Flight Delays

Heading off on your summer holiday? Hopefully your flight won’t be delayed — but if it is, this handy guide can help.

Can I get compensation if my flight is delayed?

You might be able to get compensation if your flight was:

• leaving from the UK, EU, Iceland, Norway or Switzerland on any airline

• arriving in the UK and was with a UK or EU airline

• arriving in the EU and was with a UK airline

You are only entitled to compensation if it is the airline’s fault.  You are unlikely to get compensation if the delay was because of something outside the airline’s control such as bad weather.  You should claim compensation from the airline directly.

What should my airline provide if I am delayed?

If your flight’s delayed for long enough, your airline has to provide food, drink, access to phone calls, and emails.  They also need to provide accommodation if you’re delayed overnight including journeys between the airport and the hotel.  They might give you vouchers to use at the airport. Ask someone who works for the airline if you’re not offered any help.  If they don’t give you help at the airport, you should keep receipts for expenses and try to claim from the airline later. Airlines only pay for ‘reasonable’ expenses meaning you are unlikely to get money back for alcohol, expensive meals or luxury hotels.

What happens if my flight is delayed for 3 or more hours

You’re entitled to get compensation if the flight arrives more than 3 hours late and it's the airline’s fault.  You’re entitled to a set amount of compensation depending on both:

• the distance of your flight - check your flight distance on the WebFlyer website

• the length of the delay - how late you are getting to your destination

What happens if my flight is delayed for 5 hours or more

You don’t have to take the flight if it’s delayed for 5 hours or more.  Talk to someone from the airline as soon as you decide you don’t want to take the flight.  If you don’t take the flight, the airline legally has to give you all of the following; a full refund for the flight, a full refund for other flights from the airline that you won’t use in the same booking, such as an onward or return flight, if you’re part-way through a journey, a flight back to the airport you originally departed from.

You should get the refund within 7 days of the date of the flight.

If you do take the flight you can claim up to £520 in compensation if the delay is the airline’s fault - depending on the distance and destination of your flight, and how late it arrived.

You can find more information on flight delays on the Citizens Advice website using the following link https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/consumer/holiday-cancellations-and-compensation/if-your-flights-delayed-or-cancelled/

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