Flights between the UK and Nigeria: what a delay is worth
Every route the CAA tracks between the UK and Nigeria falls in the same distance band (Over 3,500 km), so a delay of 3 hours or more pays a flat £520 per passenger under UK261 if the flight left the UK (€600 under EU261 if it left Nigeria instead and the airline was a UK or EU carrier). Find your route below.
| Route | 3h+ delay pays |
|---|---|
| Heathrow → Lagos | £520 |
| Heathrow → Abuja | £520 |
| Gatwick → Lagos | £520 |
| Gatwick → Abuja | £520 |
All 4 tracked UK ↔ Nigeria routes, sorted by yearly flight volume. Figures are per passenger under UK261; EU261 pays €600 for the same band.
In the last 12 months, 3,266 flights operated between the UK and Nigeria: 76.0% ran within 15 minutes of schedule, and 0.5% were 3 or more hours late, roughly 16 flights' worth of eligible passengers in a year. The CAA's figures don't separate arrivals from departures, so this covers the route both ways.
Punctuality is down on last year: 76.0% of flights ran on time against 77.9% in the twelve months before, and the average delay fell from 14.5 to 13 minutes.
Flights (12mo)
3,266
On time
76.0%
▼ 1.9pts vs last year
Avg delay
13 min
▼ 1.5 min vs last year
3h+ delayed
0.5%
Cancelled
0.6%
Nigeria, month by month
Worst month: May 2026, averaging 16.8 minutes.
Busiest routes between the UK and Nigeria
UK airports flying to Nigeria
Airlines flying between the UK and Nigeria
| Airline | 3h+ % | On-time % |
|---|---|---|
| British Airways | 0.5% | 78.9% |
| Air Peace | 0.4% | 65.2% |
| Virgin Atlantic | 0.4% | 86.4% |
Your rights on this route
Every flight leaving the UK for Nigeria is covered by UK261, whichever airline operates it. Flights the other way, landing in the UK from Nigeria, are covered too if a UK or EU airline operated them; a return flight on a non-UK, non-EU carrier falls outside UK261, though the Montreal Convention and Nigeria's own rules may still give you a claim. See the full breakdown on the 3-hour rule. Cancelled instead of delayed? Broadly the same amounts apply under different conditions. See cancelled flight compensation.
Flying soon? We'll watch your flight
Enter your flight and email. The moment it goes 3+ hours late or gets cancelled, we email you what you're owed and how to claim it. Free, one email, no spam.
Airlines flying to Nigeria
See all countries · See all UK airports · See all airlines
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.