1 / 6If your flight was delayed by three hours or more, cancelled, or you were bumped off an overbooked plane, you're probably owed money — and most people never claim it. Under UK261 (the UK's version of the old EU261 rules), compensation is a legal right, not a goodwill gesture, and you can go back years. Here's exactly what you're owed and the fastest way to get it.
✈Check what your delayed flight is owed →How much can you claim?
Compensation is fixed by the distance of your flight, not the price of your ticket. As a rough guide:
- Short flights (up to 1,500 km) — e.g. UK to Spain, France, Ireland: around £220 per passenger.
- Medium flights (1,500–3,500 km) — e.g. UK to Greece, Turkey, the Canaries: around £350.
- Long-haul (over 3,500 km) — e.g. UK to the Caribbean, USA, Dubai: up to £520 (sometimes reduced if the delay is under four hours).
It's per person — so a family of four on a delayed long-haul flight could be owed well over £1,000.
When are you eligible?
- Your flight arrived 3+ hours late, was cancelled (with less than 14 days' notice), or you were denied boarding due to overbooking.
- The flight departed a UK or EU airport (on any airline), or landed in the UK/EU on a UK or EU airline.
- The disruption was within the airline's control — technical faults, crew shortages, overbooking.
When you can't claim
Airlines don't have to pay for "extraordinary circumstances" outside their control — severe weather, air-traffic-control strikes, security alerts or medical emergencies. This is the excuse airlines lean on most, so it's worth having your claim checked rather than taking a rejection at face value.
How far back can you claim?
This is the bit most people don't realise: in England and Wales you can claim for eligible flights going back up to six years (five years in Scotland). So it's worth digging out old boarding passes and booking confirmations from disrupted trips.
How to claim: do it yourself, or let AirHelp handle it
You can claim directly with the airline for free — but airlines routinely reject, stall, or lowball valid claims, and chasing them takes months. The alternative is a no-win, no-fee claims service like AirHelp: you tell them the flight, they check your eligibility in minutes and handle all the paperwork and legal chasing. They only take a service fee if the claim succeeds, so there's no upfront cost and no risk if it fails.
Is AirHelp+ worth it?
If you fly more than once or twice a year, AirHelp+ is a membership (around £24.99/year) that flips the model: instead of a fee per claim, you get compensation for eligible disruptions on all your flights with no service cut taken, plus perks like airport lounge access when your flight is delayed. For a family that flies a couple of times a year, one delayed holiday flight can pay for the membership several times over.
Reader discount: use code PLUS10 for 10% off AirHelp+ (valid until 31 August 2026).
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FAQs
Does it cost anything to check?
No. Checking your eligibility is free — you only pay a service fee if a no-win-no-fee claim actually succeeds.
My flight was years ago — is it too late?
Probably not. In England and Wales you can claim up to six years back (five in Scotland), so old delayed and cancelled flights often still qualify.
The airline already blamed the weather. Can I still claim?
Possibly. "Extraordinary circumstances" is the most over-used rejection reason, and it doesn't always hold up. It's worth having the claim independently checked rather than accepting a no.
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