How Much Compensation Can I Claim For A Delayed Flight?

You can claim up to £520 per passenger in flight delay compensation if your flight arrived at its destination at least 3 hours late and the delay was the airline’s fault and not an “extraordinary circumstance.”

Add your flight details to our flight delay compensation checker and find out instantly if you can claim for compensation.

How Much Is Flight Delay Compensation?

How much you can claim for a flight delay will depend on the length of your delay and the flight distance. The maximum amount of compensation you can claim for a delayed flight is £520 per passenger.

The amount of compensation increases the longer you are delayed and the further the distance of your flight. You can claim for each passenger individually. If you were a family of four and were due £520 each, the total amount would be £2080.

The compensation amounts are fixed and are not related to the ticket cost, the class of the fare you booked or whether you used air miles.

Compensation can be claimed under EU Regulation 261, which protects airline passengers’ rights and compensates them for the loss of time and inconvenience.

The compensation will be paid in UK Pounds for UK passengers travelling in and out of the UK.

Our table below shows how much compensation you could claim for a flight delay.

If you are claiming compensation for flights outside of the UK, the compensation amounts will be paid in Euros.

When Can I Claim Compensation For A Delayed Flight?

You are eligible to claim compensation if your flight is regulated under either EU or UK compensation rules, was delayed for more than three hours, and the delay was the airline’s fault. You can claim for flights that were scheduled in the last 6 years.

The following flights are eligible if they were delayed more than three hours.

• The flight departed from a UK or EU airport on any airline
• The flight was on a UK or EU airline and arrived at a UK or EU airport

How Long Does A Flight Have To Be Delayed For Compensation?

A flight has to be delayed by at least three hours before you are eligible to claim compensation. Please note compensation is paid in relation to when you land, not when you take off. So even if you took off three hours late, but arrived less than three hours late, you wouldn’t be able to claim. The legal definition of arrival time is when the first aircraft door has been opened.

What Is The Time Limit For Claiming Flight Compensation?

In the UK, you can claim for eligible flights that departed in the last six years. In Scotland, you have five years from the departure date to start your claim.

Bott and Co. proved this time limit at the Supreme Court in 2014, representing passenger James Dawson vs. Thomson. Following several appeals, Judges ruled in agreement with Bott and Co. that consumers have six years rather than two to bring a flight claim, as Thomson argued.

Can I Claim Compensation For Expenses Incurred During A Flight Delay?

Under EU 261, airlines are legally obliged to provide “care and assistance” to passengers after a certain length of delay.

For delays over two hours, or three hours in the case of long-haul flights, the airline must provide passengers with the following:

• Free meals and refreshments
• Two phone calls or emails
• Free hotel accommodation and transport to the hotel if the delay is overnight

If the airline does not offer any of the above, you should purchase what you need and keep all your receipts, as you could claim it back later.

Your Right To Care and Assistance During Flight Delays

Article 9 of EU Reg 261 states that airlines must provide passengers with a level of “care and assistance” if their flight is delayed beyond a certain number of hours.

Airline passengers are eligible for “care and assistance” if their flight is delayed at least 2 hours (for flights under 1,500km), delayed at least 3 hours (for flights between 1,500km and 3,500km), or at least 4 hours for flights over 3,500km.

Our table below shows when the airline becomes legally responsible for your care and assistance during your delay.

When Does The Airline Not Have To Pay Compensation For A Delayed Flight?

Airlines are not responsible to pay compensation for flight delays caused by circumstances that were not their fault. Under EU Regulation 261, these are known as “extraordinary circumstances.”

Such examples of extraordinary circumstances include;

• Extreme and unexpected weather conditions
• Strikes and industrial action, including strikes unrelated to the airline, such as air traffic control strikes, baggage handler strikes, or border force strikes
• Air traffic control decisions affecting flight scheduling
• Hidden manufacturing defects or technical issues with the plane
• Bird strikes, flying into and damaging the engine
• A passenger or member of airline staff taken ill on the flight, including a medical emergency on board
• An unruly passenger on the flight
• Acts of terrorism or civil unrest
• Foreign and Commonwealth Office travel bans
• Security risks
• Disease outbreaks
• Disruptions to airspace, including drones.
• Unexpected IT outages that are beyond the responsibility of the airline

Extraordinary circumstances for flight delays do not include situations where a known technical issue with the aircraft, insufficient staff or crew, an overbooked flight, or bad weather affecting a previous flight causes your flight to be delayed.

Frequently Asked Questions About How Much Compensation You Get For A Flight Delay.

