Emerald Airlines delay compensation, and how often you'll actually need it
£220 per passenger, if your Emerald Airlines flight arrived 3 or more hours late
Every Emerald Airlines route we hold a distance for falls in the same band, so that is the figure. About 200 Emerald Airlines flights a year cross that line.
In the last 12 months, Emerald Airlines operated 19,982 flights at UK airports, and 1.0% were 3 or more hours late, the threshold where £220 per passenger becomes payable.
Punctuality is down on last year: 73.7% of flights ran on time against 82.4% in the twelve months before, and the average delay rose from 10.8 to 15.6 minutes.
| Emerald Airlines, last 12 months | Figure | vs year before |
|---|---|---|
| Flights at UK airports | 19,982 | was 17,958 |
| Ran on time (within 15 min) | 73.7% | ▼ was 82.4% |
| Average delay | 15.6 min | ▲ was 10.8 min |
| 3h+ late (compensation threshold) | 1.0% | - |
| Cancelled | 2.7% | - |
| Flights 3h+ late (a year) | 200 flights/year | - |
The CAA's figures combine arrivals and departures, so this covers both directions of travel.
Emerald Airlines' delays, month by month
Worst month: December 2025, averaging 21.5 minutes.
How to claim from Emerald Airlines
Emerald Airlines takes compensation claims through its own claim form.
If you would rather write, their address for claims is Hangar 5, Dublin Airport, Co. Dublin, K67 XK66, Ireland.
Emerald Airlines operates Aer Lingus Regional flights but has no compensation claims process of its own; its contact page directs EU261/UK261 claims to the Aer Lingus website.
If Emerald Airlines refuses and you think the refusal is wrong, the next step is the Civil Aviation Authority's Passenger Advice and Complaints Team, which can review the refusal and press the airline, though its finding is not binding. You do not need a solicitor and you do not pay to use it.
You can claim directly yourself and keep the whole payout, or a claim firm will do the chasing for a share of it. Both end up at the same place.
Claim route checked against Emerald Airlines' own site and the CAA's dispute-scheme lists on 12 August 2026. Airlines move these pages, so tell us if a link has gone stale.
What the rules turn on
Where the flight departed decides everything, not the airline's nationality. Anything leaving a UK airport is covered by UK261 whoever operates it, and anything leaving the EU by EU261. A delay of 3 or more hours on arrival pays £220 to £520 per passenger when the cause was within the airline's control, which covers technical faults, crew shortages and the knock-on from a late inbound aircraft. It pays nothing when the cause was genuinely extraordinary, though airlines stretch that word further than the case law supports, so a refusal on those grounds is worth testing rather than accepting.
Emerald Airlines at each UK airport
| Airport | 3h+ % | On-time % |
|---|---|---|
| Belfast City (George Best) | 1.1% | 73.6% |
| Bristol | 0.8% | 75.1% |
| Isle of Man | 0.3% | 73.3% |
| Cardiff Wales | 1.2% | 73.1% |
| Exeter | 1.2% | 75.0% |
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Source: UK Civil Aviation Authority punctuality statistics, July 2025 to June 2026. Analysis by CheckFlightCompensation; the CAA is credited as the data source as its publication conditions require. Figures cover the 25 largest UK airports.