Flight delay compensation
Claim up to £520 per person
If your flight is delayed, it's important to know you have rights – whether you're reading this at the airport, or it happened weeks ago. And if it's delayed for more than three hours, you may be entitled to up to £520 in compensation – provided the delay was the airline's fault. Thanks to a landmark court ruling, it's now much easier to claim if your flight was delayed due to airline staff sickness.
Other key flight-rights guides
Your rights and compensation rules.
How to claim for food or hotel costs if you're delayed.
Ask the airline for a refund if you missed a non-refundable flight.
Step 1: Is your flight EU/UK-regulated?
All the rules we talk about below come from this simple fact. To be covered, the flight must be regulated either by UK or EU rules (which are the same rules in effect). Here's what's covered:
- ANY FLIGHT leaving a UK/EU airport
- ANY UK or EU AIRLINE arriving at a UK/EU airport
This means if it's a flight within the UK and EU, you're covered as it'll definitely have left a UK/EU airport. Where there's a question is if you've got a flight from outside the EU going back to the UK (or another EU airport). Then the airline matters.
So a flight from Manchester to New York is covered by the rules regardless of the airline, but a flight from New York to Manchester would be covered on British Airways, but wouldn't on American Airlines.
What about codeshares?
It's the operator of the flight that counts. So in the above example, if you booked with British Airways but it returned you from New York on a codeshare operated by American Airlines, then it's American Airlines that counts, which means you're not covered by the rules.
Step 2: Are you eligible for compensation?
Certain EU/UK-regulated flights are eligible for compensation at a set rate under the UK/EU flight delay compensation scheme. To qualify, your flight needs to check all the following boxes:
- You arrived at your destination more than three hours later than scheduled.
- The flight was scheduled to fly in the past six years (five in Scotland).
- The reason for the delay was the airline's fault. So, for example, a staff shortage would be, but bad weather wouldn't be. (Not sure? See full info on what's likely within the airline's control.)
You may also be able to claim compensation if you've been bumped off your flight due to overbooking.
We now know for certain: airline staff sickness does count as 'airline fault'.
A landmark Supreme Court ruling's opened the door to 100,000s of flight delay/cancellation compensation claims. It clarifies once and for all that staff absence due to illness falls under the airline's fault; it can't be cited as an 'extraordinary circumstance' that would exempt them from paying out.
If you've had a flight cancelled or delayed by over a certain amount of time in the last six years (five in Scotland) and it was due to staff/pilot illness, you could be entitled to £100s in compensation. See how to claim.
It's the passenger, not the ticket buyer, who's entitled to compensation
Solicitors Bott & Co told us it is always the passenger who gets the compensation. It doesn't matter who paid for the ticket. For example, if you took a flight as part of a work trip paid for by your employer, and compensation was due, you would be entitled to that compensation, not your employer.
Quick questions
I just wanted to thank you for your article on flight delay compensation. It triggered my memory of a delayed flight last November and I went straight on to the British Airways website and filled in the short form.
It was so easy and a couple of weeks later I received an email advising that an amount of £520 per person would be paid into my account. We received £1040 in total. What a result. Thanks to all the information on Martin Lewis's site.
~ Linda, via email
I saw the links for flight delays in the weekly email and decided to save them... just in case. We flew from Manchester on Sat 20th July. Our flight was delayed for 3.5 hours so I decided to follow the links and applied.
I wasn’t entirely sure it would be covered and was expecting it to be rejected but I have received £1000 from TUI Airways this morning.
Thanks so much for your timely advice.
~ Chris, via email
Compensation under EU and UK rules is designed to make up for the inconvenience of a delay – it's not a refund of the flight ticket cost. So the amount you'll get is fixed depending on the amount of time you were delayed and how far you were travelling.
Crucially, it's about when you arrive, not when you leave. You'll start being eligible for compensation if your flight arrives three hours (or more) later than scheduled. So if you're on a flight that takes off four hours late but lands two hours 55 minutes late, you won't be eligible.
Your arrival time is deemed to be when at least one of the plane doors is opened.
Flight length | Arrival delay | Compensation due (1) |
---|---|---|
Up to 1,500km | 3+ hours | £220 |
1,500km to 3,500km | 3+ hours | £350 |
3,500km+ | 3 to 4 hours | £260 |
4+ hours | £520 |
Top tip: You can use the Web Flyer website to check the distance of your flight.
If you don't remember exactly how long your flight was delayed for, it's a little trickier. But there is a calculator that can help.
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Our free tool to claim
If you fit the criteria above you can make a claim using our free online reclaim tool, which uses technology from complaints site Resolver. Alternatively, you can make a claim directly.
Our free online tool helps draft the claim letter for you, tells you when you've been sent a response, keeps track of your complaint and escalates it if necessary.
