Flight delayed, cancelled or overbooked?

You may be entitled to up to £520 in compensation!

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How to get compensated for delayed flights?


Only a few percent of air passengers are aware that they are entitled to compensation in the event of a flight delayed by 3 hours or more.

Enforce your rights today and get up to £520!

 

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Key takeaways

  • Current regulations protect your air passenger rights on British and European flights.

  • Some flights outside of the UK and EU are also eligible for delayed flight compensation.

  • You have up to 6 years to claim your flight delay compensation.

  • Use our free Claim Calculator to check if you are eligible for flight delay compensation — it takes less than a minute!

 


Table of contents

Regulations regarding delayed flight compensation

How much compensation can I get for a delayed flight?

Can I get compensation if my flight was cancelled?

Can I get flight delay compensation for a flight outside of the UK or EU?

Can the airline deny me flight delay compensation?

How long do I have to submit my flight delay compensation claim?

I have incurred additional expenses due to my flight being delayed or cancelled. Can these be reimbursed?

How long will it take to get my delayed flight compensation?

How to claim flight delay compensation?

Useful links


 

Regulations regarding delayed flight compensation

Everything started with the European Regulation (EC) No. 261/2004, called also the Flight Compensation Regulation. Its introduction was one of the biggest wins for air passengers in Europe, forcing airlines to pay compensation in case of a cancelled flight. In 2009, the regulation started also covering flight delays of at least 3 hours.

Thankfully for the British residents, the EU regulation was adapted into the UK law after Brexit. The new law is called 'The Air Passenger Rights and Air Travel Organisers’ Licensing (Amendment) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019’.

 


Flying outside of the UK and EU? Your flight might also be covered!

Check it now with our Claim Calculator! 
 

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How much compensation can I get for a delayed flight?

This depends on the distance between your point of origin and your point of arrival.
 

  • For flights of fewer than 1,500 km, the flight delay compensation is £220.

  • For flights between 1,500 and 3,500 km, the flight delay compensation is £350.

  • For flights over 3,500 km, the general flight delay compensation is £520 — however, if your flight has been delayed by fewer than 4 hours, the total amount can be reduced by 50%.
     

Remember that in order to get the compensation, your flight must have been delayed by at least 3 hours.

 

delayed flight compensation rules

 

Can I get compensation if my flight was cancelled?

Generally, if your flight was cancelled fewer than 14 days in advance, you are eligible for cancelled flight compensation. However, there are some additional criteria that must be met. See the table below for details.
 

flight cancellation rules

 

It’s also worth noting that if you have not been offered an alternative flight or the alternative flight does not meet your schedule, you are eligible for a flight refund.

If your flight has been cancelled fewer than 14 days before the departure date and you have not been offered an alternative flight, you are entitled to both a refund and compensation.

 


Not sure if you are eligible for flight compensation or a refund?

Check it within a minute with our free Claim Calculator.
 

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Can I get flight delay compensation for a flight outside of the UK or EU?

Yes, but only in some cases.

If you are flying with a British or European carrier, it doesn’t matter where you go — you are always entitled to flight delay compensation if your flight was delayed by at least 3 hours.

However, if you are flying with an airline not headquartered in the UK or EU, you can only get flight delay compensation if the delay happens on your flight from UK/EU. 

See the table below for more details. 

 

flight delay compensation when flying outside of the UK and EU

 

Can the airline deny me flight delay compensation?

Unfortunately, many airlines still decide to deny passengers their delayed flight compensation. They often believe that the passenger — especially one not aided by a legal professional — will not decide to pursue the case to court.

At Flight-Delayed.co.uk, we have legal teams in 9 countries and over 10 years of experience in getting passengers the money they are owed. In many cases, we are able to process the flight delay compensation claim faster thanks to our knowledge of the industry and airlines; and if mediation doesn’t work, we will fight for you in court. All this is handled on the ‘no win, no fee’ basis — you don’t have to pay us anything until the airline issues your flight delay compensation.

