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How much compensation for a delayed Heathrow to New York (John F Kennedy) flight?

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£520each if you land 4 hours or more late (£260 each at 3 to 4 hours)

This route is worse than most of Britain's 200 busiest routes for 3-hour delays.

Flights a year
14,441
Distance apart
5,540 km
Land 3 hours or more late
116 a year

Last 12 months, CAA data

What you're owed

Leaving Heathrow

£520each under UK law

Leaving New York (John F Kennedy)

£520each under UK law

New York (John F Kennedy) is outside the UK and EU, so coming back this only applies if a UK or EU airline operated the flight.

Either figure is payable only when the delay was within the airline's control. A technical fault, a crew shortage or a late inbound aircraft all count; genuinely extraordinary circumstances such as severe weather or an air traffic control restriction do not.

Heathrow and New York (John F Kennedy) are 5,540 km apart (Over 3,500 km), and that distance is all that decides the amount. Which figure applies depends only on which end of the route you departed from, not which way you were travelling.

How many were on the booking

£520 each. £2,080 for a family of four.

£520 just you
£1,040 two of you
£2,080 a family of four

Everyone with their own seat is paid, children included.

What it pays

Every way a Heathrow to New York (John F Kennedy) flight can pay you

Find the line that matches what happened to you. Past 4 hours the amount stops changing, because it is the distance that sets the price, not the wait.

What you get What happened
£520each You landed 4 hours or more late Counted from when the doors opened at New York (John F Kennedy), not from when you left Heathrow. About 116 flights a year on this route land 3 hours or more late.
£260each You landed between 3 and 4 hours late On a flight this far the first hour past 3 pays half. Past 4 hours it is the full amount.
£520each plus your money back or a new flight Cancelled, and they told you less than 2 weeks before Count the days from when they told you to the day you were meant to fly. Found out at the airport? That counts. If they put you on another flight, this is still owed unless that flight left and landed close to your original times. About 419 flights a year on this route are cancelled.
£520each £260 if they get you there quickly They bumped you off a full flight This one is owed the moment it happens, before you fly, and the airline cannot make you take a voucher instead. It halves to £260 if the flight they put you on gets you there within 4 hours of your original arrival time.
£520each sometimes more You missed your next flight and got in 4 hours or more late Judged on when you reached your final stop, not on this leg. One ticket for the whole trip means the money is worked out on the whole trip, so a longer leg can pay more.
£520each You were flying home from New York (John F Kennedy) New York (John F Kennedy) is outside the UK and EU, so coming back only counts if a UK or EU airline operated the flight.
Your ticket money back They cancelled and you did not travel at all Paid in money within a week, not vouchers, and you get it whatever notice they gave you.
Food and drinks You waited 4 hours or more at the airport On a flight this far it starts at 4 hours, whatever caused the delay. Keep the receipts.
A hotel and a taxi You were stuck overnight The airline pays for the room and for getting to it. Keep the receipts.
Nothing A big storm or an air traffic hold stopped the flight Airlines blame the weather a lot and are often wrong, so it is still worth putting the flight in.

How close the replacement flight has to be before a cancellation stops paying.

How bad is this route

Does this route get delayed a lot?

Yes, more than most. It's worse than most of Britain's 200 busiest routes, with about 1 flight in 130 landing 3 hours or more late (0.8%).

That works out at about 116 flights a year crossing the 3-hour line, which is the point the airline has to pay.

When is it worst?

December 2025, when flights on this route ran an average of 17.2 minutes late.

From our own tracking

Recent delays on this route

Every flight on this route we logged running 3 hours or more late, or cancelled, since August. Each row shows the direction it actually flew, and only flights UK or EU rules cover are listed, so you may see far more of one heading than the other. Amounts are per person on the booking (half on the longest flights that landed 3 to 4 hours late). Airlines can still dispute a claim by proving the cause was outside their control, so check yours for the real answer. We earn a fee if you claim through a Claim link.

DL2

Delta Air Lines

7 hrs 7 min late

London → John F. Kennedy International Airport

20 Sept · due 15:00, landed 22:07

Claim £520£520 each, minus the claim firm's success fee, typically 20-30% plus VAT.

DL4

Delta Air Lines

7 hrs late

London → John F. Kennedy International Airport

7 Oct · due 19:40, landed 02:40

Claim £520£520 each, minus the claim firm's success fee, typically 20-30% plus VAT.

