Flight Delay Compensation UK261: How Much You Can Claim

If your flight arrives 3 or more hours late, retained EU Regulation 261/2004 ("UK261"), enforced by the CAA, may entitle you to fixed compensation of £220 to £520. You claim directly from the airline, for free; you never need to pay a claims firm a cut.

What UK261 Covers

UK261 is the retained version of EU Regulation 261/2004, kept in UK law after Brexit and enforced in the UK by the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA). It applies to a flight departing from a UK airport, on any airline, and to a flight arriving in the UK, but only if that flight is operated by a UK or EU airline. A flight arriving in the UK on a non-UK, non-EU airline, having departed from outside the UK, generally falls outside UK261. The rules cover long delays, cancellations and denied boarding, and they exist alongside, not instead of, your right to be looked after during a delay.

Compensation for a Delayed Flight

Compensation depends on how late you actually arrive at your final destination and how far you were flying, not on how late the flight departed. The 3-hour threshold is measured against your scheduled arrival time.

Long-haul flights (over 3,500km) are split into two separate sub-tiers rather than a single flat figure: a delay of 3 to 4 hours pays £260, and only a delay of 4 hours or more pays the higher £520. Distance is measured using the great circle method between the departure and final destination airports.

The Airline's Duty of Care

Separately from compensation, the airline owes you a duty of care the moment a delay passes a shorter threshold, roughly 2 hours for shorter flights, 3 hours for medium-length flights, and 4 hours for long-haul flights. This duty applies regardless of what caused the delay, including extraordinary circumstances that would remove your right to compensation. It covers reasonable food and drink, a way to make two phone calls or send two emails, and, if you are delayed overnight, hotel accommodation plus transport between the airport and the hotel. If the airline fails to provide this and you pay for it yourself, keep receipts, since you can generally claim reasonable costs back.

Extraordinary Circumstances

An airline does not have to pay compensation if it can show the delay or cancellation was caused by "extraordinary circumstances" it could not have avoided even if it had taken all reasonable measures. Examples include severe weather, security risks, strikes affecting air traffic control or airport staff, and hidden manufacturing defects discovered in an aircraft's structure. Extraordinary circumstances remove only the compensation duty, never the care duty described above. A routine technical or mechanical fault with the aircraft is generally treated as within the airline's normal operational risk, so it is usually NOT extraordinary circumstances, and compensation can still be due even though the airline may argue otherwise.

Cancellations and Denied Boarding

If your flight is cancelled, you have the choice of a full refund of the unused part of your ticket or being rerouted to your destination. Compensation for a cancellation can also be due, calculated the same way as for a delay, unless the airline gave you enough advance notice of the cancellation or it falls within extraordinary circumstances. If you are denied boarding on a flight you have a valid booking for, typically because it was overbooked, you are entitled to compensation using the same distance bands, plus a choice of refund or rerouting, unless you volunteered to give up your seat in exchange for the airline's own offered benefits.

How to Claim Compensation Yourself, for Free

You do not need a claims management company to claim UK261 compensation. The process is:

1. Write to the airline first. Use its official complaints channel, state your flight number, date, the delay length, and the compensation band you believe applies, and ask for payment within a reasonable time.
2. Wait for its final response, or 8 weeks if it does not reply, before escalating.
3. Escalate to the airline's ADR scheme. Most UK airlines are signed up to an alternative dispute resolution (ADR) provider that can decide the dispute; the airline must tell you which one covers it.
4. Contact the CAA if the airline is not signed up to an ADR scheme, or if you want to report a pattern of poor handling; the CAA's Passenger Advice and Complaints Team can take up individual and systemic complaints.
5. If none of that resolves it, the small claims court is the backstop for the amount involved.

None of these steps cost anything beyond your own time, and you keep 100% of any compensation awarded.

Why to Think Twice Before Using a Claims Management Company

Claims management companies advertise heavily around flight delays, but they are not doing anything you cannot do yourself for free: writing to the airline and, if needed, escalating to ADR or the CAA. In exchange, a claims firm typically takes a percentage of whatever compensation is awarded, sometimes a substantial one, out of money that would otherwise be entirely yours. Before using one, weigh whether you are simply paying for someone to send a letter you could send yourself at no cost. If you do use one, claims management activity is regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), so check the firm is FCA-authorised and read its fee terms carefully before signing anything.

Related UK Consumer Rights

Flight delays sit alongside other travel and payment protections. If you booked a flight as part of a package holiday, see package holiday rights for the separate 14-day refund and ATOL protection rules. If an airline will not resolve your complaint, the general escalation steps in how to complain about a company apply. If you paid for the flight or holiday on a credit card, Section 75 can offer a separate route against the card issuer for breach of contract. For the full picture of your consumer rights, see the UK Consumer Rights hub and the United Kingdom hub.

This article is general information only, not legal or financial advice, and does not cover every circumstance. It is not a claims service and does not submit claims on your behalf. For free help with a consumer complaint, contact the Citizens Advice consumer service on 0808 223 1133 (Welsh language 0808 223 1144).