Flight delayed or cancelled? Here is what you are owed.

• UK261 covers any flight departing a UK airport, on any airline; flights arriving at a UK airport on a UK or EU airline; and flights arriving at an EU airport on a UK airline. ^[1][19][3]
• EU261 covers any flight departing an EU airport (plus Iceland, Norway and Switzerland), on any airline, and flights arriving in the EU on an EU airline. ^[22][21]
• Not covered: a flight from outside the UK/EU on a non-UK/EU airline, for example New York to London on a US carrier, or Dubai to Manchester on a Gulf carrier. See rights outside the UK and EU. ^[19][22]
• Two post-Brexit pitfalls: New York to Paris on Air France is EU261 (EU airline arriving in the EU), but New York to Paris on British Airways is not EU261: a UK airline arriving in the EU from a third country is covered by UK261 instead. ^[21][19][22]
• If you already received benefits for the same disruption in a non-UK/EU country, the regulations do not apply a second time. ^[19][22]

Distance is the great-circle distance from your first departure airport to your final destination on the booking. ^[20][4]

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Fixed sums per passenger, set by distance, not by what you paid. Due when you arrive 3 hours or more late at your final destination, when a flight is cancelled with under 14 days’ notice, or when you are denied boarding, unless the cause was an extraordinary circumstance. ^{[1][4][3][20]}

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Sources for the amounts and the 50% rule: ^{[20][21][3][22]}

When it is NOT owed: extraordinary circumstances

The airline does not have to pay if it can prove the disruption was caused by circumstances it could not have avoided even with all reasonable measures. The CAA’s main categories: ^[21][7]

• Weather conditions incompatible with the safe operation of the flight
• Air traffic control restrictions or air traffic management decisions
• Security risks, acts of terrorism or sabotage
• Political or civil unrest; war and airspace closures
• Strikes by people who do not work for the airline: airport staff, ground handlers, air traffic control, border force
• A hidden manufacturing defect, such as a manufacturer recall that grounds a fleet

^[7][1][22] The airline must explain the reason for the disruption and, if it relies on extraordinary circumstances, set out clearly why. ^[7]

When it usually IS owed

• Ordinary technical faults. The Court of Appeal (Jet2 v Huzar, 2014) and the EU Court of Justice (KLM v van der Lans, 2015) held that routine technical problems and premature component failure are not extraordinary. ^[7][22]
• Strikes by the airline’s own staff (pilots, cabin crew). ^[22][7]
• Overbooking. Being bumped is denied boarding: compensation is due at once. Refusal for disruptive behaviour or missing documents is different and carries none. ^[1][5]
• Problems inside the airline’s own operation, such as rostering, crew availability or “operational reasons”, are not on the CAA’s list of extraordinary circumstances, which covers only things that are not the airline’s responsibility. ^[7]

Compensation is not automatic: you have to claim it from the airline (how to claim). ^[8]

The CAA’s cancellations guidance is the authority here. You always get the refund-or-rerouting choice and care while you wait. Compensation depends on notice and timing: with 7–14 days’ notice, none is due if the replacement departs no more than 2 hours early and arrives under 4 hours late; with under 7 days’ notice, none is due if it departs no more than 1 hour early and arrives under 2 hours late. Otherwise the fixed sums apply (£220 / £350 / £520, with the halved tiers £110 / £175 / £260 when the replacement lands close to time). Told 14 days or more ahead: no compensation. ^[3][21]

Cancelled because of a fuel shortage?

A refund or rerouting is always your choice after a cancellation. Compensation turns on why the fuel ran short. A shortfall in the airline’s own planning is an operational matter, so compensation is usually owed; an airport-wide supply failure outside the airline’s control may count as extraordinary. Either way the airline must set out its reason and prove it took all reasonable measures. ^[3][7][21]

Airlines must ask for volunteers first. If you are bumped without volunteering, having checked in on time with valid documents, you are owed compensation at once (same amounts, halved if the alternative flight arrives within 2 / 3 / 4 hours of the original), plus a refund within 7 days or rerouting, and care while you wait. Refusal on reasonable grounds, such as disruptive behaviour or missing documents, carries no compensation. ^[1][5][21]

