Flight delay compensation

If you’re flying with an EU-based airline, or flying from an EU airport, The European Union’s (EU) Denied Boarding Regulation means you’ll be given assistance by your airline if you’re stranded at the airport.

The airline has to help you if your fight is cancelled or delayed beyond a certain time. And this means you don’t have to claim on your travel insurance.

If you’re travelling with a non-EU based airline from a non-EU destination, the airline doesn’t have the same duty to look after you.

If that’s the case, check the airline’s conditions of carriage instead to see what compensation you’re entitled to.

When Denied Boarding Regulation applies

You need to meet the following criteria:

• Have a confirmed booking
• Check-in on time or at least 45 minutes before your flight was scheduled to depart
• Depart from an EU airport, or from a non-EU airport and flying to an EU airport on a ‘community carrier’ (an airline with its headquarters and main place of business within the EU)

The regulation includes all European discount and no-frills airline.

What you’re entitled to

You’ll be offered care and assistance, including:

• Food and drink
• Access to phone calls and emails
• Accommodation and transport between the airport and hotel if you’re delayed overnight

Carriers must pay special attention to the needs of disabled passengers and unaccompanied children.

You can choose not to travel and get a full refund of your ticket cost if the delay lasts for five hours or more (but the flight isn’t cancelled).

Compensation for a delayed flight

You might be able to claim compensation as well as getting assistance at the airport.

How much compensation you get depends on how late the flight is and the distance you’re travelling.

Your flight must be more than three hours late for EU regulations to apply.

Compensation for a cancelled flight

If your flight’s cancelled altogether, you’ll be given the choice to either get a refund for all parts of the flight ticket you haven’t used, or choose an alternative flight (which includes care and assistance while you wait).

You might be able to claim compensation for the cancellation too. It depends on how much notice you had and the distance of your flight. Compensation ranges from £115 to £550, depending on whether its a short, medium or long-haul flight.^[1]

Flight compensation exclusions

You can’t claim compensation if the delay or cancellation was due to something outside the airline’s control, for example:

• Bad weather (thunderstorms, heavy rain, thick fog, snow, high gusts of wind)
• Air sector strikes (the country’s air control personnel striking)
• Political circumstances (terror attacks, political unrest, security risks)
• Natural disasters (volcanic eruption, hurricane)
• Bird strike (collision between plane and a bird or other foreign object)
• An unruly or ill passenger
• Delays caused by airport staff (long queues for security checks)