Can I Claim?
Compensation amounts are fixed by UK261 and EU261 and determined by two factors: how late you arrived and how far you were flying.
| Arrival delay | Flight distance | Compensation per person |
|---|---|---|
| Under 3 hours | Any distance | No compensation |
| 3 hours or more | Up to 1,500 km | £220 |
| 3 hours or more | 1,500 km to 3,500 km | £350 |
| 3 to 4 hours | Over 3,500 km (non-EU internal) | £260 |
| 4 hours or more | Over 3,500 km (non-EU internal) | £520 |
How flight distance is calculated
Distance is measured as a straight line between the first departure airport and the final destination airport on your booking, not the sum of all legs flown. This means a stopover does not artificially inflate the distance calculation.
Compensation examples
- →London Gatwick to Edinburgh (approx. 530 km): Arrive 3+ hours late: £220 per person
- →London Heathrow to Malaga (approx. 1,850 km): Arrive 3+ hours late: £350 per person
- →Manchester to New York JFK (approx. 5,360 km): Arrive 4+ hours late: £520 per person
- →Birmingham to Dubai (approx. 5,500 km): Arrive 3 hours late (but under 4): £260 per person
Travelling as a group? Each passenger on the booking has an independent right to claim. A family of four on a delayed long-haul flight could collectively claim up to £2,080.
What Other Rights Do I Have During the Delay?
Compensation is not your only entitlement under UK261 and EU261. From the moment your delay exceeds certain thresholds, the airline is legally required to provide care and assistance, regardless of whether the delay was their fault and regardless of whether you are ultimately entitled to financial compensation.
| Delay threshold | What the airline must provide |
|---|---|
| 2+ hours | Free meals and refreshments; access to 2 free phone calls, emails, or faxes |
| 3+ hours | Free meals and refreshments; access to 2 free phone calls, emails, or faxes |
| 4+ hours | Free meals and refreshments; access to 2 free phone calls, emails, or faxes |
| 5+ hours | Right to cancel your trip and receive a full refund of your unused ticket |
| Overnight | Hotel accommodation and return transport between the airport and hotel |
What if the airline does not provide these?
If the airline fails to offer meals, accommodation, or communications assistance, you have the right to arrange these yourself and claim the reasonable costs back. Keep all receipts. Courts have consistently upheld passengers' rights to reimbursement for genuine, proportionate expenses incurred during a delay, even when the delay was caused by extraordinary circumstances.
What Are Extraordinary Circumstances?
Airlines are exempt from paying financial compensation if they can prove that the delay was caused by extraordinary circumstances: events that were genuinely unavoidable and beyond their control, and which could not have been prevented even if all reasonable measures had been taken.
What counts as extraordinary circumstances?
| Circumstances | Eligible for compensation? |
|---|---|
| Severe or extreme weather (e.g. storms, ice, heavy fog) | ❌ No |
| Air traffic control restrictions or strikes | ❌ No |
| Airport security threats or closures | ❌ No |
| Bird strikes | ❌ No |
| Natural disasters | ❌ No |
| Acts of terrorism or civil unrest | ❌ No |
| Hidden manufacturing defects in the aircraft | ❌ No |
What does NOT count as extraordinary circumstances?
| Circumstances | Eligible for compensation? |
|---|---|
| Technical faults identified during routine maintenance | ✅ Yes |
| Crew running out of permitted working hours | ✅ Yes |
| Staffing shortages | ✅ Yes |
| IT or systems failures | ✅ Yes |
| Late aircraft arriving from a previous leg | ✅ Yes |
| Airline industrial action (strike by airline's own staff) | ✅ Yes |
Important: Airlines sometimes over-rely on "extraordinary circumstances" to reject claims that are actually valid. If an airline cites extraordinary circumstances as grounds for refusal, it is worth challenging, as many initial rejections are overturned. Air Travel Claim will assess whether the reason given is a genuine exemption or an unjustified refusal.
Connecting Flights and Missed Connections
If your trip involved two or more flights booked as a single reservation, you have strong protection under UK261 and EU261, even if only one of the individual legs was delayed.
How it works: If a delay on your first flight caused you to miss a connecting flight, and you arrived at your final destination 3 or more hours late as a result, you may be entitled to compensation. The key factors are:
Key factors for missed connection claims:
What to do at the airport: If you miss a connection due to a delay, ask airline staff immediately to be rebooked on the next available flight to your final destination, at no extra cost to you. Keep your original boarding passes and document all flight numbers and times.
What if My Flight Is Delayed by 5 Hours or More?
A delay of 5 or more hours gives you an additional right that many passengers are unaware of: the right to abandon your journey entirely and receive a full refund.
If you decide not to travel, the airline must reimburse the full cost of your unused ticket, including any portions of your journey you have already completed if your journey is now pointless (for example, a return leg back home).
Your three options when a delay reaches 5 hours are:
Option 1: Continue your journey
Board the delayed flight and claim compensation if you arrive 3 or more hours late.
