How much compensation for a delayed Heathrow to New York (John F Kennedy) flight?
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£520each if you land 3 hours or more late
This route is worse than most of Britain's 200 busiest routes for 3-hour delays.
- Flights a year
- 14,574
- Distance apart
- 5,540 km
- Land 3 hrs or more late
- 117a 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.
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.
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 or more hours late (0.8%).
That works out at about 117 flights a year crossing the 3-hour line, which is the point the airline has to pay.
When is it worst?
July 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 or more hours 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.
Delta Air Lines
London → John F. Kennedy International Airport
20 Sept · 15:00 → 22:07
Delta Air Lines
London → John F. Kennedy International Airport
7 Oct · 19:40 → 02:40
Delta Air Lines
London → John F. Kennedy International Airport
29 Sept · 15:00 → 21:20
Delta Air Lines
London → John F. Kennedy International Airport
3 Oct · 15:00 → 21:16
Delta Air Lines
London → John F. Kennedy International Airport
28 Sept · 15:00 → 21:07
Delta Air Lines
London → John F. Kennedy International Airport
24 Sept · 15:00 → 21:04
Delta Air Lines
London → John F. Kennedy International Airport
29 Sept · 19:40 → 01:40
Delta Air Lines
London → John F. Kennedy International Airport
30 Sept · 19:40 → 01:30
Delta Air Lines
London → John F. Kennedy International Airport
6 Oct · 14:59 → 20:48
Delta Air Lines
London → John F. Kennedy International Airport
4 Oct · 15:00 → 20:34
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See all the numbers for this route
In the last 12 months, 14,574 flights operated between Heathrow and New York (John F Kennedy), and 0.8% were 3 or more hours late, the threshold where £520 each becomes payable under UK261 (€600 under EU261).
Flights are landing on time more often than last year: 79.6% ran on time against 78.4% in the twelve months before, and the average delay fell from 13.1 to 12.6 minutes.
| Heathrow to New York (John F Kennedy), last 12 months | Figure | vs year before |
|---|---|---|
| Flights on this route | 14,574 | was 15,187 |
| Ran on time (within 15 min) | 79.6% | ▲ was 78.4% |
| Average delay | 12.6 min | ▼ was 13.1 min |
| 3 hours or more late (the line where they pay) | 0.8% | - |
| Cancelled | 2.6% | - |
| Flights 3 hours or more late (a year) | 117 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
Worst month: July 2025, averaging 17.2 minutes.
Airlines on this route
Airlines flying this route
| Airline | 3 hrs or more late3 hours or more late | Landed on time | If late |
|---|---|---|---|
| British Airways | 0.2% | 81.5% | £520each |
| Virgin Atlantic | 0.6% | 77.9% | £520each |
| American Airlines | 2.3% | 77.0% | £520each |
| JetBlue Airways | 0.6% | 83.3% | £520each |
| Delta Air Lines | 1.6% | 76.6% | £520each |
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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Other routes from Heathrow
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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. Methodology and limitations.