Flight delays and cancellations: your rights under UK law

If your flight is delayed by three hours or more, cancelled at short notice, or overbooked, UK law entitles you to fixed compensation of between £220 and £520 per passenger, depending on how far you were flying and how late you arrived. The rules also force the airline to look after you while you wait: meals, drinks, phone calls and, if the delay runs overnight, a hotel and transfers. And if a delay stretches past five hours, you can walk away and demand your money back.

These rights come from EC Regulation 261/2004 on denied boarding, which has been written into UK law, so they survived Brexit unchanged in substance¹. They apply to flights departing from the UK, and to return flights to the UK, with one exception: a flight from outside the UK with a non-UK, non-EU airline, such as New York to Glasgow with American Airlines, is not covered¹. The same rights apply when you travel to the EU by air, road, rail or sea³.

Compensation is not automatic. The airline does not have to pay if the disruption was caused by "extraordinary circumstances" outside its control, such as severe weather or air traffic control restrictions¹. This page explains what you are owed, when the airline can refuse, and how to claim.

Which flights the UK rules cover

The UK rules, often called UK261, mirror the old EU regulation. They cover any flight departing from a UK airport, whatever the airline's nationality, and any flight departing from an EU airport as well¹. They also cover flights into the UK or EU operated by an airline licensed in the EU². The practical effect is that most journeys to and from the UK are covered in both directions.

The exception matters for return legs. If you fly out from the UK and return with the same or another UK or EU airline, you are covered both ways. But if you book a return flight from a country outside the UK and EU with a carrier from outside both, for example a US airline flying you home from New York to Glasgow, the UK rules do not apply to that leg¹.

Connecting flights get specific treatment. If a connecting flight during your journey is delayed and you departed from the UK or an EU country, you can still claim compensation, measured by how late you eventually arrived at your final destination⁵. The same rights apply if you are denied boarding, or suffer a cancellation or long delay, when travelling to the EU by air, road, rail or sea⁶.

One further point on where the rules come from: the protections were preserved after Brexit under the Air Passenger Rights and Air Travel Organisers' Licensing Regulations 2019⁷. So a claim letter that cites "EC Regulation 261/2004" and one that cites the UK version are pointing at the same entitlements.

Delay compensation: £220, £350 or £520 depending on distance

If you reach your final destination three or more hours after the original arrival time, and the delay was not due to extraordinary circumstances, you are entitled to compensation¹. The amount depends on the distance of the flight:

The three-hour clock is measured at your final destination, not at the departure gate, so a flight that leaves two hours late but makes up time in the air may not qualify. One guidance source lists £260 rather than £350 for medium-haul delays, so the documents are not entirely consistent on that band; the £220, £350 and £520 figures above are the ones given by the main travel bodies¹.

Compensation is fixed by law, not by what you paid for the ticket. A passenger on a £30 seat and a passenger in business class on the same delayed flight are owed the same amount, and the sum is per passenger, including children with their own seats. Airlines sometimes offer vouchers, miles or a smaller cash sum instead. You are not obliged to accept a voucher where the law entitles you to cash: Which? reports that legally you can insist on the refund or compensation owed rather than a voucher⁹.

Cancellations: refund or rerouting, and compensation with less than 14 days' notice

When a flight is cancelled, you choose between a full refund within seven days, or alternative transport to your final destination at the earliest opportunity, or at a later date that suits you². If you were at the airport when the cancellation was announced and you choose rerouting, you are also entitled to care and assistance while you wait: food, drink, access to communications such as two free phone calls, plus accommodation and transfers if the replacement flight departs the next day or later⁴.

Compensation for a cancellation is separate from the refund, and it depends on how much notice the airline gave. If you were told at least two weeks before the departure date, no compensation is due². With less notice, the scale is the same as for delays, but the amount can be halved if the airline offers rerouting that gets you there within a set time of the original arrival⁴:

For cancellations between 7 and 14 days before departure, the reduced amounts apply where the replacement flight arrives close to on time: £110 on short flights arriving less than two hours late, £175 on medium flights arriving less than three hours late, and £260 on long flights arriving less than four hours late⁵. The same choice of a replacement flight or a refund applies if you are denied boarding, for example because the flight was overbooked⁴.

If the cancellation was part of a package holiday, different refund rules apply: the travel company must refund you within 14 days under the Package Travel Regulations¹⁰. The wider rules on package holiday rights and financial protection cover that route, including the ATOL and ABTA schemes.

