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Regulation UK261 Explained

In the EU you are protected by EU Regulation 261/2004.

To put it simply, if there are problems with your flight often you can get compensation. Before Brexit the same was true also with UK flights. Now the UK Government has written Regulation 261 into UK law (we will refer to it as Regulation UK261). What it means for you is that now there are two laws, and you have to know which one to refer to when making a claim against the airline.

One thing, however, hasn’t changed — you are still protected against delays, cancellations and other mishaps while travelling by plane.

1. Regulation UK261: Basics

What has changed after Brexit?

When the United Kingdom left the European Union at the end of January 2020 many travellers feared that it will make them less protected in case of flight delays, cancellations and overbookings. And especially, when travelling from and to the UK and with UK airlines. But the truth is, nothing much has changed.

Situations when you’re protected (no change):

  1. your flight is delayed for 3+ hours,
  2. your flight is cancelled less than 14 days before the date of departure,
  3. you’ve missed a connecting flight due to delay or cancellation,
  4. you’re denied boarding due to overbooking.

Conditions (no change): it must be due to your airline’s fault. It includes technical problems with airplane and airline staff strikes. You can’t get compensation when the reason behind the delay, cancellation or any other problem is considered extraordinary circumstances.

The only real change is that now there are two regulations.

But that means that now — when you experience delays or cancellations — you also have to pay attention whether it’s a UK flight or not, and if it’s a UK airline or not. So you know which law to refer to when filing a claim against the airline.

Here we have listed all the possible scenarios.

1.1 You’re Flying With a UK Airline


Regulation UK261

Regulation EC261/2004
EU – EU
EU – UK
EU – Third Country
UK – EU
UK – UK
UK – Third Country
Third Country – EU
Third Country – UK

1.2 You’re Flying With a EU Airline

Regulation UK261Regulation EC261/2004
EU – EU
EU – UK
EU – Third Country
UK – EU
UK – UK
UK – Third Country
Third Country – EU
Third Country – UK

1.3 You’re Flying With Other Airlines (non-EU, non-UK):

Regulation UK261Regulation EC261/2004
EU – EU
EU – UK
EU – Third Country
UK – EU
UK – UK
UK – Third Country

See everything that has changed here.

Here are all the possible scenarios (with examples):

2. How to Claim Compensation for Flight Delays, Cancellations, Etc.?

There are two ways you can do this.

The first is to contact your airline directly. Contact them via their website or social media channels and request the compensation. When possible use special online compensation forms. This way it will take you less time than when using a general contact form. Be prepared that most likely it will take at least a couple of months until you get the money.

You can also take a much easier path — legal representation.

In this case everything is handled by air passenger rights professionals. You just fill in a single form, compensation claim form, and wait for the money. The rest of the things related to your UK flight compensation claim, including the preparation of legal documents when it’s necessary, is done on your behalf. Our partners offer such services (you can find all the links on this page).

When choosing this option, here is all you will have to do:

Go to
this page

Fill in a claim form

Upload documents*

Sign online

And that’s it — the rest is handled by professionals.

* Your boarding pass and passport or ID copy.

Read more: Why Seek Legal Representation to Claim UK Flight Compensation?

Euro banknotes
Photo by Pixabay from Pexels

3. How Much Can You Claim?

In the UK flight compensation amounts are fixed.

They are the same for all passengers, including infants with no seat occupancy, and range from £220 to £520 per passenger. The longer the flight, the more you can claim.

When your destination is within the UK / EU:

£220

If the distance of your flight is 1,500 km or less

£350

If the distance of your flight is 1,500 km – 3,500 km


When your destination is outside the UK / EU:

£220

If the distance of your flight is 1,500 km or less

£350

If the distance of your flight is 1,500 km – 3,500 km

£520

If the distance of your flight is greater than 3,500 km

There is one exception. If the distance of your flight is greater than 3,500 kilometres, and you reach your destination with a delay between 3 to 4 hours, you will be receiving £260 not £520 (50% of the compensation). If the delay is longer than 4 hours, you will get full compensation of £520.

You don’t have to accept flight vouchers or coupons.

Read more: How Much Compensation Can You Claim?

4. Right to Care

If you have to wait, you have a right to care.

According to the Regulation UK261, you can get:

  • free meals and drinks in a reasonable relation to the waiting time,
  • free hotel accommodation if a stay of one or more nights is necessary,
  • two free phone calls, e-mails or faxes.