On one booking, the delay is measured at your final destination and the distance from the first airport to the last: arrive 3 hours or more late and compensation is due unless the cause was extraordinary; care applies at each wait, and a delay of 5 hours or more lets you take a refund of the unused part and a flight back to your starting point. On separate tickets (self-transfer) the second airline owes you nothing across the connection, so insure it. ^[4][22]

Once a delay passes the threshold for your flight distance (2 hours under 1,500 km, 3 hours for 1,500–3,500 km, 4 hours over 3,500 km), or as soon as a flight is cancelled or you are denied boarding, the airline must provide, free of charge: ^[1][4][21]

• Meals and refreshments in reasonable relation to the waiting time, usually as vouchers. ^[21][3]
• Two telephone calls or emails. ^[21][4]
• Hotel accommodation when you are kept overnight, plus transport between the airport and the hotel. ^[1][21][4]

This is owed whatever the cause, including severe weather, air traffic control restrictions or strikes. The CAA’s wording: the airline must look after you until it can fly you to your destination, no matter how long the delay lasts or what has caused it. ^[3][12]

Keep receipts. If the airline does not arrange care, make reasonable arrangements yourself and claim the cost back afterwards. Itemised receipts are needed; alcohol, luxury hotels and expensive meals are unlikely to be reimbursed. ^[4][33]

• Cancelled or denied boarding: you choose between a full refund of the unused parts of the ticket, paid within 7 days (plus a flight back to your starting point if you are part-way through a journey), or rerouting to your destination. ^[3][1][21]
• Delayed 5 hours or more: you may decide not to travel and take the refund instead. ^[4][21]
• Rerouting is at the earliest opportunity under comparable conditions, or at a later date that suits you, subject to seats. It can be on a different airline or by another mode of transport; if another carrier gets you there significantly sooner, raise it with your airline. ^[3][2][21]
• Refunds are in money. A voucher is only valid if you agree to it in writing. Compensation too is paid in cash, bank transfer, bank order or cheque unless you sign for vouchers. ^[20][2]

If the airline moves you to a lower class than you paid for, it must refund part of the price of that flight within 7 days: 30% for flights under 1,500 km, 50% for 1,500–3,500 km and for flights within the EU over 1,500 km, and 75% for longer flights. An upgrade to a higher class is free: the airline cannot ask for a supplement. ^[6][21]

Severe weather is the textbook extraordinary circumstance, so a storm cancellation does not bring fixed compensation. Everything else still applies: the airline must offer you a refund or rerouting, and it must look after you (meals, a hotel if you are stranded overnight) for as long as you wait. ^{[7][3][1][31]}

• Cancelled by weather: full refund within 7 days, or an alternative flight at the earliest opportunity with care while you wait, or a later date of your choice. ^[3][31]
• Delayed by weather: meals and calls once the delay passes 2 / 3 / 4 hours by distance; a hotel if it runs overnight; a refund if it reaches 5 hours and you decide not to travel. If you take the refund, the airline’s duty of care ends. ^[4][31]
• Connections: on one ticket the airline must rearrange your onward flights once flying resumes; on separate tickets the second airline owes you nothing, so insure self-connections. ^[4][31]
• Package or charter: contact the tour operator, which carries the package obligations (package holidays). ^[31][25]
• Practical: check your flight status and the airport’s live board before leaving home (airline and airport links), keep every receipt, and make sure your travel insurance covers weather disruption: the airline will not refund your prepaid hotel or car hire. ^[31][17]

The Consumer Council for Northern Ireland’s 2016 severe-weather factsheet is written for EU261 and quotes euro amounts; since Brexit, UK departures fall under UK261 with the pound amounts above, and the care threshold is by distance, not a flat two hours. ^[31][20][4]

Knock-on delays in the days after are judged case by case. After the NATS air traffic control failure of 8 September 2026 the CAA’s guidance was that both the day-one disruption and its knock-on effects were likely to count as extraordinary, while stressing that its view is guidance only and that passengers who disagree can still claim, including through the courts. ^[12][21]

