When your flight is delayed for hours or cancelled without warning, you may be entitled to financial compensation — not just a voucher, but real money. UK261 is the UK's retained version of the EU's EC261/2004 regulation, and it gives passengers on qualifying flights some of the strongest consumer protections in the world.
This guide explains exactly who is covered, how much you can claim, and what steps to take if an airline refuses to pay.
What is UK261?
UK261 (formally, the Air Passenger Rights and Air Travel Organisers' Licensing (Amendment) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019) came into effect when the UK left the EU. It carries over the same core rights as EC261, so the compensation amounts and qualifying rules are almost identical — just denominated in pounds rather than euros.
The key point: UK261 applies to you regardless of which airline you fly with, as long as your flight departs from a UK airport. If you're flying into the UK on a British or EU carrier, it also applies.
Covered flights: (1) Any flight departing from a UK airport, on any airline. (2) Flights arriving at a UK airport operated by a UK-licensed or EU-licensed carrier. Flights departing the EU to the UK on a non-EU/non-UK carrier are covered by EC261 (the EU version), not UK261.
The Three Compensation Tiers
Compensation is calculated based on the flight distance and the length of your delay at your final destination. There are three distance bands:
| Route Distance | Delay Threshold | Compensation | Examples |
|---|---|---|---|
| Short haul Under 1,500 km |
3 hours or more at destination | £220 | London–Paris, Manchester–Amsterdam, Bristol–Dublin |
| Medium haul 1,500 km – 3,500 km |
3 hours or more at destination | £350 | London–Canary Islands, London–Cairo, Edinburgh–Marrakech |
| Long haul Over 3,500 km |
4 hours or more at destination | £520 | London–New York, London–Dubai, Manchester–Bangkok |
| Long haul (reduced) Over 3,500 km |
Airline re-routes you, arriving within 4 hrs of original time | £260 | Same long-haul routes as above, when re-routing offered |
The delay is measured at your final destination, not at the point of disruption. If a connection misses due to the first leg being late, it's the total delay to your final airport that counts.
Cancelled Flights
Cancellations are treated similarly to delays. You're entitled to the same compensation tiers above, unless the airline notified you of the cancellation at least 14 days before departure. If they told you 7–13 days in advance and re-routed you to arrive within 4 hours of the original time, the compensation is reduced by 50%.
For any cancellation, the airline must also give you a choice between:
- A full refund of your ticket price (within 7 days), or
- Re-routing on the earliest possible flight to your destination at no extra cost.
When You Cannot Claim: Extraordinary Circumstances
Airlines are not required to pay compensation if the delay or cancellation was caused by extraordinary circumstances — situations that could not have been avoided even if all reasonable measures had been taken. Common examples include:
- Severe weather — storms, fog, snow, or ice that grounds flights at the departure airport
- Air Traffic Control (ATC) strikes — industrial action by ATC staff (note: strikes by the airline's own staff do not count as extraordinary circumstances)
- Security incidents — airport closures due to security threats
- Political instability — airspace closures due to geopolitical events
- Bird strikes or hidden manufacturing defects — sudden technical faults beyond routine maintenance
Watch out for airline excuses: Airlines frequently cite extraordinary circumstances when the real cause was a technical fault or crew scheduling problem — neither of which qualifies. If an airline cites weather or ATC, ask them to provide documentation of the specific NOTAM, weather report, or ATC directive that affected your flight.
Importantly, even when extraordinary circumstances apply and compensation is off the table, airlines are still legally required to provide care and assistance for significant delays.
Right to Care: Meals, Drinks and Hotels
Regardless of the cause, if your flight is delayed by 2 hours or more (short haul), 3 hours (medium haul) or 4 hours (long haul), the airline must provide free of charge:
- Meals and refreshments in reasonable relation to the waiting time
- Two free telephone calls, emails, or fax messages
- Hotel accommodation if an overnight stay becomes necessary
- Transport between the airport and the hotel
If the airline fails to provide these and you have to pay for meals or a hotel yourself, keep all receipts. You can claim these reasonable costs back from the airline even when monetary compensation under UK261 isn't due.
Tip: "Reasonable" meals and accommodation is the standard. Airlines can refuse to reimburse a three-course restaurant dinner or a five-star hotel if a budget option was available. Keep costs proportionate.
How to Claim: Step by Step
Step 1 — Contact the airline directly
Direct answer. Always start by submitting a formal written claim to the airline. Use their online complaint form or write a letter that explicitly cites UK261, includes your booking reference, flight number, date, and the specific delay time measured at your destination, and states the exact compensation amount you are claiming.
Phrasing matters. "I am claiming £350 under UK261 Article 7(1)(b) for a 4-hour 20-minute delay on flight BA123 from London Heathrow to Athens on 14 March 2026" gets faster results than "my flight was delayed and I want compensation". Reference the regulation by article number — it signals the airline you know the rules and reduces the chance they fob you off with a goodwill voucher worth 30% of what you're owed.