For this it doesn’t matter what is the reason of the delay or cancellation. If you have to wait more than planned, and a minimum of 3-4 hours, you have a right to this. If none of that is offered, you can also purchase a meal yourself and request a refund later, only don’t forget to keep all the receipts.

5. Refund for Cancellation

If your UK or EU flight is cancelled, your airline should give you a choice between a new flight and a full refund. You have a right to choose whichever option works best for you. If it’s a last-minute flight cancellation, and your flight is cancelled not more than 14 days before the date of departure, you may also be entitled to flight cancellation compensation.

Sometimes you can get both compensation and refund.

Read more:

If you still have questions about the new law, Regulation UK261, ask in the comments.

Featured photo by Austin Zhang from Pexels

9 thoughts on “Regulation UK261 Explained”

  1. Hi. BA have acknowledged that I am due compensation for a cancelled flight but it is over three months since my flight was cancelled and I still haven’t received any payment. They simply tell me it is being processed. Is there a time limit in which they have to pay the compensation. Your assistance is much appreciated. Victoria

    1. Woman using a laptop at the back of the car

      Hi Victoria, there are recommendations written in the law (2 months), but that’s only a recommendation. So, sometimes it takes more — 3 months, 6 months, sometimes 12+ months. If you’re getting nowhere, you can hand the case over to our partners at refundor.com, and they’ll proceed on your behalf.

  2. Hi, what if it is the return journey of a single booking? We booked return flights to USA from UK with American Airlines, all done as a package. Were we covered for the return??

  3. Hello

    EasyJet cancelled our flight last year from Bristol to Alicante. They did not provide the option of another flight. We therefore could not go on holiday but still had to pay for our accommodation and car hire in Spain (approx £1500). Easyjet has refunded our flight cost and meal at the airport but refused to pay our accommodation and car hire in Spain as it was ‘a private arrangement which were booked before the flight disruption took place.’ The meal at the airport was a private arrangement before the flight disruption took place yet they paid for this. Do I have any claim against EasyJet for our Spanish Costs?

  4. I have a tricky situation: I have tickets booked on a major American airline for Buenos Aires this month. This is covered by UK261, as the flight departs from London. However, I’ll be doing a two-day layover in Cincinnati (including a domestic leg in the US) before flying to Buenos Aires from Atlanta. This latter flight is often delayed (up to 10 hours!) Would the UK261 compensation apply to delays or cancellations on this third leg, considering that is included in the same ticket and itinerary number?

  5. What is the situation if you are resident in the Channel Islands and the plane is registered locally. Can you still claim under UK261?

  6. Hi – we had a booking with BA from Boston Logan to Manchester in May 2023, with a transfer in London Heathrow. The first leg was delayed but arrived within 3 hours of predicted arrival time, but the second leg Heathrow to Manchester was cancelled the night before (huge IT issue BA suffered) and we were rebooked onto a flight leaving about 8 hours later. We endured the joys of terminal 5 with thousands of others! We submitted a claim to BA who will pay £220 for the delayed flight Heathrow to Manchester. Question is about whether compensation only applies to the individual affected legs/flights of a journey (as BA is saying) or if the journey is considered as a whole (ie. Boston to Manchester is more than 3500km. We left Boston late and arrived in Manchester more than 8 hours late = £520 compensation). Thanks – I can’t find the answer anywhere!

  7. Hi there, Aer Lingus delayed my 8:05am flight from Manchester to Dublin, Therefore I narrowly missed my 10:55am Aer Lingus flight to New York JFK. The airline put me on a 1:05pm flight to New York EWR arriving at 4:00pm. New York EWR is over an hour away from New York JFK, and I had specifically booked to JFK as it is much nearer to the place I was heading to. Whilst my flight to EWR landed at 4:00pm, which is less than 3 hours after my originally scheduled arrival time of 1:25 at JFK, there is no way I could have made it to my final destination (either JFK or the place I was heading to) without being delayed further beyond 3 hours. Therefore I believe that I am entitled to compensation for this delay (beyond the expenses of the ground transport to my original destination). Aer Lingus has rejected this argument. Can someone tell me what are my rights? Also Aer Lingus recommended I take up my case with the relevant enforcement agency. Can someone tell me which agency has jurisdiction on this case?
    Thank you!

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