War, political instability, security risks and airspace closures are extraordinary circumstances, so no fixed compensation is due. Everything else still applies: refund or rerouting, and care while you wait. Check the FCDO travel advice for the destination; when the Foreign Office advises against travel, your insurance and, for packages, the Package Travel Regulations come into play (package holidays). ^[7][1][18]

A strike by the airline’s own staff (pilots, cabin crew, its ground staff) is generally not an extraordinary circumstance, so compensation can be owed. Strikes by people who do not work for the airline, such as air traffic control, airport staff, ground handlers or border force, are listed by the CAA as likely to be extraordinary: no fixed compensation, but care and the refund-or-rerouting choice still apply. ^[7][22][3]

A package (flight plus hotel or other services sold together) is protected by the Package Travel and Linked Travel Arrangements Regulations 2018, on top of the flight rules above. ^[25][32]

• The organiser cancels because unavoidable and extraordinary circumstances (war, severe weather, an outbreak, an airspace closure) prevent the holiday: you get a full refund within 14 days, but no additional compensation. ABTA’s guidance says the same. ^[25][26][32]
• You cancel before departure, without a fee, when such circumstances at or near the destination significantly affect the holiday or the journey there, for example when the FCDO advises against travel: full refund, no compensation. ^[24][32][18]
• ATOL: flight-inclusive packages from UK businesses are ATOL protected, so if the company itself fails you get a refund or are brought home. Take your ATOL Certificate; you can check an ATOL on the CAA site. ^[1][14][15]
• Disputes: complain to the organiser first; ABTA members use ABTA’s complaints and ADR route, others Citizens Advice. TUI, for example, publishes its own disruption information page. ^[2][32]

Lost, delayed or damaged baggage

Airlines are liable for checked baggage under the Montreal Convention, up to 1,519 SDR per passenger (about £1,600) since the limits were raised on 28 December 2024. Report problems at the airport, keep receipts for essentials bought while a bag is delayed, and claim in writing within 7 days for damage and 21 days for delay; a bag is treated as lost after 21 days. ^{[1][2][16][52][53]}

Special assistance (disabled and reduced-mobility passengers)

You are entitled to free assistance from the airport and the airline: help through the terminal, boarding, in-flight and on transfers. You do not have to provide medical evidence, and medical items plus up to two pieces of mobility equipment travel free on top of your baggage allowance. If mobility equipment is lost or damaged the airline must compensate you. Request assistance when you book or at least 48 hours ahead where you can; complaints go to the airport or airline, then the CAA. CAA: Assisted travel. ^[1][13]

1. At the airport: ask for a refund or replacement flight there if you can, ask for the care you are owed, and get the reason for the disruption in writing or on the airline’s app. ^[33][7]
2. Ask the airline that operated the flight, even if you booked through an agent or a package. Use its online claim form (airline and airport links); otherwise email so you have a record, and keep a copy. Compensation and out-of-pocket expenses may need separate claims. ^[8][33][4]
3. Include: booking reference, flight number and date, the names of everyone on the booking, what happened (cancellation, length of delay at arrival, denied boarding), the airline’s stated reason, what you are claiming (the fixed sum per person and/or expenses), copies of tickets and itemised receipts (never originals), and your bank details. ^[8][33][11]
4. Give the airline 8 weeks. If you get no reply, or a rejection you disagree with, escalate (if the airline says no). The airline must explain a rejection and tell you which ADR scheme it belongs to. ^[2][8][10]

Subject: Compensation claim under UK261 / EU261 – booking [REF], flight [XX123] on [DATE]

Dear Customer Relations,

I was booked on flight [XX123] from [ORIGIN] to [DESTINATION] on [DATE], booking reference [REF], with [NAMES OF PASSENGERS].

The flight was [cancelled with [N] days’ notice / delayed, arriving at [DESTINATION] at [TIME], [N] hours [N] minutes after the scheduled arrival / overbooked and I was denied boarding having checked in on time].

Under Regulation (EC) 261/2004 as retained in UK law (and/or EU Regulation 261/2004), I claim:
  • compensation of [£220 / £350 / £520 or €250 / €400 / €600] per passenger, total [AMOUNT];
  • reimbursement of expenses I had to meet because care was not provided: [LIST], receipts attached.

