4 flights the UK and EU rules cover landed 3 hours or more late or were cancelled 4 late or cancelled flights on Sunday 8 November
Landed 3 hours or more late? You're owed up to £520 each.
The airline pays, not you. Type your flight below and we tell you what you're owed in plain English. The airline pays, not you. Check your flight below in seconds.
Check your flight
FreePick your airports and the date you flew. We'll list every flight on that route that day.
A few quick questions. No personal details needed.
How it works
Three steps, and you only pay if you win.
Check free here
Type your flight. We tell you straight away if you're owed and how much. The rules are fixed in law: 3 hours or more late arriving, and a cause the airline controls.
Claim with AirHelp, no win no fee
They handle the airline for you, including taking it to court when it stonewalls. They only get paid if they win.
Get paid
The money is owed to everyone on the booking, children included. Airlines must pay cash; you never have to accept vouchers.
How much you get
It depends on how far you were flying. Everyone on the booking gets paid, children too.
Each, if you landed 3 hours late or more.
Like Dublin, Paris or Amsterdam.
Up to 1,500 km
Each, if you landed 3 hours late or more.
Like Tenerife, Crete or Antalya.
1,500 to 3,500 km
Each, if you landed 3 hours late or more.
Like New York, Dubai or Delhi.
Over 3,500 km
Long trips carry one extra rule: land between 3 and 4 hours late and the airline pays half, £260 each.
A few places sit right on the 1,500 km line, so the airport you left from decides which figure applies. Gatwick to Alicante is £220 each. Luton to Alicante is £350 each. Same beach, different money.
Cancelled with less than 2 weeks' notice pays the same as a delay, on top of your money back or a seat on another flight, whichever you choose. Took the replacement flight they offered? The money is still owed unless that flight left and landed close to your original times. How close it has to be.
Delayed on Sunday 8 November
Real flights from our live tracking. Yours here? Check it above for the exact answer.
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If it lands 3 hours or more late we email you what you're owed.
80 airlines · 200 routes
How often UK airlines land on time
| Airline | Flights a year | Landed on time | Landed 3 hours or more late | Check |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| easyJet | 400,672 flights | 71.6% on time | 0.5% land 3 hours or more late | Check a flight |
| Ryanair | 354,188 flights | 71.6% on time | 0.6% land 3 hours or more late | Check a flight |
| British Airways | 308,365 flights | 76.5% on time | 0.4% land 3 hours or more late | Check a flight |
| Jet2.com | 127,588 flights | 66.1% on time | 0.6% land 3 hours or more late | Check a flight |
| TUI Airways | 60,707 flights | 58.7% on time | 0.9% land 3 hours or more late | Check a flight |
| Loganair | 60,181 flights | 77.4% on time | 0.6% land 3 hours or more late | Check a flight |
| Wizz Air | 55,590 flights | 75.1% on time | 0.7% land 3 hours or more late | Check a flight |
| Aer Lingus | 53,150 flights | 74.3% on time | 0.6% land 3 hours or more late | Check a flight |
| BA CityFlyer | 38,424 flights | 74.2% on time | 0.4% land 3 hours or more late | Check a flight |
| KLM | 33,884 flights | 72.4% on time | 0.4% land 3 hours or more late | Check a flight |
Source: CAA · September 2025 to August 2026
See all 80 airlines By airport How we use the data UK Civil Aviation Authority punctuality statistics
The rules
Exactly when you're entitled
These aren't goodwill gestures, they're fixed legal rights under the UK and EU rules. Here is the full picture, in plain English.
Delays: the 3-hour rule
- • It's the arrival that counts, when the doors open at your destination, not when you took off. Left 3 hours late but landed 2 hrs 55 min late? No compensation.
- • 3 hours or more late arriving = compensation, IF the cause was within the airline's control.
- • Once the wait gets long enough the airline owes you care regardless of cause: 2 hours on short flights, 3 on most holiday flights, 4 on long haul. Food, drinks, two calls or emails, and a hotel plus transfers if you're stuck overnight.
- • If the delay passes 5 hours you can abandon the trip and demand a full refund within 7 days, even when the cause was extraordinary.