However, keep in mind that there are also the so-called extraordinary circumstances in which the airline can rightfully deny the flight delay compensation:
 

  • Bad weather, such as thick fog, heavy rain, or thunderstorms.

  • A strike, most often specifically within the aviation industry.

    HOWEVER! A strike of a specific airline/their crew is not considered an extraordinary circumstance!

  • Political circumstances, such as a terrorist attack or general security risk due to political unrest.

  • Natural disasters, including volcanic eruptions and hurricanes.

  • A collision between the aircraft and birds or other foreign objects.

  • An unruly or ill passenger.

  • Flight delays caused by the airport staff, such as extraordinarily long queues to security checks.
     

Be aware, though, that airlines often claim that the flight delay happened because of extraordinary circumstances when, in fact, that wasn’t the case. To make sure if you are eligible for flight delay compensation, check it now with our free Claim Calculator.
 

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How long do I have to submit my flight delay compensation claim?

The United Kingdom has some of the longest periods to submit a delayed flight compensation claim — you have to 6 years to do so.

If the UK is not part of your itinerary, different local regulations may apply. For example, in France, you have 5 years to submit your delayed flight compensation claim, but in Poland, you have only 1 year. 

When claiming delayed flight compensation, the passenger has the right to choose between three laws: the law in force in the country where the passenger is flying from, the law in force in the country where the passenger is flying to, and the law in force in the country where the airline used is headquartered.

For example, if you are flying with Eurowings from France to the UK, three laws apply:
 

  1. German law, as Eurowings is a German airline — up to 3 years to submit a flight delay compensation claim.

  2. French law, as France is the point of departure — up to 5 years to submit a flight delay compensation claim.

  3. British law, as the UK is the point of arrival — up to 6 years to submit a flight delay compensation claim.
     

When submitting a flight delay compensation claim, you can choose the most favourable law. We recommend using our free Claim Calculator — it will automatically pick the best option applicable to your case.

 


Unsure if you are eligible for delayed flight compensation?

Check it now with our free Claim Calculator!
 

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I have incurred additional expenses due to my flight being delayed or cancelled. Can these be reimbursed?

Yes. Additional expenses can include unexpected hotel bookings due to very lengthy delays or sudden cancellations, food in airport restaurants, as well as spendings on taxis or car rentals.

If you decide to submit your flight delay compensation claim with Flight-Delayed.co.uk, you can upload all the bills to our online system. We’ll carefully review them and include them in your case against the airline.

 

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How long will it take to get my delayed flight compensation?

Thanks to our extensive experience in the industry and good relationship with many airlines, we are able to process your flight delay compensation claim fast and get it the much-needed attention. If our legal team manages to settle your claim directly with the airline, you can expect the payout within a few weeks or months.

Unfortunately, if the airline is unresponsive or the case has to be taken to court, the process might take significantly longer, up to a few years. However, stay assured that we will always keep you well informed on any updates regarding your flight delay claim and fight for your rights until the very end.

We have won 98% of court cases against airlines and work exclusively on a ‘no win, no fee’ basis.
 


Flight delayed by at least 3 hours?

Get up to £520 in delayed flight compensation!
 

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How to claim flight delay compensation?

With over 10+ years of experience, full focus on flight claims, legal teams in 9 countries, and a 98% success rate in courts, Flight-Delayed.co.uk is the best option when it comes to claiming compensation for a delayed or cancelled flight.

Our process is as streamlined as possible — you can submit your claim using our Claim Calculator and then upload all your documents into your online account. We also keep everything mobile-friendly — you can go through the whole process using only your phone!

After your delayed flight compensation claim is submitted, we will take care of the legal work for you. This includes any paperwork, mediation with the airline, and eventual court case. As we work on a ‘no win, no fee’ basis, we’ll only collect our fee after the airline issues your compensation.

Learn more about our fees on our Price List page or simply start the claiming process right away.

 

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Useful links

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