If you consider that extraordinary circumstances apply, please set out the specific reason and the measures you took to avoid the disruption.

Please pay by bank transfer to [DETAILS] within 28 days. If I do not receive a satisfactory reply within 8 weeks I will refer the matter to [AviationADR / CEDR / the CAA’s PACT team / the national enforcement body].

Yours faithfully,
[NAME, ADDRESS, PHONE]

UK: you can take a claim to court up to 6 years from the incident in England and Wales, 5 years in Scotland. The CAA suggests contacting the airline as soon as possible, and its PACT team will not take a case with under a year left. An ADR scheme must receive your case within 12 months of the airline’s final response. ^[11][10]

EU: the limit is set by each country’s national law; complain to the national enforcement body if the airline has not replied within 2 months. ^[22][23]

• UK escalation. If the airline is a member of a CAA-approved ADR scheme (AviationADR, or CEDR for British Airways and others), take it there: free, within 12 months of the airline’s final response, and the decision binds the airline if you accept it. If the airline is not an ADR member, use the CAA’s Passenger Advice and Complaints Team (PACT), which gives an opinion but cannot force payment. Flights to or from Northern Ireland go to the Consumer Council for Northern Ireland. The small claims court is the last resort. ^{[9][10][11][2][33]}
• EU escalation. If the airline has not replied within 2 months or you are unhappy with its answer, complain to the national enforcement body of the country where the incident happened. The European Small Claims procedure and national courts are also open to you. ^[22][23]

A flight-compensation company checks your flight data and the airline’s stated reason, submits the claim, deals with the airline’s questions and rejections, and escalates to an ADR scheme or the courts if needed, all on a no-win, no-fee basis. You can also claim yourself for free (step by step); the difference is who does the chasing. ^[49][50][9]

When it is most worth it

• The airline has rejected or ignored your claim, or blamed “operational reasons” without detail
• Missed connections and multi-leg itineraries, where the delay has to be proven at the final destination
• A non-UK/EU airline or a flight under another regime (Canada, Brazil, Türkiye, the Gulf)
• Older flights: claims go back up to 6 years in England and Wales (5 in Scotland)
• Several passengers on one booking: the company handles everyone’s claim together
• You simply have no time to chase forms, follow-ups and escalation

^[11][10][9]

How it works

1. Enter your flight number and date; the company checks eligibility against flight data and the rules on this page in minutes. ^[49]
2. Sign the assignment; the company submits the claim to the airline and handles every reply, including a refusal based on “extraordinary circumstances”. ^[49][50]
3. If the airline will not pay, the company takes it to the ADR scheme or to court at no extra risk to you; you track progress online and are paid when the airline pays. ^[49][50]

Fees compared

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Fees from each company’s own published fee page, checked 25 October 2026: ^[49][50][10] Some airlines ask passengers to contact them directly first; the companies handle that step as part of the claim. ^[9]

Affiliate disclosure: the two links below are partner links. If you use one and your claim succeeds, mynext.holiday may receive a commission from the company; you pay the same fee either way, and it never changes what this page says. How we make money.

The regulations pay fixed sums and care; they do not reimburse the knock-on costs of a ruined trip, and they do not apply at all to flights outside their scope (see who’s covered). ^[21][22][31] Things to look for in a policy, per the UK government’s travel insurance guidance: ^[17]

• Airline or supplier failure cover, since an airline going out of business is typically not covered as standard; ATOL-protected packages are protected separately, and a credit-card payment over £100 may be protected under the Consumer Credit Act. ^[17][1]
• Medical treatment and getting home if you cannot use your original ticket. A GHIC/EHIC is not a substitute for insurance. ^[17]
• Cancellation and curtailment, missed departure and travel delay or abandonment benefits, where the policy offers them, cover losses the regulations never touch: prepaid hotels, tours, separate onward tickets. Check the policy wording. ^[17][31]

We don’t currently recommend a specific insurer. When we do, the partner link will appear here with the same disclosure as above.

