Flight delays or cancellations are never welcome but in some cases at least you’re entitled to some compensation for your troubles. How much you get — if anything — will depend on the circumstances of the disruption, and in particular on whether it was within the airline’s control. However, regardless of the cause of the disruption, if your flight to or from the UK has been delayed for three hours or more, your airline has a certain duty of care, including providing you with free meals and refreshments. So whether the problem is due to strikes, air traffic control issues or bad weather, here’s what you need to know if your flight has been delayed or cancelled.
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Do I get a refund if my flight is cancelled?
All flights that depart from the UK, or are operated by a UK or EU airline with a UK destination or a UK airline with an EU destination, are covered by UK law regarding refunds and compensation for delays and cancellations. The legislation was adopted from EU Regulation 261/2004, with any compensation paid out in pounds rather than euros.
If your flight is in one of the three categories listed above and is cancelled, then regardless of the reason for the cancellation the airline needs to provide two options for you: a full refund (including any affected return journeys) reimbursed within seven days, or an alternative flight, including with a rival airline. The replacement flight can be the next available one, or one on a future date. You are within your rights to request a full refund if the alternative flight isn’t suitable for you. And if you have a connecting flight and you decide not to travel, the airline must take you back to your original departure point.
If you choose a refund, the airline’s duty of care obligations end. If you choose a replacement flight, they are obliged to provide you with a reasonable amount of food and drink, phone calls and accommodation (including any transfers) if necessary until they are able to fly you to your destination.
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What compensation am I entitled to if my flight is cancelled?
Compensation is possible if the cancellation was announced within two weeks of departure and the cause was something within the airline’s control, such as staffing issues. Causes such as extreme weather conditions, strikes by air traffic controllers, border control staff or other airport staff not employed by the airline, including baggage handlers, are considered outside the airline’s control.
The amount you can claim depends on how far you’re travelling, when you’re told about the cancellation, and how different the proposed replacement flights are from the original schedule.
For cancellations that take place between seven and 14 days before travel, you won’t get any compensation if your new flight departs within two hours of the scheduled time of your original flight and arrives less than four hours after the scheduled time of your original flight.
Otherwise each passenger is entitled to:
• £220 for short-haul flights that arrive two or more hours later than your original flight
• £110 for short-haul flights that arrive less than two hours later than your original flight
• £350 for medium-haul flights that take off more than two hours earlier, or arrive three or more hours later than your original flight
• £175 for medium-haul flights that take off two hours earlier, or arrive less than three hours later than your original flight
• £520 for long-haul flights that arrive four or more hours later than your original flight
• £260 for long-haul flights that take off less than an hour earlier, or arrive less than four hours later than your original flight
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For cancellations that take place within seven days of travel, you won’t get any compensation if your new flight departs within an hour of your original scheduled flight and it arrives less than two hours after your original scheduled flight.
Will the airline pay for the hotel if my flight is cancelled?
If your flight is cancelled overnight or rescheduled for the following day, then the airline must make necessary arrangements for you — including booking and paying for a hotel, and providing refreshments. In reality, this may depend on the availability of hotels, which could mean you have to organise your own reasonable accommodation and then claim back the costs. This doesn’t, however, include any guarantee or stipulation as to the quality of that accommodation.
If you have pre-booked a hotel, experiences and car hire on the ground in your destination, you won’t be able to get any compensation for this. You may, however, be able to claim these costs through your travel insurance.
Do I get a refund if my package holiday is cancelled?
In the UK, the sale of package holidays — where accommodation is booked at the same time as flights, trains or car rental — is governed by the Package Travel and Linked Travel Arrangements Regulations 2018, giving consumers certain rights when things go wrong.
As part of the legislation, companies in the UK that sell package holidays must take out financial protection for each package they sell, which is usually done through either Atol (packages with flights) or Abta (packages without flights). This means that if the company you booked with goes out of business, your booked holiday could either still go ahead or be cancelled with a full refund offered.
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There are also certain legal protections in place. For example, if the package you’ve been sold is not as described, you’re entitled to redress — the company that sold you the package will either need to correct the issue or offer you a partial or full refund.
These same protections cover you when your package holiday has been cancelled by the operator. You should receive a full refund within 14 days of the cancellation.
What happens if I book with a third party?
If you booked your flight through a third party, such as a travel agent or a website like lastminute.com or Expedia, you’ll need to contact them instead of your airline for a refund. This is because the contract the airline has is with the agent or website, rather than with you, and your contract is with the agent or website rather than with the airline.
Depending on the terms and conditions of your booking, however, you may not be eligible for a cash refund. Instead, you may have to take a voucher for future travel, or pay an admin fee to get a cash refund.
For compensation related to delays and cancellations, you should still contact the airline you travelled with.
How much is compensation for delayed flights?
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For flights to and from the UK, there are two pieces of legislation that govern delay compensation. In both cases, your flight needs to have been delayed by at least three hours before you’re entitled to anything, and the delay must have been caused by something within the airline’s control, such as a faulty aircraft or strikes by the airline’s own staff. Causes such as strikes by non-airline staff, including air traffic control and border control, and bad weather are considered extraordinary circumstances and delays caused by these are not eligible for compensation.
