If your airline is based in the UK or EU, or you're flying from a UK or EU airport, your airline must help if your flight is cancelled or delayed.
Depending on how long you are delayed and the reason why, you could be entitled to:
Flight delay & cancellation compensation calculator
If you travelled to or from a UK airport and your flight was delayed or cancelled, we can help you calculate what compensation you can claim for free.
Start your claimIf you can answer yes to all of these, then you should be entitled to compensation:
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If your flight is cancelled, you have the right to choose between claiming a full refund or rerouting. Unless you no longer want to travel, rerouting is likely to be the best option as buying last minute flights is usually expensive.
1. An alternative flight (airlines call this rerouting) to your destination.
You also get:
| When you're entitled to help during a flight delay | ||
|---|---|---|
| Type of flight | Distance | How long you have to wait |
| Short-haul | Up to 1,500km (932 miles) Flight time is usually about 2 hours or less | 2 hours or more |
| Medium-haul | Between 1,500km - 3,500km (932-2,175 miles) Flight time is usually between 2 about 4 hours | 3 hours or more |
| Long-haul | More than 3,500km (2,175 miles) Flight time is usually more than 4 hours | 4 hours or more |
Your rights apply whether you're waiting in the airport, have boarded the plane or you're stuck on the tarmac.
Sometimes airlines do not provide the care and assistance that is expected for all passengers, this can particularly be the case when there are staff shortages. If this happens to you and you have to pay for food, drinks, accommodation and transport then you should keep a copy of your receipts to claim for a reimbursement. You are unlikely to get a refund for luxury hotels or alcohol.
Or
2. Cancel your flight and get a refund. You can also choose this option if the delay lasts for five hours or more but the flight isn't cancelled.
You must receive a refund of the full cost of the flight within seven days. But once you take a refund the airline no longer has a duty of care towards you and you can't claim back any further expenses you have.
If you're travelling with a non-EU based airline flying from a non-EU destination, the airline doesn't have the same duty to look after you. Check the airline's Condition of Carriage to see what compensation you are entitled to.
The requirement is for the airline to get you to your destination at the earliest opportunity, including, where necessary, with other airlines. In practice, many airlines refuse to book passengers on other carriers.
You can book the alternate airline yourself, but only do so when you have exhausted all other options with your own carrier, and only if the alternate flight can get you there significantly closer to your original arrival time.
Importantly, do not cancel your existing booking. This will leave you in a much stronger position to claim back the cost of your alternative flight.
If you choose to be rerouted, you can treat any extra time you have to wait as a delay. Under the Denied Boarding Regulation, what you're entitled to depends on the length of your delay, and how much notice you were given of the cancellation.
If you were given less than seven days' notice and your new flight departs more than one hour early or arrives more than two hours later than your original flight or if you were given less than 14 days' notice and your flight departs more than two hours early or arrive more than two hours late, you're entitled to the following:
Each affected passenger can claim compensation
Flight delay & cancellation compensation calculator
If you travelled to or from a UK airport and your flight was delayed or cancelled, we can help you calculate what compensation you can claim for free.
Start your claimUnless 'extraordinary circumstances' affected your flight, you can claim compensation.
Extraordinary circumstances are situations beyond the control of the airline, for example, a security risk, political unrest or severe weather that makes flying dangerous. This also covers delays and cancellations due to a strike . Strikes by airline staff and staff sickness are not considered an extraordinary circumstance.
Although you are not entitled to compensation you are still entitled to the meals, refreshments, accommodation and hotel transfers depending on the length of your flight and delay.
If you're booked onto an alternative flight (airlines call this rerouting) to your destination, you can claim for the delay based on your original flight's arrival time.
| If your flight was cancelled less than 7 days before departure | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Distance | Departure and arrival times | Comp. | |||
| Less than 1,500km | If your new flight arrives more than two hours after your original flight | €250 / £220 | |||
| 1,500km to 3,500km | If your new flight arrives more than three hours after your original flight | €400 / £350 | |||
| More than 3,500km | If your new flight departs more than one hour before your original flight, and arrives less than four hours at the final destination | €300 / £260 | |||
| If your new flight arrives more than four hours after your original flight | €600 / £520 | ||||
| If your flight was cancelled between 7 and 14 days before departure | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Distance | Departure and arrival times | Comp. | |||||
| Less than 1,500km | If your new flight arrives at the final destination less than two hours late | €125 / £110 | |||||
| If your new flight arrives at the final destination more than two hours late | €250 / £220 | ||||||
| 1,500km to 3,500km | If your new flight arrives at the final destination less than three hours late | €200 / £175 | |||||
| If your new flight arrives at the final destination more than four hours late | €400 / £350 | ||||||
| More than 3,500km | If your new flight arrives at the final destination less than four hours late | €300 / £260 | |||||
| If your new flight arrives at the final destination more than four hours late | €600 / £520 | ||||||
All compensation figures are per passenger.
It's important to note that all compensation amounts for a cancellation can be reduced by 50% if the airline offers re-routing, which would not exceed the flight delay timeframes.
If you're flying between two EU airports with a non-UK airline then the EU version of the rules (EC261) will apply, and your compensation will be paid in euros.
Under Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act, you can claim for a cancelled flight paid for using a credit card if it the value of the transaction was more than £100 and less than £30,000 You can use our free Section 75 and Chargeback tool to make a claim.
make a complaint
Claim a refund from your card provider
If you bought something with your card and things went wrong, you could make a Section 75 or chargeback claim. Just answer a few questions to build your claim. We'll then email it to you so you can send it to your card provider.
What did you buy?
If a connecting flight during your journey is affected by a delay and you departed from the UK or an EU country, you can still claim compensation. For example, if you were flying from Manchester to Sydney, connecting in Singapore, but your Singapore to Sydney flight was delayed, you'd still be entitled.
If you have an unresolved complaint about an airline, it must inform you about an alternative dispute resolution (ADR) scheme that you can use to help get an outcome.
The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) hold a list of approved providers of ADR and the airlines they cover.
You also have the right to take an airline to the small claims court if you feel it is unfairly refusing to pay you compensation. It's a good idea to get some legal advice if you decide to take this route.
Flight delay & cancellation compensation calculator
If you travelled to or from a UK airport and your flight was delayed or cancelled, we can help you calculate what compensation you can claim for free.
Start your claim