IATABA
ICAOBAW
British Airways Flight Delay and Cancellation Compensation
British Airways has struggled with their on-time performance in the last few years. Everything from staffing shortages to gate congestion has added to the airline’s 2023 punctuality being just 64% in 2023 according to OAG statistics. You could get as much as £520 (€600) for BA flight disruptions.
Reviews.io 4.6/5 based on 14,403 reviews
We have handled more than 4,802 British Airways flight delay and cancellation claims for over £1,580,000 in compensation. Join 240,000 clients who have entrusted AirAdvisor with their airline compensation claims over the last 7 years. To increase your chances of success, click the button below to get expert help from our team of lawyers.
How it works
It only takes minutes to finish it! That way you’ll find out your preliminary eligibility – and the size of the compensation.
Our experts will be checking your eligibility in depth, contacting the airlines, working with the authorities and so on.
Once we receive the compensation, we will transfer the money to you.
Cancellations were just as bad for BA in 2023 with 2.79% of flights being cancelled. This was, in part, due to the capacity cap instituted at Heathrow for that year. In September, the carrier had 3 major flight disruptions back-to-back in a single day that, according to Business Insider, could potentially have cost BA as much as $800,000 (USD) in compensation to passengers.
A BA spokesperson told Business Insider:
We are extremely sorry for the delay to our customers’ journeys. We would never operate a flight unless it was safe to do so, and our teams worked hard to get customers on their way again as quickly as possible.
British Airways Air Passenger Rights
If you’re a British Airways passenger, you might not always arrive on time, but you can rely on the world class passenger rights that protect you. In the United Kingdom, UK261 regulations mirror EU261 regulations in the European Union, and both protect passengers when they encounter flight disruptions.
So, whenever you’re departing from or arriving in an EU or UK country on a British Airways flight, you will be covered under EU and UK regulations for flight delays, cancellations, denied boarding, and missed connections. Both sets of regulations require the airline to provide you with care and assistance as well as cash compensation under certain conditions that we’ll explain next, but the following table should give you a better idea.
UK261/EU261 BA Compensation | ||
Flight Delays | Flight Cancellations | Denied Boarding |
Up to £520/€600 in compensation Care & Assistance | Up to £520/€600 in compensation Rebooked flight OR Refund Care & Assistance | Up to £520/€600 in compensation Rebooked flight OR Refund Care & Assistance |
British Airways Flight Delay Compensation
Flight delays are probably the most commonly experienced form of flight disruptions. In fact, statistics from the Civil Aviation Authority found that a mere 64% of flights at UK airports arrived and departed on time in 2023.
But what can you expect from British Airways when you have a flight delay?
Delays of 2 hours or more: If you’re at the airport waiting for your delayed flight for at least 2 hours, then BA must give you care and assistance which means access to communication like free 2 free calls and emails as well as food and drink.
If the airline isn’t forthcoming in offering you care assistance, don’t be afraid to request it, or at least keep your receipts for reimbursement later.
Delay of 3 hours or more: Once you’ve been delayed for 3 hours, you are eligible for cash compensation as long as the flight was delayed by extraordinary circumstances.
Delay of 5 hours or more: If you have a British Airways flight delayed for this length of time, then you must be offered the choice of a replacement booking or the option to cancel your travel plans and get a full ticket refund.
British Airways Cancelled Flight Compensation
Flight statistics from the CAA showed that for UK airports in 2023, approximately 1.8% of flights were cancelled within 24 hours of the departure time. In 2019 this number was 0.9%.
Cancelled flights are generally less commonplace than delays, but as you can see, they still happen on a regular basis. Thankfully, UK and EU laws may help ease the burden and chaos caused by cancellations.
If your flight is cancelled 2 weeks or more before departure, then you won’t be eligible for compensation, but if British Airways gives you less than 14 days notice, then you can get a refund or a rebooking at no additional cost. Plus, if extraordinary circumstances didn’t cause the cancellation, you may also be entitled to cash compensation.
If you’re at the airport and your flight is cancelled, then you are also entitled to a refund or a rebooked flight. If this new flight arrives at your final destination more than 3 hours past the time you were supposed to have been there, then you may also be able to get compensation.
Another situation is when passengers choose a rebooking but it doesn’t leave until the following day. When this happens, then BA must pay for your hotel lodging and taxi service there and back if a shuttle isn’t available.
Denied Boarding & Missed Connections
If British Airways oversells your flight and you’re subsequently denied boarding then you should be offered a rescheduled flight or a refund.