Help at the airport: meals, calls and hotels during a long delay

Compensation is only half of what the rules provide. The other half is care: from a certain point in a delay, the airline must look after you at the airport, whatever caused the delay and even if no compensation will ever be payable¹.

Once the threshold is reached, the entitlement usually means food, drink and access to communications, for example two free phone calls, plus overnight accommodation and the necessary transfers if the flight is delayed until at least the next day¹. Which? sets out the same entitlements: two free phone calls, faxes or emails, free meals and refreshments appropriate to the length of the delay, and free hotel accommodation and hotel transfers if an overnight stay is required⁸.

The thresholds by distance are two hours or more for flights of 1,500km or less, three hours or more for flights between 1,500km and 3,500km, and four hours or more for all other flights¹. These care duties apply even in extraordinary circumstances, such as severe weather, where compensation is off the table⁸.

If the airline cannot or will not provide meals or a hotel directly, it may advise you to make your own arrangements and claim the cost back. In that case, keep every receipt. Costs must be reasonable, and alcohol will not be reimbursed¹. Passengers whose flight was cancelled and who chose rerouting hold the same rights while they wait⁴.

Delayed more than five hours: the right to a refund

A long delay gives you an exit. If the delay exceeds five hours, the airline must offer you the choice of taking a refund of the flight cost¹. You can choose this option even though the flight is not cancelled: the delay itself creates the right⁵. If you decide not to travel, you are entitled to that refund, and it should be paid by the airline within seven days².

The refund covers the parts of the ticket you have not yet flown. If you are part-way through a journey, for example you have flown out but the return leg is delayed more than five hours, the refund applies to the unused portion, and where relevant the airline must also fly you back to your original departure point at the earliest opportunity.

Choosing the refund ends the contract for that flight, but it does not automatically cancel compensation for the delay you have already suffered on earlier legs, and it does not remove the airline's duty of care up to the point you decide not to travel. Which? notes the same choice between re-routing and reimbursement applies once a delay reaches five hours, in the same way as for a cancellation⁸.

For refunds more generally, the Consumer Rights Act 2015 sets a backstop: a refund must be given without undue delay, and in any event within 14 days beginning with the day on which the trader agrees that the consumer is entitled to it¹¹. For flights the seven-day rule above is the tighter one, and for package holidays the 14-day Package Travel deadline applies¹⁰.

Extraordinary circumstances: when airlines do not have to pay

The big exception to compensation is "extraordinary circumstances". If the airline can prove the delay or cancellation was caused by extraordinary circumstances, you will not receive compensation². The test is whether the disruption could not have been avoided even if the airline had taken all reasonable measures⁸.

Which? lists examples that generally do count as extraordinary: extreme weather, security threats, political or civil unrest, hidden manufacturing defects in the aircraft, bird strikes, natural disasters, disease outbreaks, an unruly or sick passenger, drone disruptions and industrial action unrelated to the airline⁸. Air traffic control restrictions and failures are treated the same way: when a technical issue in air traffic control cancelled hundreds of UK flights in September 2026, passengers were considered unlikely to be owed compensation, because the cause was outside the airlines' control¹². Delays caused by extreme weather, airport or air traffic control strikes and similar events are not eligible for compensation¹.

Just as important is what does not count. Which? is clear that staff shortages, airline staff strikes, technical problems identified during routine maintenance, and a previous flight affected by bad weather are not extraordinary circumstances, because they are within the airline's own operations⁸. Strikes by airline staff and staff sickness are not considered extraordinary either⁵. A strike by airport staff, such as baggage handlers, sits in between: the airline has no control over it, so you are still entitled to assistance but no extra compensation⁸.

Even where compensation is off the table, the care duties and the five-hour refund right still stand. The airline must still feed you, house you overnight if needed, and refund you if you abandon a delay of more than five hours¹.

Overbooked flights and denied boarding

Airlines sometimes sell more seats than the aircraft holds. When a flight is overbooked, the rules impose an order of operations: the airline must first ask for volunteers to give up their seats before it denies boarding to anyone². Volunteering is a negotiation, and airlines typically offer incentives, but the legal floor is what follows for those who are denied boarding against their will.

If you are denied boarding, you are entitled to the same choice as passengers on a cancelled flight: a replacement flight at the earliest opportunity, or a refund⁴. You are also entitled to compensation on the delay scale, because denied boarding caused by overbooking is treated as the airline's fault: it appears on Which?'s list of circumstances that are not extraordinary⁸.