Each airline’s own live-updates or flight-status page and its EU261 / UK261 claim or rights page, on the airline’s official domain. Links verified 25 October 2026; tap an airline to expand. ^[9]

UK airport live departures

• London Heathrow (LHR)
• London Gatwick (LGW)
• Manchester (MAN)
• London Stansted (STN)
• London Luton (LTN)
• Edinburgh (EDI)
• Birmingham (BHX)
• Bristol (BRS)
• Glasgow (GLA)
• Belfast International (BFS)

A map of the main regimes, each linked to the official regulator. These are summaries; full pages per region will follow. ^[36]

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Sources for this table: ^{[40][41][42][37][38][39][43][44][45][46][47][48]} Figures for Türkiye’s 2024 amendment, India and Israel are summarised from the regulators’ own documents and will be expanded on the regional pages.

The regimes and jurisdictions this page tracks, each linked to its section and official source.

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Last checked: 25 October 2026. Sources are checked weekly by an automated watch that flags any change, move or dead link for re-verification; reference links were verified 25 October 2026. Numbers in the text refer to the list below. Primary sources are official regulators, government guidance and legal texts; CAA wording wins where sources differ. The claims companies’ fees come from their own published fee pages; context items were used only to check coverage, never as the source of a fact.

1. GOV.UK (Department for Transport) — Air passenger travel guide: summary of passenger rights (updated 25 January 2024) — Department for Transport · Primary (official)
2. GOV.UK (Department for Transport) — Air passenger travel guide, full guide (updated 25 January 2024) — Department for Transport · Primary (official)
3. UK CAA — Cancellations (the authority for the cancellations section) — UK Civil Aviation Authority · Primary (official)
4. UK CAA — Delays — UK Civil Aviation Authority · Primary (official)
5. UK CAA — Denied boarding — UK Civil Aviation Authority · Primary (official)
6. UK CAA — Downgrading — UK Civil Aviation Authority · Primary (official)
7. UK CAA — Am I entitled to compensation? (extraordinary circumstances) — UK Civil Aviation Authority · Primary (official)
8. UK CAA — Claiming for costs and compensation — UK Civil Aviation Authority · Primary (official)
9. UK CAA — How to make a complaint (airline → ADR / PACT → court; claims agencies) — UK Civil Aviation Authority · Primary (official)
10. UK CAA — Alternative Dispute Resolution — UK Civil Aviation Authority · Primary (official)
11. UK CAA — How the CAA can help (PACT, court time limits) — UK Civil Aviation Authority · Primary (official)
12. UK CAA — Statement on passenger compensation following NATS disruption on 8 September 2026 (statement of 9 September 2026) — UK Civil Aviation Authority · Primary (official)
13. UK CAA — Assisted travel (accessibility rights, requesting assistance, complaints) — UK Civil Aviation Authority · Primary (official)
14. UK CAA — ATOL protection — UK Civil Aviation Authority · Primary (official)
15. UK CAA — Check an ATOL — UK Civil Aviation Authority · Primary (official)
16. UK CAA — Montreal Convention 1999 full text (PDF, liability limits for baggage and delay) — UK Civil Aviation Authority (hosting the ICAO treaty text) · Primary (official)
17. GOV.UK — Foreign travel insurance (updated 2 August 2024) — Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office · Primary (official)
18. GOV.UK — Foreign travel advice (FCDO) — Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office · Primary (official)
19. legislation.gov.uk — UK261 Article 3 (scope) — The National Archives (UK legislation) · Primary (official)
20. legislation.gov.uk — UK261 Article 7 (compensation, £220/£350/£520, 50% reduction) — The National Archives (UK legislation) · Primary (official)
21. EUR-Lex — Regulation (EC) No 261/2004 (EU261) — Publications Office of the European Union · Primary (official)
22. Your Europe — Air passenger rights — European Commission · Primary (official)
23. European Commission — National enforcement bodies (NEB) for passenger rights — European Commission, DG MOVE · Primary (official)
24. legislation.gov.uk — Package Travel and Linked Travel Arrangements Regulations 2018, regulation 12 (traveller's right to terminate without fee) — The National Archives (UK legislation) · Primary (official)