Plus, you are entitled to the same care and assistance offered for delays if you have to wait for 2 or more hours for the new departure. The airline must also give you cash compensation if you’re involuntarily denied boarding, but this will only happen if the flight was oversold.
If you happen to miss a connecting flight because earlier BA flights on the same booking were late or cancelled, then you can also get cash compensation based on the amount of time you’re delayed at your final destination.
Save up to €120 per family
AirAdvisor’s prices have often been 5% lower than competitors.
British Airways Financial Compensation: How Much Can You Get
The actual amount of monetary compensation you get depends on two factors:
- The amount of time you’re delayed at your final destination
- The overall distance of your flight.
British Airways Compensation | |||
Delay Time | Flight Distance | ||
Flights under 1,500km | Flights between 1,500-3,500km | Flights over 3,500km | |
Over 3 hours |
|
|
|
Under 3 hours |
| ||
£220/€250
€0
* BA might try to reduce this amount by as much as 50%, but AirAdvisor always works to get the full amount.
Extraordinary Circumstances
If you have a delay or cancellation that was caused by extraordinary circumstances, then you won’t be able to get financial compensation for the inconvenience. You see, extraordinary circumstances are situations that cause flight disruptions beyond what the carrier could have prevented. Here are a few examples:
- Dangerous weather
- Airport strikes
- Civil unrest
- Security threats
- Air traffic control restrictions
One of the best ways to support your compensation claim is to find out what caused your flight disruption as soon as it happens. Airlines like to use extraordinary circumstances as a way to avoid payouts to passengers, so if you can get information from airport or airline staff right away, then this can be used as evidence in your claim.
You can also let AirAdvisor handle your compensation claim for you. Not only will we find out the cause of your delay, but our team of legal professionals will do all the hard work of fighting for your rights.
You Can Trust AirAdvisor
- We operate on a no-win, no-fee basis, meaning we only get paid if you get paid.
- We have an outstanding 98% win rate
- More than 240,000 passengers have turned to AirAdvisor to get them the compensation they deserve
We assume all legal costs
All you have to do is submit the application and wait for the compensation to be received.
People Also Ask
What happens if British Airways cancel your flight?
They’ll try to book you on an alternative flight or give you a refund.
What happens if you miss your flight with British Airways?
The airline should try to help you get onto an alternative flight. You may be able to request compensation if you missed a connection due to earlier delays.
How long do you have to wait to get compensation from British Airways?
According to EU 261, passengers have a total of three years to make claims for flight compensation from this carrier. The process can take a few months or several years.
Can you still get compensation from British Airways if you bought a discount ticket?
Yes! All tickets are eligible for compensation regardless of the price you paid for your seat. Also, first class passengers are given the same amount of compensation as economy seat travellers.
Can you get compensation if British Airways loses your luggage?
Yes! Lost, damaged, and delayed baggage is all eligible for cash compensation. If you had a flight cancellation, though - your baggage will most likely be forwarded to your final destination.
Are British Airways flights refundable?
It depends. Some are refundable, while others cannot be refunded unless the airline cancels the flight at short notice.
Why is British Airways cancelling Flights?
There are various reasons why the airline could cancel flights. It may be due to COVID, strikes, war, or other travel disruptions.
0Flight Compensation Calculator:
Check if you are entitled to flight delay compensation in just 3 minutes.
Recent Comments
Upon arriving at AMS airport, when I went to check in - I asked the lady why our 11.40am flight was cancelled - she said she didn’t know & she asked her colleague beside her, and her response was the same- she didn’t know.
Flight caned the day before our flight was rebooked the day after we arrived at the airport on time, and our tickets were not issues at the desk. We received an email with rebooked tickets, but the flight was overbooked. There was no other flights to Guatemala in the next couple of days so we had to fly to Salvador and pay for tickets from El Salvador to Guatemala ourselves we are a family of four and we were delayed for two days in London
They canceled my flight when I was already at the boarding gate. I received a message saying I had to call to rebook and spent 1 hour on the phone only to receive another flight which was 24 hour later. The company didn’t gave us accommodation nor transportation from and to the airport. We had to pay for all of that and we also lost the money for the one night we didn’t spend in Mexico City, as well as an appointment we had at the French Ambassade. They said we could send an email to the service center but that it was not sure that we received a compensation. I was supposed to arrive to Mexico at 9:00 pm on Wednesday 10th January 2024, and I finally arrived at Thursday 11th at 7:00 pm.