DL2

Delta Air Lines

6 hrs 20 min late

London → John F. Kennedy International Airport

29 Sept · due 15:00, landed 21:20

Claim £520£520 each, minus the claim firm's success fee, typically 20-30% plus VAT.

DL2

Delta Air Lines

6 hrs 16 min late

London → John F. Kennedy International Airport

3 Oct · due 15:00, landed 21:16

Claim £520£520 each, minus the claim firm's success fee, typically 20-30% plus VAT.

DL2

Delta Air Lines

6 hrs 7 min late

London → John F. Kennedy International Airport

28 Sept · due 15:00, landed 21:07

Claim £520£520 each, minus the claim firm's success fee, typically 20-30% plus VAT.

DL2

Delta Air Lines

6 hrs 4 min late

London → John F. Kennedy International Airport

24 Sept · due 15:00, landed 21:04

Claim £520£520 each, minus the claim firm's success fee, typically 20-30% plus VAT.

DL4

Delta Air Lines

6 hrs late

London → John F. Kennedy International Airport

29 Sept · due 19:40, landed 01:40

Claim £520£520 each, minus the claim firm's success fee, typically 20-30% plus VAT.

DL4

Delta Air Lines

5 hrs 50 min late

London → John F. Kennedy International Airport

30 Sept · due 19:40, landed 01:30

Claim £520£520 each, minus the claim firm's success fee, typically 20-30% plus VAT.

DL2

Delta Air Lines

5 hrs 49 min late

London → John F. Kennedy International Airport

6 Oct · due 14:59, landed 20:48

Claim £520£520 each, minus the claim firm's success fee, typically 20-30% plus VAT.

DL2

Delta Air Lines

5 hrs 34 min late

London → John F. Kennedy International Airport

4 Oct · due 15:00, landed 20:34

Claim £520£520 each, minus the claim firm's success fee, typically 20-30% plus VAT.

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Find your flight

Flights between Heathrow and New York (John F Kennedy)

Flights we saw on this route in the last week. Tap yours, add your date, and we'll check it.

See all the numbers for this route

In the last 12 months, 14,441 flights operated between Heathrow and New York (John F Kennedy), and 0.8% were 3 hours or more late, the threshold where £260 each becomes payable under UK261 (€300 under EU261), rising to £520 each (€600) from 4 hours late.

Flights are landing on time more often than last year: 79.5% ran on time against 78.4% in the twelve months before, and the average delay fell from 13.1 to 12.5 minutes.

Heathrow to New York (John F Kennedy), last 12 months
Heathrow to New York (John F Kennedy), last 12 months Figure vs year before
Flights on this route 14,441 was 15,181
Ran on time (within 15 min) 79.5% ▲ was 78.4%
Average delay 12.5 min ▼ was 13.1 min
3 hours or more late (the line where they pay) 0.8% -
Cancelled 2.9% -
Flights 3 hours or more late (a year) 116 flights/year -

The CAA's figures don't separate arrivals from departures, so this covers the route both ways.

Heathrow to New York (John F Kennedy), month by month

12.4m
12m
10.9m
10.2m
17.2m
13.1m
12.5m
11.2m
8m
13.8m
12.2m
16.8m
AugSepOctNovDecJanFebMarAprMayJunJul

Worst month: December 2025, averaging 17.2 minutes.

Airlines on this route

Airlines flying this route

Airline 3 hrs or
more late		 Landed on time
British Airways 0.3% 81.0%
Virgin Atlantic 0.6% 78.0%
American Airlines 2.2% 77.6%
JetBlue Airways 0.4% 82.5%
Delta Air Lines 1.6% 77.4%

Your rights

Your rights on this route

Every flight leaving Heathrow for New York (John F Kennedy) is covered by UK law, whichever airline operates it. Flights the other way, leaving New York (John F Kennedy) for Heathrow, are covered too if a UK or EU airline operated them; a flight that way on a non-UK, non-EU carrier falls outside it, though the Montreal Convention 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 somewhere else in United States? See every route between the UK and United States.

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Source: UK Civil Aviation Authority punctuality statistics, August 2025 to July 2026. Analysis by CheckFlightCompensation; the CAA is credited as the data source as its publication conditions require. Figures cover the 25 largest UK airports. Methodology and limitations.