25. legislation.gov.uk — Package Travel Regulations 2018, regulation 13 (organiser's termination, full refund, no compensation) — The National Archives (UK legislation) · Primary (official)
26. legislation.gov.uk — Package Travel Regulations 2018, regulation 14 (refund within 14 days) — The National Archives (UK legislation) · Primary (official)
27. Met Office — Storm Austen named (20 October 2026) — Met Office · Primary (official)
28. Met Office blog — Where were Storm Austen's strongest wind gusts recorded? (23 October 2026) — Met Office · Primary (official)
29. Met Office — UK Storm Centre (2026/27 storm names) — Met Office · Primary (official)
30. States of Guernsey — Storm Austen — States of Guernsey · Primary (official)
31. Consumer Council for Northern Ireland — Severe weather: air passenger rights factsheet (20 October 2016; pre-Brexit, EU261 wording) — Consumer Council for Northern Ireland (statutory consumer body) · Secondary (consumer body / trade association)
32. ABTA — What happens if my holiday has been cancelled due to force majeure — ABTA (travel trade association) · Secondary (consumer body / trade association)
33. Citizens Advice — Claim compensation if your flight's delayed or cancelled — Citizens Advice · Secondary (consumer body / trade association)
34. Citizens Advice — Consumer template letters (holiday and service complaints) — Citizens Advice · Secondary (consumer body / trade association)
35. The Guardian, 8 September 2026 — UK airport disruption: your rights if affected (explainer; used only to check coverage of travellers' questions) — Guardian News & Media · Context only
36. AirHelp — Air passenger rights by region (used only as a map of which regimes exist; not a source of facts) — AirHelp (affiliate partner) · Context only
37. Canadian Transportation Agency — Air Passenger Protection Regulations highlights — Canadian Transportation Agency · Primary (official)
38. US Department of Transportation — Refunds (aviation consumer protection) — US Department of Transportation · Primary (official)
39. ANAC (Brazil) — Passengers (Resolution 400/2016) — Agência Nacional de Aviação Civil · Primary (official)
40. FOCA (Switzerland) — Air passenger rights — Swiss Federal Office of Civil Aviation · Primary (official)
41. Luftfartstilsynet (Norway) — Passasjerrettigheter — Civil Aviation Authority Norway · Primary (official)
42. Ísland.is / Icelandic Transport Authority — Air passengers rights — Samgöngustofa · Primary (official)
43. SHGM (Türkiye) — Yolcu Hakları (SHY-YOLCU) — Directorate General of Civil Aviation, Türkiye · Primary (official)
44. GACA (Saudi Arabia) — New passenger rights rules take effect (20 November 2023) and the Passenger Rights Protection Regulations (PDF) — General Authority of Civil Aviation · Primary (official)
45. GCAA (UAE) — CAR-PWP Passenger Welfare Programme, Issue 02 (PDF) — General Civil Aviation Authority, UAE · Primary (official)
46. Ministry of Civil Aviation (India) — Air Passenger Charter (DGCA CAR Section 3 Series M Part IV summarised) — Ministry of Civil Aviation / DGCA · Primary (official)
47. gov.il — Aviation Services Law (Compensation and Assistance for Flight Cancellation or Change of Conditions) 2012 and regulations (Hebrew) — Israel Ministry of Transport · Primary (official)
48. ICAO — Convention for the Unification of Certain Rules for International Carriage by Air (Montreal, 1999), treaty text — International Civil Aviation Organization · Primary (official)
49. AirHelp — Our fees — AirHelp (company's own page) · Company’s own page (fees only)
50. Compensair — Payment Policy (PDF, updated 23 June 2023) — Compensair (company's own document) · Company’s own page (fees only)
51. US Department of Transportation — Bumping & Oversales (denied boarding compensation caps) — US Department of Transportation · Primary (official)
52. ICAO — International air travel liability limits set to increase (2024 review: baggage 1,519 SDR from 28 December 2024) — International Civil Aviation Organization · Primary (official)
53. legislation.gov.uk — The Carriage by Air (Revision of Limits of Liability under the Montreal Convention) Order 2025 (SI 2025/123) — The National Archives (UK legislation) · Primary (official)

This page is general information about consumer rights, not legal advice. Airlines, the CAA, ADR bodies and the EU enforcement bodies decide individual cases.