Your rights when your flight is delayed are set out in UK Reg (EU) No. 261/2004 – also known as UK261.
If your flight is delayed, and UK261 applies to it, your airline must look after you while you are delayed. This includes providing you with food and drink based on how long your delay is, and accommodation if you are delayed overnight.
You may also be entitled to compensation if the delay means you reach your destination airport more than three hours late.
If the delay is more than five hours, you can choose not to travel and receive a refund.
Flight delayed? Here's what you need to know.
If your flying from a UK airport or if you're coming back on a UK or EU airline and are significantly delayed, your airline must look after you with food, drink, a way to communicate, such as access to a phone or email, and if delayed overnight, a hotel and transport.
This applies after two hours for short flights, three hours for medium distances, and four hours for long-haul.
Can't get help? Remember to keep receipts for reasonable costs and claim them back later.
If your flight arrives at the gate more than three hours late, you might get compensation – from two hundred and twenty pounds for short flights up to five hundred and twenty pounds for long-haul. But this doesn't apply if the delay was outside the airline's control, like extreme weather.
For more information, visit our website
While you wait for your flight
Right to care
You are entitled to care if your flight is delayed beyond its scheduled departure time by:
- at least two hours for flights under 1,500km (such as Glasgow to Amsterdam);
- at least three hours for flights between 1,500km and 3,500km (such as East Midlands to Marrakesh);
- at least four hours for flights over 3,500km (such as London to New York).
You can calculate the distance of your flight using the Great Circle Route method by using a third-party website.
What care should I receive?
You should receive the following from your airline regardless of the reason for the delay:
- food and drink based on how long your delay is;
- two phone calls or emails; and
- accommodation (if your flight is delayed overnight) and transport between the airport and that accommodation.
What to expect
Food and drink
Usually, your airline will automatically provide you with a physical or digital voucher you can use to purchase food and drink at the airport. If a voucher isn’t provided, speak to a member of your airline’s staff.
Accommodation
If you are delayed overnight, your airline may automatically organise accommodation for you. If so, it will usually inform you by email or at the airport. Your airline may ask you to book accommodation yourself via its website or using a dedicated application.
If your airline does not offer any of these options automatically, speak to a member of your airline’s staff.
If you live close to the airport, your airline may instead reimburse your costs for getting to and from your home address.
Making your own arrangements
If your airline is unable to, or does not, organise care for you, you may make your own arrangements and claim the costs for this back from your airline later.
You should ask for an itemised receipt or invoice to show what you purchased, and how much you spent. Make sure you keep these documents safe as your airline will require these to process your expenses claim.
Airlines may have guidelines on their website, or in their disruption communications, on what expenses they consider to be reasonable. Airlines are unlikely to consider alcoholic drinks, luxury hotels or luxury meals to be reasonable.
Compensation
In addition to care, you may be entitled to claim compensation if you arrive more than three hours late at your destination airport. If your booking includes more than one flight, check the section below for what counts as your destination airport.
Airlines do not have to pay compensation if they consider the delay to be caused by “extraordinary circumstances”. More information on “extraordinary circumstances” can be found on our Am I entitled to compensation page.
If you are entitled to compensation, this will be for a fixed amount and is not linked to the price you paid for your ticket. Compensation amounts are based on the distance of your flight and sometimes the length of your delay. You can calculate the distance of your flight using the Great Circle Route method by using a third-party website.
How much compensation can I claim?
- If your flight is under 1500 kilometres (such as Glasgow to Amsterdam), the compensation amount is £220 per person.
- If your flight is between 1500 and 3500 kilometres (such as East Midlands to Marrakesh), the compensation amount is £350 per person.
- If your flight is over 3500 kilometres (such as London to New York), the compensation amount depends on the length of your delay:
- If you arrive between three and four hours late, the compensation amount is £260 per person; but
- If you arrive more than four hours late, the compensation amount is £520 per person.
How to claim for your expenses and compensation
Compensation is not paid automatically and you will need to claim this directly from your airline in the first instance. Airlines usually have set procedures for claiming and these may differ depending on what you are claiming. For example, you may have to submit one claim for compensation and a separate claim for expenses.
If you are not satisfied with your airline’s final response to your claim, or your airline takes more than eight weeks to respond, you can escalate your claim. This will be to an Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) provider if your airline is signed up to one, or the CAA’s in-house Passenger Advice and Complaints Team (PACT) if they are not.
Getting a refund
If your flight is delayed by at least five hours, you can choose not to travel and get a refund for the flights you have not yet taken on your booking. If your journey includes more than one flight, check the section below for what happens if you choose a refund.
You should not choose this option if you still wish to travel.
Bookings that include more than one flight
If your booking includes more than one flight, your right to care as well as compensation will depend on the nature of your booking. You can find more information about connecting flights or transfers on our page about Planning your flight.
Connecting flight bookings
If your booking includes two or more flights, your right to care and compensation will be based on the distance between the first and last airport in your booking.
This means that the airline must provide you with care if you miss your connecting flight due to a delay on your first flight and the new flight exceeds the timescales detailed in the “right to care” section above. This includes accommodation if you have to wait overnight for your next flight.
You may also be entitled to compensation if you arrive at your final destination more than three hours late. Late arrivals at your connection destination are not taken into account for the purposes of compensation.
If your connecting flight is delayed by over five hours, you can choose a refund for the unused portion of your ticket and abandon your journey. Your airline will still be responsible for arranging to get you back to your original departure point.
Self-transfer journeys
If your journey includes two or more separate flight bookings (sometimes called ‘self-transfer’) you do not have a statutory right to care, compensation or transport to your last destination if delays mean that you miss a flight in your journey. However, the relevant entitlements for each individual flight still apply.