With travel delays becoming increasingly common, it’s more important than ever to understand your rights and whether you can claim compensation when travel plans go awry.
Let’s face it, delays and cancellations are hardly rare these days. This week holidaymakers faced travel chaos amid heavy flooding in Spain with more than 100 flights cancelled at Josep Tarradellas Barcelona-El Prat Airport.
And for holidaymakers gearing up for Christmas, there's more bad news. British Airways has cancelled all flights from Gatwick to New York from 12 December 2024 until March 25 2024, impacting at least 103 flights due to aircraft engine delivery delays.
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For families already feeling the pinch of the rising cost of living, high household bills, childcare costs and soaring mortgage rates, budget airlines offer a tempting alternative with fares as low as £15.
However, these low-cost carriers aren’t immune to disruption – Ryanair cancelled 651 flights in late July due to air traffic control delays, while easyJet was forced to cancel 232 Portugal flights due to strikes in August.
For those unlucky enough to face delays, understanding your rights can help reduce some of the stress. We outline what you’re entitled to if your flight is delayed or cancelled. In some cases, you can even get compensated for losing out on valuable time, money and the stress you’ve been caused.
How to claim compensation for travel delays and cancellations
If it’s an exceptional circumstance and your flight is delayed while you’re at the airport, your airline may be required to cover certain costs. This includes expenses for food, drink, and even phone calls to inform loved ones of your journey changes. If an overnight stay becomes necessary, they may also need to provide accommodation ahead of your rescheduled flight.
Under European air passengers’ rights rules, airlines must ensure passengers reach their destination as soon as possible. If you’re stranded abroad, you’re entitled to hotel stays and meals until you can be flown home.
- For flights less than 1,500km, the delay needs to be a minimum of two hours.
- For flights between 1,500km and 3,500km, the delay must be a minimum of three hours.
- For flights longer than 3,500km, the delay must be at least four hours.
The airline should provide you with vouchers for this directly, though you can also keep receipts for the money spent and claim it back from the airline later on.
Be aware that the airline will only pay up for reasonable expenses, so you won’t get the money back if you opt for luxury options.
If the flight is more than three hours late, and it’s the airline’s fault (so it's not an exceptional circumstance), then you should be entitled to compensation. Again the level of compensation will vary based on the length of the delay and the distance of your flight:
- For flights less than 1,500km and a delay of at least three hours, you can claim £220 in compensation.
- For flights between 1,500km and 3,500km and a delay of at least three hours, you can claim £350 in compensation.
- For flights of more than 3,500km and delays of under four hours, you can claim £260. This jumps to £520 for delays over the four-hour mark.
If the flight is delayed by more than five hours, you do not have to take it and can instead claim a full refund.
Should the flight be cancelled, the airline is required to provide either a full refund or cover the cost of a replacement flight. If the replacement flight delays you by more than two hours, and you receive less than two weeks’ notice, then you are entitled to compensation, though the sums can vary significantly.
| Flight length | Notice | Length of disruption | Compensation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 1,500km | 7-14 days’ notice | Arrive under two hours late at destination | £110 |
| Under 1,500km | 7-14 days’ notice | Arrive more than two hours late at destination | £220 |
| Under 1,500km | Under seven days’ notice | Arrive more than two hours late at destination | £220 |
| Flight of between 1,500km and 3,500km | 7-14 days’ notice | Departs at least an hour earlier than booked flight | £175 |
| Flight of between 1,500km and 3,500km | 7-14 days’ notice | Arrive up to three hours late at destination | £175 |
| Flight of between 1,500km and 3,500km | 7-14 days’ notice | Arrive more than three hours late at destination | £350 |
| Flight of between 1,500km and 3,500km | Under seven days’ notice | Arrive more than three hours late at destination | £350 |
| Flight of 3,500km+ | 7-14 days’ notice | Departs at least an hour earlier than booked flight | £260 |
| Flight of 3,500km+ | 7-14 days’ notice | Arrive up to four hours late at destination | £260 |
| Flight of 3,500km+ | 7-14 days’ notice | Arrive more than four hours late at destination | £520 |
| Flight of 3,500km+ | Under seven days’ notice | Arrive up to four hours late at destination | £260 |
| Flight of 3,500km+ | Under seven days’ notice | Arrive more than four hours late at destination | £520 |
In each case, the compensation figure is per person.