The maths to run. Give the airline 28 days to respond. Most reply within 14–21 days. Track the reply deadline in your calendar — if no response by day 28, escalate to ADR (Step 2). The Civil Aviation Authority and Which? both publish free template letters; search "UK261 claim letter template" and pick whichever fits your scenario (delay, cancellation, denied boarding, downgrade).
Key fact: UK261 compensation is paid as cash, not as voucher or air miles. Airlines must offer cash by default — if they offer a voucher, you can refuse and demand cash without weakening your claim.
Step 2 — Use an Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) scheme
Direct answer. If the airline refuses your claim or ignores you for 8 weeks, escalate to an approved ADR body. The main UK aviation scheme is CEDR (Centre for Effective Dispute Resolution) at cedr.com/aviation. Filing is free for passengers and the airline must participate if they're a CEDR member.
The other approved scheme is the Aviation ADR service (aviationadr.org.uk). Each UK airline is signed up to one or the other — check the airline's complaints page before filing because you can only use the scheme they're a member of. Most UK-based carriers (BA, easyJet, Jet2, TUI, Virgin Atlantic) are CEDR members. Ryanair is in the Aviation ADR scheme. Wizz Air uses CEDR.
The maths to run. ADR submissions take 60–90 days from filing to a binding decision. Outcomes are roughly 60–70% in passenger favour where the claim is well-documented. The decision is binding on the airline (they must pay if the scheme rules in your favour) but not on you (you can still go to court if you reject the ADR outcome). Cost to you: nothing. Time investment: ~1 hour to file.
Key fact: ADR scheme membership is publicly listed on each airline's complaints page — bookmark cedr.com/aviation and aviationadr.org.uk before you fly so you know which one applies if disruption hits.
Step 3 — Civil Aviation Authority (CAA)
Direct answer. The CAA enforces UK261 and can take regulatory action against airlines that persistently fail to comply. The CAA doesn't award compensation directly to individuals, but reporting your case adds regulatory pressure and the CAA's involvement often prompts settlement once an airline knows it's on the regulator's list.
Submit your case via the CAA's online complaint form at caa.co.uk. Include your full claim history (the original UK261 claim, the airline's reply or non-reply, the ADR decision if you've gone that route). The CAA does not get involved in individual claim adjudication, but they do publish quarterly enforcement reports and they do periodically fine carriers for systematic non-compliance — which makes airlines' legal teams pay attention to flagged cases.
The maths to run. CAA reports rarely produce a fast individual outcome — but they cost you nothing to file and they materially raise the airline's incentive to settle. File in parallel with ADR, not as a replacement for it. Expected impact: airlines named in CAA quarterly reports often settle outstanding individual claims to clean up the file.
Key fact: The CAA publishes a quarterly "Consumer Enforcement" report listing which airlines have been formally warned or fined. Airlines that appear in three consecutive reports tend to streamline their claims process — pressure works.
Consider a no-win-no-fee claims service
Direct answer. If you'd rather not handle the process yourself, a no-win-no-fee claims service like Compensair (compensair.com) takes the work off your hands in exchange for 25–35% commission, paid only if successful. Worth considering for complex cases or when the airline is based overseas and harder to chase directly.
Compensair, AirHelp and Flightright are the three best-known options for UK passengers. They handle correspondence with the airline, the ADR submission, and any court proceedings. They keep their fee from the awarded amount and pay you the balance. The trade-off is straightforward: you keep 65–75% of a successful claim instead of 100%, but you put in zero hours and absorb zero stress.
The maths to run. A £350 UK261 claim handled by Compensair pays you £225–£260 after their 25–35% fee. Worth it if the airline is foreign-domiciled, you're time-poor, or the claim has any complexity (multi-leg trip, mixed-airline routing, special-needs disruption). Not worth it for a clean delay claim against a UK-based carrier — the DIY route gets you the full £350 for ~2 hours of admin spread over 6–12 weeks.
Key fact: No-win-no-fee services charge a commission of 25–35% in the UK; check the exact percentage before signing because the spread is wider than people assume. Compensair publishes their fee scale; some smaller competitors don't.
Time limits: You have 6 years to make a claim in England, Wales and Northern Ireland; 5 years in Scotland. Don't let time pressure force you into a low settlement — you have plenty of time to pursue a full claim.
What About EU261 After Brexit?
If your disrupted flight departs from an EU airport (say, you flew London to Madrid and the return Madrid–London was delayed), EC261 still applies — the EU regulation, not UK261. The compensation amounts are denominated in euros and are nearly identical. You'd claim via the Spanish aviation authority (AESA) or an EU-based ADR scheme.
In practice, for a UK passenger on a delayed return flight, both the amounts and process are similar. The key difference is the dispute resolution route — EU carriers operating in the EU fall under EC261 enforcement, not the CAA or CEDR.
Summary
UK261 is a powerful regulation that most passengers don't use simply because they don't know it exists. If your flight was delayed 3+ hours (4+ for long haul) or cancelled, start your claim immediately — it costs nothing to try, and the process is straightforward. Airlines bank on passengers not pursuing it.