We do this using the complaints firm Resolver, which provides the technology, but the underlying template letters and logic behind it are ours.
As well as helping you to draft a letter of complaint, Resolver will remind you to escalate your claim within the airline and, if necessary, to the appropriate regulator or adjudicator after eight weeks, though if your complaint is escalated to the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), you are still likely to be asked to fill in the CAA's own complaints form.
- How long should my claim take? There's no set timescale, but typically four to 12 weeks.
- Can't find your airline? If you can't find yours, Resolver says airlines can be added to the tool quickly if you alert it via its website. If you don't want to wait, you'll need to complain directly.
Or submit your claim directly
If you decide not to use Resolver (or your airline doesn't work with it), you can submit your claim directly. Different airlines have different procedures for claiming, including emailing or an online form. So check what method your airline wants you to use before claiming.
One successful MoneySaver says:
I didn't realise I could go back up to six years to claim flight delay compensation. I was delayed on a long haul flight from Manchester to Brisbane Australia in January 2020, arrived 11 hours late. Followed your guidance and claimed direct with Singapore Airlines and three weeks later £1,040 was paid into my account for my wife and I. Brilliant result, thanks.
~ Leo
Remember, it's the operator of the flight, rather than the firm you booked with, which is responsible when things go wrong. So if you booked a ticket via Qantas, but were on a British Airways plane, then its British Airways that's responsible if anything goes wrong.
Explain what went wrong and state what you want in terms of compensation and/or reimbursement. You can use this link to double-check how far the flight distance was.
If you're claiming under EU law, say you want to claim compensation under EU regulation 261/2004.
If you're claiming under UK law, say you want to claim compensation under The Air Passenger Rights and Air Travel Organisers' Licensing (Amendment) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019 – this is where EU regulation 261/2004 has been written into UK law.
It's important you do this – quoting the law each time lets airlines know you're serious.
Use our free template letters to complain
You can use our free template letters, which are based on information from the Civil Aviation Authority.
Even if you're asked to fill in an online complaints form, you can use our template letter or segments of it to help your claim. Download using the following link: Delayed or cancelled flights template letter.
Claim rejected or put on hold by the airline? Take it further with the regulator or adjudicators
Just because your case has been rejected or put on hold by the airline, it doesn't mean that's the end of the line for your complaint. If you think you have a legitimate claim, you can take your case either to the relevant regulator, or to one of several new alternative dispute resolution (ADR) schemes many airlines have signed up with. The advantage of going to an ADR scheme is its decision is generally binding on the airline.
- If your airline has signed up to an ADR, it has to tell you when it rejects your claim, and if the ADR scheme covers the flight you flew on, you MUST go to it if you want to appeal. Escalating your complaint is normally free, but watch out – some of the adjudicators (such as CEDR, who cover British Airways and Cathay Pacific) charge a fee if your appeal's unsuccessful.
- If your airline hasn't yet signed up to an ADR scheme, you'll have to go to the relevant regulator instead. It's worth noting regulators can't issue binding decisions (so they can't force airlines to pay out) – they will advise you whether they think you have a valid complaint and, if so, take it up with the airline.
For any flights leaving the UK, or any coming into the UK with a UK or EU airline, you'll need to go to the CAA or regulator in the relevant country. You can submit your complaint via the CAA website for free – it'll take about a week to decide if it can accept your case, and if it does, it'll then give a final decision within 10 weeks.
Struggling to claim?
There's no need to pay anyone to claim. Use our reclaim tools to draft your complaint, track it and help escalate it to the relevant regulator or resolution scheme if rejected – and as it's totally free, you keep ALL of the compensation.
If you've tried using the free tools and struggled to get a fair result, there is another solution. We're not usually in favour of using no win, no fee claims companies, because most of the time you're giving away a huge chunk of your compensation for something that is easy.
But when it gets difficult, it can be worth picking a good firm with a strong reputation to do it for you and accepting you'll lose some of the compensation.
For a number of years, Bott & Co has been at the forefront of flight delay compensation in the UK, taking many of the test cases that were needed to court. While they may not be the cheapest out there, we tend to believe they're the professionals when it comes to these claims, and are worth considering. But again, this should be a last resort.
Made a claim? Let others know how it's gone in the forum on your airline's thread: British Airways, Easyjet, Jet2, KLM/Air France, Lufthansa, Ryanair, Tui (formerly Thomson) and Virgin Atlantic. If your airline's not listed, let us know on this guide's discussion thread.
If you are bumped off a flight, you may be entitled to compensation
Airlines often book more passengers on to a flight than there are seats, on the basis that it's unlikely all of them will show up. If they all do, then airlines may have to ask some passengers to wait for another flight.
