Flight delay compensation

You can claim if you arrive at your final destination more than three hours late and the delay was caused by the airline. The delay is measured at your final destination airport.

The airline must look after you once your flight is 2 hours late leaving on a flight under 1,500 km, but a 2 hour delay does not pay fixed compensation. The care thresholds are 3 hours for flights of 1,500 to 3,500 km and 4 hours for flights over 3,500 km, and care means food and drink, two phone calls or emails, and a hotel with transport if you are delayed overnight.

No, compensation is only due if you arrive more than three hours late at your destination airport. The airline must still give you care while you wait, such as food and drink.

You may be entitled to compensation if you reach your destination airport more than three hours late and the airline was at fault. If your booking has more than one flight, only your arrival at the final destination counts.

UK261 pays £220 on flights under 1,500 km, £350 on flights of 1,500 to 3,500 km, and £520 on flights over 3,500 km if you arrive more than four hours late. On flights over 3,500 km that arrive 3 to 4 hours late it is £260. The amounts are per person and not linked to your ticket price.

Between £220 and £520 per passenger under UK261, depending on distance and delay, as set out in the table above. EU261 pays €250, €400 and €600 on the three distance bands. Use the calculator above for your distance and delay.

Yes. The calculator above is the flight check. It applies the UK261 sum for the distance and delay you enter. It does not look up your flight.

Yes if the flight leaves a UK airport, on any airline. A flight arriving in the UK is covered only if the airline is a UK or EU airline. A UK airline flight arriving in the EU is also covered.

Claim from the airline first, because compensation is not paid automatically. If you are not satisfied with the final response, or the airline takes more than eight weeks to reply, go to an ADR scheme if the airline is signed up to one, or to the CAA Passenger Advice and Complaints Team if it is not.

You can escalate the claim. Take it to an ADR scheme if the airline is signed up to one, or to the CAA Passenger Advice and Complaints Team if it is not. GOV.UK says to raise the complaint with the airline before you go to ADR or the CAA.

Contact the airline and ask it to explain the refusal. If you are not satisfied with the final response, or the airline takes more than eight weeks to reply, you can go to an ADR scheme when the airline is signed up to one, or to the CAA Passenger Advice and Complaints Team when it is not.

The court time limit is 6 years from the flight in England and Wales, and 5 years in Scotland. The CAA says to contact the airline as soon as possible.

You are not entitled to compensation when extraordinary circumstances apply. The CAA lists weather that is unsafe for the flight, strikes unrelated to the airline (airport staff, ground handlers, air traffic control or border force), terrorism or sabotage, security risks, political or civil unrest, and a hidden manufacturing defect. Ordinary technical problems, such as component failure or general wear and tear, are not an extraordinary circumstance.

It depends on the cause. Weather that is unsafe for the flight, and strikes unrelated to the airline such as air traffic control, can be extraordinary circumstances. GOV.UK also lists bad weather, natural disasters, air traffic control decisions, a bird strike and political instability.

UK261 covers flights leaving a UK airport on any airline, flights arriving in the UK on a UK or EU airline, and flights arriving in the EU on a UK airline. EU261 covers flights leaving EU airports.

Yes, if you were told less than 14 days before departure and the cancellation was not caused by extraordinary circumstances. The CAA says the amount depends on how much notice you got and on the timing of the replacement flight, and a refund or replacement flight is separate.

Yes, if you were not allowed onto a flight you booked, for example because the airline overbooked. GOV.UK says you can choose a refund within 7 days or re-routing, and you are also entitled to compensation.

Yes, when the flights are on one booking and you arrive at your final destination more than three hours late. A late arrival only at the connection does not count. Separate bookings, sometimes called a self-transfer, do not give a right to compensation for the missed later flight.

Your flight number and date, plus the route, your airline reference and how many passengers were on the booking. The CAA also asks for copies of letters or emails with the airline, and receipts if you are claiming expenses.

Yes. easyJet flight delay compensation and Ryanair flight delay compensation follow the same UK261 and EU261 rules as any other airline. If your flight is covered and you arrived more than three hours late for a reason within the airline's control, you may be owed £220, £350, £260 or £520 per passenger under UK261, depending on distance and delay.

Any airline on a flight covered by UK261 or EU261. That includes easyJet, British Airways, Ryanair, TUI, Jet2, Wizz Air, Emirates and KLM.