However, whatever the reason for the delay, the airline still has a duty of care. This means providing reasonable amounts of food and drink (usually in the form of vouchers), means for you to communicate (such as internet data or phone minutes), and overnight accommodation if they’re not able to fly you out until the following day.
This duty of care kicks in when your flight is delayed for more than two hours on short-haul flights (under 1,500km), more than three hours on medium-haul flights (1,500km to 3,500km) and more than four hours on long-haul flights (over 3,500km).
EU regulation 261/2004 is the original legislation you can claim under. It covers any flights that departed from anywhere within the EU, or EU airline-operated flights with an EU destination.
You can get:
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• €250 on short-haul flights after a three-hour delay
• €400 on medium-haul flights after a three-hour delay
• €300 on long-haul flights that have been delayed by three to four hours
• €600 on long-haul flights if the delay is over four hours
After Brexit, the UK adopted the EU regulation into its own law. It covers all flights departing from the UK, UK or EU airline-operated flights with a UK destination, and UK airline-operated flights with an EU destination. The compensation is paid in pounds rather than euros.
You can get:
• £220 on short-haul flights after a three-hour delay
• £350 on medium-haul flights after a three-hour delay
• £260 on long-haul flights that have been delayed by three to four hours
• £520 on long-haul flights if the delay is over four hours
You can only make a claim under one of the rules; it is likely to be the UK version if you’re based in the UK and booked with a UK airline.
What if I miss my connecting flight?
If you miss a connecting flight due to delays or cancellations of a previous leg of the journey, the rules around compensation and duty of care will still apply — but only if all of the segments of the journey were booked on a single ticket.
Specifically, the responsible airline is required to offer you reasonable food and drink, as well as accommodation if necessary, until your next flight. You should also be automatically booked onto the next available flight to your next destination.
In terms of compensation, you’re only eligible if the delay or cancellation was within the airline’s control and you’re departing from or travelling to an EU country. However, the amount you get will depend on the total distance of your journey rather than just the leg that was delayed or cancelled. And as for the length of the delay, it’s determined by the delay to arrival rather than the delay at departure.
If the two or more segments were booked separately, even if they’re operated by the same airline, then the airline responsible for the delay or cancellation is not obliged to offer duty of care during your layover, or required to pay compensation for the delay. The airline responsible for the next leg of your journey can book you on the next available flight, but they may charge you for it.
How can I claim compensation for a delayed flight?
All claims for delay compensation must be submitted to the airline you flew with, rather than the one you booked with. For example, if you were travelling to the US on a flight booked with British Airways, and your carrier was actually its code share partner American Airlines, the claim should be submitted to American Airlines.
To make a claim, you’ll need the scheduled and actual arrival times (and that of alternative flights if applicable), and the reason for the delay or cancellation, plus proof of any flights you’ve travelled on, such as a boarding pass. If you incur any reasonable costs — for example, for food and drink because a voucher wasn’t provided — you should keep your receipt and make a claim for these too. These should be submitted online or by post, and airlines should have the contact information you need on their websites.
How can I escalate my complaint?
It may take several days or even weeks for an airline to get back to you once you’ve submitted your claim for compensation. If they don’t get back to you after repeated contact, or you’re not happy with the decision that they’ve made and feel you should be entitled to compensation, you can escalate your complaint.
You have a few options. If your airline is registered with an ombudsman body such as AviationADR or CEDR, you can try going through them. You could also escalate the issue with the UK’s Civil Aviation Authority. There’s also the small claims court, but you’ll need to pay a fee to use this service; the fee will only be returned if the court decides in your favour or if the airline pays of its own accord.
How can I check if my flight is delayed?
Your airline should inform you when your flight is delayed and the reason why. It should also inform you of your rights to compensation, if you are eligible. Alternatively, you can check the live departure information at the airport you’re travelling from, or on flight-tracking websites such as FlightRadar24.
Even if you know your flight is delayed, you should still travel to the airport and check in for the scheduled time. Otherwise you may not be eligible for compensation and any associated return flights may be cancelled.
Can I get a refund?
When your flight has been delayed for five hours or more, regardless of the reason, you can choose not to travel. You’d then be eligible for a full refund. After you accept the refund, the airline’s duty of care ends and you’ll have to make your own onward travel plans.
What if you miss your flight because of a train or bus strike?
If you miss your flight because of a train or bus strike, the transport provider doesn’t have to offer you any compensation — they must only refund the cost of the train or bus ticket you bought. Your only means of redress is to go through your travel insurance, and even then you must prove that you left in good time to arrive at the airport in time. Evidence for this might include ticket stubs showing when your journey started.
Even if you do miss your original flight, it’s still worth getting to the airport at the earliest opportunity. Your airline may be able to book you onto an alternative flight for free or at a discount.
• See the latest on train strikes
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