Cancellations
- • Cancelled with less than 2 weeks' notice = compensation on the same scale as delays, unless the replacement flight gets you there at nearly the original times.
- • You always choose: full refund, or rerouting to your destination at the earliest opportunity, including on other airlines when yours has nothing suitable.
- • 2 weeks' notice or more = no compensation, but the refund/rerouting choice still stands.
Pays out, the airline's fault
- • Technical faults and maintenance problems, including ones found at the last minute
- • Crew shortages, crew out of hours, staffing problems
- • The airline's own schedule knock-ons ("the inbound aircraft arrived late")
- • Overbooking and denied boarding
- • Airline staff strikes (the airline's own employees, ruled the airline's problem by the courts)
Doesn't pay, extraordinary circumstances
- • Genuinely severe weather (not "it was a bit windy")
- • Air traffic control restrictions and airport closures
- • Security threats, medical diversions, bird strikes
- • Strikes by airport staff or ATC (outside the airline's control)
- Airlines routinely stretch these excuses. "Weather" that only grounded their plane while others flew is challengeable, and claims firms win exactly these arguments.
Time limits: you can go back 6 years in England and Wales, 5 in Scotland. EU countries set their own limits, commonly 2–3 years, some longer.
US flyers
Flying to or from the US? Different rules.
The US has no equivalent of the £520 compensation scheme, but Americans are covered by the UK/EU rules more often than they think, and US law gives you refunds instead.
You CAN claim UK/EU compensation if…
Your flight departed the UK or EU, any airline, any passport. New York to London on Delta: not covered. London back to New York on the same Delta plane: covered, up to £520. Arrivals into the UK/EU count too when the airline is a UK/EU carrier.
US flights: automatic refunds
For flights to, from or within the US, airlines must automatically refund you when a flight is cancelled or significantly changed (3 hours or more domestic, 6+ international), provided you choose not to travel and decline the alternative. Cash back, not vouchers, but it's a refund, not compensation on top. Most big US carriers also promise meals after 3 hours and hotels for overnight delays they caused.
Canada & elsewhere
Canada's APPR can require CAD $400–$1,000 for qualifying delays of 3 hours or more on large airlines, or CAD $125–$500 on small airlines (claim within 1 year). On any international itinerary, the Montreal Convention lets you recover proven out-of-pocket losses from a delay, hotels, missed prepaid bookings, on top of everything above.
FAQs
Common questions
How late does my flight have to be?
Compensation starts when you arrive at your destination 3 hours or more late. It is the arrival delay that counts, not departure, a flight that leaves 3 hours late but lands 2 hrs 55 min late does not qualify.
How much am I owed?
Under UK rules: £220 for flights of 1,500km or less, £350 for flights over 1,500km and up to 3,500km, and £520 for longer flights. EU departures pay €250/€400/€600. It is each person, so a family of four on a long-haul delay can be owed over £2,000.
Can I claim for an old flight?
Yes. You can claim up to 6 years back in England and Wales, and 5 years in Scotland. Most people have no idea, a delayed holiday flight from three summers ago is still claimable.
What if the airline blames the weather?
Genuine severe weather, air traffic control restrictions and some strikes are "extraordinary circumstances" and exempt the airline. But airlines regularly blame weather for delays that were really crew shortages or technical faults, which do pay out. If in doubt, check, it costs nothing.
Who chases the airline for me?
A claims specialist does the chasing, including taking the airline to court when it stonewalls. A claim firm only gets paid if it wins: it takes a success fee, typically 20-30% plus VAT, and more again if the case has to go legal, so on a £350 claim you would keep about £165 to £265. Lose and you pay nothing.
I missed a connection because my first flight was late. Does that count?
Yes, if both flights were on one booking. What matters is when you arrived at your final destination. A 1-hour delay into Amsterdam that made you miss the onward leg and arrive 5 hours late in Singapore is a 5-hour delay for compensation purposes.
I'm American, do these rules apply to me?
They apply to flights, not passport holders. Any flight departing the UK or EU is covered whoever you are and whatever the airline, so a New Yorker flying London to JFK on Delta can claim up to £520. US domestic flights are not covered, see the US section above for what you get instead.