If the airline is not helpful with your claim, or you feel you have not been treated fairly, then you may be able to take your complaint to an alternative dispute resolution scheme – if the airline is a member of one. Otherwise, you can take it to the CAA.
What compensation can you get for air traffic control errors or issues beyond the airline’s control?
While airlines don’t have to pay out financial compensation for, say, airport power cuts or air traffic control errors, because it is not deemed as their fault – they do have to do other things, says consumer rights expert Martyn James.
“Even though you don’t get monetary compensation for delays or cancellation like you would do if the airline was at fault, they must still try to get you to your destination,” says James. “This can involve putting you on one of their own flights or failing that, on that of a competitor.”
Think carefully about requesting a full refund if you still want to go away. “Flights are more expensive if you buy on the day or within 48 hours, so you may find your refund doesn’t come through immediately or the cash doesn’t go very far.” It may make more sense to request that the airline gets you on the next available plane.
The CAA said that if flights are available on the day of travel passengers must be booked on them, even if this is on a rival airline.
“If you can’t get hold of the airline, then check the options online, take screenshots and if you can’t contact the airline, make notes of what you did to try, then buy direct,” says James. “If you use a credit card you may also have other protections further down the line with your card provider if the airline refuses to pay out.”
You might also be entitled to food and drink vouchers, the cost of calls to communicate with others about the situation, accommodation and transport to and from the airport.
I booked a package holiday and my flight has been cancelled. What are my rights?
If you have booked a package deal and your flight is cancelled, you can risk having your whole holiday cancelled or rearranged.
A spokesperson for Claims.co.uk says that in this situation, you have the rights to either claim a full refund, a reroute of the trip destination and potentially compensation from the airline.
If it's flight delay or cancellation due to an extraordinary circumstance, you won't qualify for compensation.
However, the airline must provide you with additional services, depending on the length of your delay and waiting time (see information above).
Claims.co.uk adds: "If you are at the airport when the flight is cancelled, it is advised that you contact your travel company straight away to talk through your options.
“If your flight cannot be rearranged, meaning your whole holiday must be cancelled, then the travel company must offer an alternative holiday if possible, or a refund of the full package price, not just the flight part.”
Check if the travel operator is waiving any change fees for rescheduling. Some operators might impose fees for changing travel dates, which could impact your decision.
Which airports do you need to arrive at earliest to avoid delays?
Research by claims.co.uk reveals that London Heathrow is the airport that passengers should arrive at the earliest to avoid delays. Being the primary airport in London, it holds nearly 80 million passengers every year, which adds to the traffic jams and long queue times at the site.
We look at other airports you’d have to make an early headstart to in order to make your flight.
| Airport | Yearly traffic (vehicles per mile) | Yearly terminal passengers | Security queue times | Score (out of 100) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Birmingham | 2,635,425 | 11,479,335 | 24 minutes | 54.86 |
| Bristol | 2,260,423 | 9,911,879 | 30 minutes | 54.72 |
| Leeds Bradford | 2,279,643 | 3,989,405 | 35 minutes | 51.43 |
| Manchester | 1,919,394 | 28,077,659 | 24 minutes | 50.45 |
| London Stansted | 1,867,434 | 27,951,116 | 18 minutes | 40.71 |
| London Gatwick | 1,656,850 | 40,894,242 | 16 minutes | 37.42 |
| London Luton | 1,738,817 | 16,399,866 | 19 minutes | 34.26 |
| Edinburgh | 1,913,770 | 14,395,463 | 16 minutes | 31.88 |
| Glasgow International | 1,633,294 | 7,355,987 | 13 minutes | 14.61 |
| London City | 2,073,664 | 3,429,684 | 12 minutes | 12.21 |
| Newcastle | 1,437,605 | 4,818,885 | 15 minutes | 8.66 |
Source: claims.co.uk
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