There is one exclusion worth knowing. Compensation and assistance will not be provided to passengers who are denied boarding because the airline considers them unfit to travel². That is a narrow exception, and it does not extend to disability or reduced mobility, which the next section covers.

Travelling with a disability or reduced mobility

It is against the law for airlines, tour operators or travel agents to refuse a booking on the grounds of disability or reduced mobility². The exceptions are narrow: restrictions imposed for safety reasons, and cases where the size of the aircraft or its doors prevents access for the passenger requiring assistance².

To make sure the help is in place, let the airline know about the assistance you need at least 48 hours before travelling². Assistance covers getting through the airport, boarding and disembarking, and the arrangements are made through the airline rather than directly with the airport. You are allowed to travel with two items of mobility equipment free of charge².

If a delay or cancellation strikes, the care duties described earlier apply to everyone, including passengers with reduced mobility, and the overnight accommodation duty applies if the replacement flight departs the next day or later¹.

Insurance is a related point. It is against the law for an insurance company to refuse to insure you or to offer worse terms because you are disabled¹³. Travel insurers must consider your situation, and the Financial Ombudsman Service can look at complaints where travel insurance was sold unsuitably or a claim was wrongly refused¹⁴.

How to claim compensation or a refund from the airline

Airlines do not pay these sums out of goodwill; in practice you almost always have to ask. The claim process is straightforward if you keep your evidence.

Start with the facts: your booking reference, the flight number, the scheduled and actual arrival times, and receipts for any meals, transport or hotel costs you paid yourself. Then write to the airline, stating the rule you are relying on and the amount you claim. Template letters exist for exactly this: Which? publishes a letter for flight delay compensation and one for cancelled flights, and a free tool that generates a personalised complaint letter and emails a copy to send to the airline¹⁵. Resolver, a free complaints service, reports having helped over 400,000 people claim for delayed or cancelled flights¹⁷.

If the airline refuses, check whether its reason is genuinely an extraordinary circumstance, using the lists above. If other flights were operating, or the cause was staff shortage or routine maintenance, the refusal may not stand⁸. If your complaint is unresolved, the airline must inform you about an alternative dispute resolution (ADR) scheme it belongs to, and you can take the complaint there⁵. Aviation ADR bodies and, for package holidays, ABTA's own scheme handle these disputes; the general routes are explained in alternative dispute resolution for disputes with traders and which ombudsman to choose.

If you paid by credit card and the flight was part of a package, or cost enough on the card, Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act makes the card issuer jointly liable, and Which? publishes a template letter for a Section 75 claim for a cancelled flight¹⁸. Chargeback is another route for card payments when a firm fails to deliver⁷.

If all else fails, court action is available. The small claims routes differ by nation: small claims court in England and Wales, simple procedure in Scotland and small claims in Northern Ireland. Citizens Advice notes that for package holidays you might also get compensation unless there were unavoidable and extraordinary circumstances, like a natural disaster, or not enough people booked on the trip¹⁹, and the Package Travel Regulations 2018 govern claims against organisers²⁰.

Where the rights stop

The protections have edges, and it is worth knowing them before you rely on them.

• Extraordinary circumstances. No compensation for severe weather, air traffic control restrictions, security alerts and similar causes outside the airline's control¹. Care duties and the five-hour refund right survive.
• Two weeks' notice of cancellation. If the airline told you at least two weeks before departure, no compensation is due, only a refund or rerouting².
• Flights outside the rules. A return leg flown from outside the UK with a non-UK, non-EU airline is not covered¹.
• Halved compensation. If the airline offers rerouting that arrives within two, three or four hours of the original time depending on distance, the compensation can be reduced by 50%⁴.
• Unfit to travel. No compensation or assistance for passengers denied boarding because the airline considers them unfit to travel².

Travel insurance sits behind these rights, and its limits matter too. Policies commonly exclude delays caused by not allowing adequate time to get to the airport²¹. Most policies pay a lump sum only after a long delay, often 12 hours or more, rather than the three hours the airline rules use²². Around 93% of policies allow claims for missing a flight due to unexpected transport delays²⁴, and most will compensate if luggage is delayed more than twelve hours on the outward journey²². The Financial Ombudsman Service handles complaints about travel insurance claims that were declined, and its case studies show how policies are read in practice¹⁴.

For money paid to a firm that then fails, the protections are different again: Section 75 and chargeback for card payments¹⁸, and the ATOL and ABTA schemes for packages. Those routes, and what happens when a company goes bust, are covered elsewhere on the site.