If you voluntarily give up your seat, then the amount of compensation you're due is between you and the airline, though you're likely to get cash or vouchers, plus a seat on a later flight and food/a hotel if it's a long/overnight wait.
If there aren't enough volunteers willing to surrender their seats, then airlines can deny boarding to selected passengers. Typically, those with expensive tickets or elite frequent flyer status won't be forced off. Some airlines may choose passengers who checked in last, or those who booked cheap tickets.
If you're forced off due to overbooking, then under UK/EU rules you're entitled to compensation. This means you can get a refund or a new flight, and based on the timings of the alternative flight you're offered, you may also be eligible for compensation – even if you opt for the refund – as overbooking was the airline's fault. The table below shows how much you could get.
FLIGHT LENGTH | ARRIVAL DELAY | COMPENSATION DUE |
---|---|---|
Up to 1,500km, (all flights), for example, London to Paris | Up to 2 hours | £110 |
Up to 1,500km, (all flights), for example, London to Paris | 2 hours+ | £220 |
1,500km to 3,500km (all flights), for example, Manchester to Malaga | Up to 3 hours | £175 |
1,500km+ (flights within the UK/EU only) | 3 hours+ | £350 |
3,500km+ (flights between a UK/EU and non-UK/EU airport), for example, London to New York | Up to 4 hours | £260 |
4 hours+ | £520 | |
(i) Based on the timings of the alternative flight offered |
Not on a UK/EU flight? You may still have a claim, but it'll take more legwork
If you weren't on a UK or EU-regulated flight, then sadly you won't be covered by the UK/EU flight delay compensation scheme.
Luckily, most airlines base their terms and conditions on those recommended by the International Air Transport Association. This means that when delays happen, most airlines have a contractual obligation to offer passengers a choice between a later flight, mutually agreed alternative transport or a refund.
But if you want to try to get compensation as well, there are some avenues you can try:
- Check if similar compensation schemes exist. The CAA says you should first check whether the country where the airline is based has any similar compensation schemes.
- See if you can claim under the Montreal Convention. If you were on an international flight which took off from one of the countries signed up to the Montreal Convention (more than 100 are – see a full list), you might be able to claim for any losses caused by a delay. To claim, complain directly to your airline saying you wish to reclaim under the Montreal Convention.
- Complain to the airline. Check the airline's website for its complaints procedure.
- Check if you're covered by your travel insurance. Your travel insurance policy may offer some limited cover for delays, though not all policies will. Some may pay you a lump sum based on the length of the delay, while others will simply refund costs you've incurred, such as hotels or alternative transport.
Do any non-EU countries offer compensation for delays?
COMPENSATION SCHEME? | REGULATORY AUTHORITY | |
---|---|---|
Australia | No | Australian Competition and Consumer Commission |
Canada | Yes, you're entitled to compensation up to $1,000 (£585) | Canadian Transportation Agency |
India | Yes, you're entitled to compensation for cancellations, up to 10,000 rupees (£95) | Directorate General of Civil Aviation |
Japan | No | Civil Aviation Bureau |
New Zealand | Yes, you're entitled to compensation up to 10 times the price of your ticket | Consumer Protection NZ |
Turkey | Yes, you're entitled to compensation, up to the Turkish Lira equivalent of €600 (£520) | Directorate General of Civil Aviation |
United Arab Emirates | No | UAE Government Entities |
USA | No, but the Department of Transportation lists what different airlines offer for delays and cancellations | US Department of Transportation |
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Is claiming the right thing to do?
Before you go, consider whether claiming's the right thing to do morally. Here's MSE founder & chair Martin Lewis' take on it...
The law behind this is clear-cut, the ethics far less so. My usual focus for these type of issues is on reclaiming – asking for money back that was wrongly taken from you. This, however, is compensation, and like many I worry about a growing compensation culture.
The law, which originates with the EU, certainly swung the pendulum against airlines. As the cost of the flight is irrelevant to the payout, there will be some who paid £60 for a cheap flight, were delayed a few hours that didn't really bother them, yet are entitled to a disproportionate £100s compensation for it.
If everyone did it, this could further cripple budget airlines' pricing models, possibly hasten the financial troubles of airlines already struggling in a tough economy and put prices up. Balancing this on the see-saw of right and wrong isn't easy.
Yet equally, there are many for whom this is valuable financial justice for substandard service on an expensive product.
If you were delayed three hours and a minute and had a great time in the airport bar, I'd say don't go for it. Yet for those who paid £1,000s for flights and spent a dozen hours trapped with upset young children, sleeping on chairs in overheated airports or on planes waiting to take off, I'd say go for it.
Therefore it's a personal ethical case-by-case choice whether to take up the cudgels and go for the compensation. While the impact on the airline is no reason not to do it, it is a reason to first examine whether the compensation you could be due would be truly fair or excessive.
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