Option 2: Accept rebooking
Be rebooked onto the next available flight to your destination at no extra cost.
Option 3: Cancel your trip entirely
Receive a full cash refund of your ticket price.
Note: If you choose to cancel, you are not entitled to financial delay compensation on top of the refund, but you will receive the full ticket price back, and you can still claim for out-of-pocket expenses incurred at the airport.
Can I Claim for Additional Out-of-Pocket Expenses?
Yes. In addition to the fixed statutory compensation, you can also claim back reasonable expenses directly caused by the delay. These are separate from the compensation amount and are not capped in the same way.
Claimable expenses typically include:
Claimable expenses:
To claim expenses you must keep original receipts, document the circumstances, and demonstrate that the costs were reasonable and directly caused by the delay. Courts generally apply a common-sense test: a meal for £12 at an airport restaurant will be accepted, but a three-course dinner at a Michelin-starred restaurant is less likely to succeed.
Step-by-Step: How to Make a Claim
Claiming flight delay compensation does not have to be complicated. Follow these steps to give yourself the best chance of success.
Check whether you are eligible
Use our free eligibility check to confirm your flight is covered and your delay qualifies. It takes less than 60 seconds.
Gather your documents
You will need: your booking confirmation or e-ticket, your boarding pass (digital or paper), any written communication from the airline about the delay (texts, emails, gate announcements), and receipts for any expenses incurred during the delay. If you no longer have your boarding pass, your booking reference is often sufficient to start a claim.
Find out the reason for the delay
Ask airline staff at the airport, or follow up in writing, to get the official reason for the delay. This is important because the airline may later cite "extraordinary circumstances", and knowing the stated reason upfront helps challenge any invalid claim rejection.
Note your actual arrival time
Record or photograph the time your plane's door opened at your destination, or check online flight tracking records for your flight, which are freely accessible.
Submit your claim
Let Air Travel Claim handle everything on your behalf. We write to the airline, assess their response, escalate to legal action if necessary, and charge no fee unless we win.
Receive your compensation
If the airline pays out of court (as happens in the majority of cases), you can expect to receive your compensation within a few weeks to a few months. If legal proceedings are necessary, the process takes longer, but we handle this entirely, keeping you updated throughout.
Your flight disruption could mean up to £520 per person in compensation. Start your claim now.
How Long Do I Have to Make a Claim?
You can claim compensation for flights that were delayed up to 6 years ago. Many passengers are unaware they can reach back this far, so even if your delay happened years ago it is still worth checking whether you have a valid claim.
Do not leave it too late. The sooner you claim, the easier it is to retrieve records and evidence. It is always better to act now rather than risk losing your entitlement.
What if the Airline Refuses to Pay?
Airlines reject claims, sometimes legitimately and sometimes not. A refusal is not the end of the road, and it is not something you need to deal with alone. Air Travel Claim handles the entire process on your behalf, from the initial submission through to legal action if necessary.
1. We challenge the refusal
Many initial rejections are based on template responses that do not hold up to scrutiny. If an airline cites "extraordinary circumstances" or disputes your eligibility, we assess the validity of their response and push back with the evidence to support your claim.
2. We escalate to an Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) body
If the airline does not engage, we refer your case to an approved ADR scheme, recognised by the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA). These are independent bodies that can rule on your claim without the need for court proceedings.
3. We take legal action
If necessary, we pursue your claim through the civil courts, working with specialist aviation solicitors. There is no upfront cost to you at any stage.
Airlines bank on passengers giving up. A significant proportion of valid claims are never paid simply because passengers do not follow through. With Air Travel Claim handling your case, the airline knows your claim will be pursued to its conclusion.
How Air Travel Claim Helps You
Making a compensation claim directly with an airline is time-consuming, frustrating, and often fruitless. Airlines have dedicated teams whose job is to minimise payouts. As the UK's number one flight delay claims management company, Air Travel Claim levels the playing field.
What we do
- We check your eligibility instantly, for free, in under 60 seconds
- We draft and submit your claim to the airline on your behalf
- We assess any rejection and challenge it if it is unjustified
- We escalate to legal proceedings where necessary, covering all costs
- We keep you updated at every stage via your online account
Our fees
No win, no fee. If we do not recover your compensation, you pay nothing, ever. Our fee is deducted from your payout only if we succeed. Members of our VIP Club pay no fees at all. You can read more about our fees in our Terms and Conditions.
Why passengers choose Air Travel Claim
No financial risk.
We cover all legal costs if your case goes to court.
Expert knowledge.
Our team understands the tactics airlines use to delay and deny claims.
Hassle-free.
You submit your details once. We handle everything else.
Transparent.
You can track the progress of your case in real time.
Claim compensation from a specific airline:
Claim compensation from a specific airport:
Explore more passenger rights you should know about:
Ready to Claim?
If your flight was delayed, the airline may owe you up to £520 per person. Check your eligibility for free in under 60 seconds, with no obligation, on a no win, no fee basis.
Check Your Compensation