We’ve represented over 680,000 passengers since 2013, and not surprisingly we get asked a number of questions about how much compensation you may be able to claim. The most common questions we hear are;

How Much Compensation Can I Claim For A 1 Hour Flight Delay?

You would not be able to claim compensation for a flight delay of 1 hour. The minimum time you would need to be delayed to receive compensation is 3 hours.

How Much Compensation Can You Claim For A 2 Hour Flight Delay?

EU Regulation 261 only covers flight delays of 3 hours or more, so you would be unable to claim compensation for a 2-hour delay. However, depending on the length of your journey, the airline is responsible for providing care and assistance during your delay.

How Much Compensation Is There For A 3 Hour Flight Delay?

If the airline caused the delay, you would be eligible to claim compensation. You can claim £220 for short-haul flights up to 1500km and £350 for flights between 1500km and 3500km. You can claim £260 for long-haul flights over 3500 km with a delay between 3 and 4 hours.

How Much Compensation Do I Receive For A 4 Hour Flight Delay?

If the airline is at fault for the delay, and you are flying more than 3500km, you can receive compensation of £520 for a 4 hour flight delay.

How Much Compensation Is There For A Flight Delay Of More Than 5 Hours?

EU Regulation 261 classifies a flight delay of five hours or more the same as a cancellation. So, if your flight is delayed by more than five hours, you have the right to get a full refund on the price of your ticket.

Additionally, if your original flight is cancelled and your replacement flight is delayed, you will be able to receive both a refund for the original flight and compensation for the delay on the replacement flight.

How Much Flight Compensation Can I Claim For An Infant?

Your rights to claiming compensation for your child or infant are the same as for yourself, as long as you paid something for their ticket. This applies even if they didn’t have their own seat and even if you only paid a small amount for their ticket. If your flight is eligible for compensation, you may be able to claim up to £520.

How Much Compensation Can I Claim For A Flight Delay If I Didn’t Pay For My Ticket?

EU261 rules are there to compensate airline passengers for their loss of time and inconvenience, which means you are eligible to claim compensation for a flight delay even if you did not pay for your airline ticket. However, you will only have a right to claim if a ticket was purchased on your behalf and you were not travelling free of charge. The compensation is paid to the passenger, not the person who bought the ticket.

How Much Does It Cost To Claim Flight Compensation Myself?

If you wish to claim directly from the airline, you must pay the court, allocation questionnaire, and hearing fees. The allocation questionnaire fee is typically £45.00, and the hearing fee is £150.00. The court fee varies depending on the amount you are claiming, but it can be as high as £245 if you have 10 or more passengers.

How Long Does It Take To Claim For Flight Compensation Myself?

The length of time it takes for the process to be completed depends on the route that you take.

The airlines do not have to respond to you within an official time limit, and in some cases letters sent directly to the airlines have been ignored. It can be a long drawn out process in cases where you have a valid claim but have the airline dispute the claim.

The CAA have publicly stated that they have a backlog of claims and that it may be an extended period of time before you heard back from them. The length of time a claim can be settled depends on the claim and the airline involved. More often than not, the process is months, not weeks, and in some cases years.

The process is sped up substantially when using Bott and Co. We issue court proceedings if we do not receive a response from the airline within 30 days. Our current record for successfully claiming is 4 days, while on average it takes us 11 weeks.

Flight Delay Compensation Claim Examples

We’ve helped over 680,000 passengers with their claims since 2013, and in that time we’ve heard some horror stories of ruined holidays, missed business meetings and honeymoon disasters.

We continue to highlight these cases in order to bring the situation to the public’s attention with the hope airlines will improve their service.

A mother and her six-year-old son were stranded at Dusseldorf Airport with no help or assistance when their Flybe flight was delayed for more than four hours. Despite Flybe dismissing Ms Hall’s claim when she contacted them directly, after instructing Bott and Co, we recovered €500 for her and her son within six days.

A family had their holiday ruined after being delayed for 12 hours in Turkey waiting for a Thomas Cook flight, eventually being flown to Manchester airport and driven by coach back to East Midlands. Mrs Sheriston told Bott and Co that ‘the flight home is now the lasting memory…this delay ruined the holiday’. Having not received compensation from Thomas Cook, Mrs Sheriston was delighted when Bott and Co recovered €400 for each member of the family within 14 days of being instructed.

We have even settled a claim for a lawyer who contacted us after hearing us talk about flight delay compensation on BBC Radio 4 and who had been unable to successfully claim from easyJet despite trying for five years.

In addition, our flight delay compensation team is regularly asked for comment by national media. The most recent can be found in our press centre.