If your flight is delayed, you may be eligible for a refund or compensation. This is a guide to what you are entitled to and how to claim it.
Are you eligible for compensation?
Whether you are entitled to compensation depends on these four conditions:
The flight must be regulated by EU law. This means the flight departed from an EU airport, or the flight was with an EU airline and landed at an EU airport.
The airline must be responsible for the delay e.g. because of overbooking, staffing problems or technical faults. If the delay is caused by bad weather, political unrest in the arrival destination, or strikes, the airline is not responsible.
The flight must have taken place in the past six years.
You must arrive at your destination at least three hours late. The arrival time is when the plane opens one of its doors. However, if your flight is delayed by more than two hours you may be entitled to food, refreshments, internet access and accommodation.
What are you entitled to?
The expenses, refund and compensation you are eligible for depends on the length of your delay and the distance you are travelling.
| Delay | Distance | Compensation | Expenses |
| Under two hours | Any distance | No | Nothing |
| 2-3 hours | Any distance | No | Reasonable costs for food, drinks, phone calls and internet access. |
| 3 hours + | All flights under 1,500km | €250 (£220)* | Reasonable costs for food, drinks, phone calls and internet access. You are also entitled to accommodation and transport between the hotel and airport, if you are delayed overnight. |
| All flights between 1,500km and 3,500km | €400 (£360) | ||
| Flights within the EU, 1,500km+ | €400 (£360) | ||
| 3-4 hours | Flights between an EU and non-EU airport, 3,500km+ | €300 (£270) | |
| 4 hours + | Flights between an EU and non-EU airport, 3,500km+ | €600 (£530) |
*The official compensation currency, as per EU law, is Euro. Therefore, Sterling amounts may vary.
Refunds
If your flight is delayed for more than five hours, you can decide not fly and are entitled to a full refund. This includes any onward flights or return flights.
Missed connecting flights
If you have a connecting flight with a different airline, you will not receive compensation for missing your next flight. Instead, you will be entitled to the compensation due for the delayed flight only. So if your first flight is delayed by less than three hours you are not eligible for compensation, even if you miss a connecting flight.
If you have connecting flights with the same airline, the amount of compensation you are owed will depend on the delay to reach your final destination.
How to claim
At the airport. If you are delayed for more than two hours, the airline should give you vouchers for food, drinks and accommodation (if applicable), and access to the internet and phone calls. If not provided, go to the airline desk at the airport to request these. If they do not give you vouchers and you incur expenses, make sure you keep the receipts.
Complain to the airline. Different airlines will have different complaint procedures. You will need to follow the instructions on their website. You must explain what went wrong and how much compensation you believe you are entitled to. You can use online resources such as Resolver to make the complaints process easier.
If the airline refuses to compensate you, you can take the matter to the regulator/adjudicator:
If the airline rejects your claim they will inform you of which Alternative Dispute Resolution scheme they have signed up to and who to contact. Generally, the adjudicator’s decision will be binding for the airline.
If the airline has not signed on to an Alternative Dispute Resolution scheme, you take the case to the industry regulator. For any flights leaving the UK, or coming into the UK with an EU airline, the regulator is the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA). Go to their website to make a complaint. They will take a week to decide whether to accept your case, and after that 10 weeks to give a final decision. This decision is not binding on the airline.
Take the case to court. If you are still not happy with the decision of the regulator or the adjudicator, the next stage is to go to court. You can apply to the small claims court online. In England and Wales, the claim must be less than £10,000, in Scotland less than £5,000 and in Northern Ireland less than £3,000. You have six years to take your case to court. If you can find a UK address for the airline, you booked the flights in the UK, or your flight departed or arrived in the UK, you can make the claim in the UK.
Once the court has made a decision, you have 21 days to appeal.