Flight Delay Compensation Claim: How to Claim (UK)

Care, refunds and compensation are three different things

Airlines often answer a compensation claim by pointing to the meal vouchers they handed out, or treat a refund request as if it were a compensation claim. They are separate entitlements, and a letter that names the one it is asking for is harder to answer with the wrong one. Care starts once the delay reaches two hours for flights under 1,500km, three hours for 1,500km to 3,500km, and four hours for longer flights. If the airline did not provide it, the CAA says you can make your own reasonable arrangements and claim the cost back with itemised receipts; Citizens Advice says you are unlikely to get money back for alcohol, expensive meals or luxury hotels.

Which flights are covered, and how much

The CAA says the rules cover flights departing a UK airport on any airline, and flights arriving in the UK on a UK or EU airline. The delay that counts is the delay at your destination airport, not at take-off: a flight that left four hours late but landed two hours fifty minutes late does not qualify. Compensation is per person, so a family's claim is each passenger's amount added together.

Extraordinary circumstances: what the airline has to show

An airline does not have to pay compensation where the disruption was caused by extraordinary circumstances. The CAA lists weather that makes flying unsafe, strikes by people outside the airline such as air traffic control, airport staff or border force, security risks, political or civil unrest, and hidden manufacturing defects. Technical faults with the aircraft are generally not extraordinary — the CAA points to the Huzar (2014) and van der Lans (2015) court rulings. If the airline refuses on this ground, ask it to say in writing exactly what the circumstance was and how it caused your delay. The CAA is clear that care is owed regardless of the reason for the delay, so a refusal of compensation does not cancel a claim for meals or a hotel you paid for.

Cancellations work differently

If your flight is cancelled you can choose between a refund for the unused parts of your ticket and an alternative flight. Compensation only applies if you were told less than 14 days before departure, and the amount can be lower, or nothing, depending on how close the replacement flight's departure and arrival times were to the original. Extraordinary circumstances apply to cancellations in the same way.

When the airline says no, or goes quiet

Claim directly with the airline first. The CAA warns that some airlines will not deal with a complaint made through Resolver or a claims management company until you have complained to them yourself. If the airline rejects the claim, or has not replied within eight weeks of your written complaint, you can take it to the airline's alternative dispute resolution (ADR) scheme. The CAA-approved providers are AviationADR and CEDR, and ADR is free for passengers. If the airline is not a member of an approved ADR body, the CAA's Passenger Advice and Complaints Team (PACT) may be able to help instead.

Flight delay compensation claim letter

Edit this template with your facts, dates, and requested outcome before sending.

Subject: Compensation claim — flight [number], [date], booking [reference]

Dear [Airline] Customer Relations,

I am claiming compensation under Regulation (EC) No 261/2004 as it applies in UK law (UK261) for flight [number] from [departure airport] to [destination airport] on [date], booking reference [reference]. The passengers are [names].

The flight was scheduled to arrive at [time] and arrived at [time], [number] hours late. The flight distance is approximately [distance] km, so the compensation due is £[220 / 260 / 350 / 520] per passenger, £[total] in total.

[If relevant: We were not offered food, drink or accommodation during the delay. I attach itemised receipts for [meals / hotel / transport] totalling £[amount] and ask that these are reimbursed as well.]

If you consider that extraordinary circumstances apply, please tell me in writing what the circumstance was and how it caused this delay.

Please confirm payment within [14 / 28] days. If the claim is refused, or I have no response within eight weeks, I intend to refer it to your alternative dispute resolution scheme or the Civil Aviation Authority.

Yours faithfully,
[Your Name]
[Address and email]

Common mistakes to avoid

• ✕Treating meal vouchers or a refund as settling the compensation claim — they are separate entitlements
• ✕Measuring the delay at take-off rather than at arrival at your destination airport
• ✕Accepting a bare 'technical issue' as an extraordinary circumstance without asking what it was
• ✕Signing up with a claims company before trying the airline's own claim route, which costs nothing
• ✕Throwing away receipts for food, drinks or a hotel you paid for during the delay
• ✕Leaving it until less than a year remains before the court time limit, when the CAA will no longer handle it

Next steps

1. 1Find your booking reference, flight number and the actual arrival time
2. 2Work out the distance band and the amount due per passenger
3. 3Gather receipts for anything you paid for while waiting
4. 4Send a written claim to the airline and keep a dated copy
5. 5If refused, or there is no reply after eight weeks, refer it to the airline's ADR scheme or the CAA