Why do flights get cancelled? The 10 most common reasons

Nicolle Harwood-Nash

By:  Nicolle Harwood-Nash

10 minutes read

Last Updated:  August 27, 2026

Every cancelled flight has a cause, and the cause decides what you're owed. A storm and a crew shortage feel identical from the departure lounge, but one usually rules out compensation for the cancelled flight while the other may entitle you to it.

That difference matters more than most passengers realise, so for each of the 10 most common reasons for flight cancellations, you'll also find what it usually means for your rights.

If your flight was delayed, cancelled or overbooked within the last 3 years, you could be eligible for up to £520 (€600) in compensation.Check Your Flight

1. Dangerous weather

Severe weather causes more cancellations than anything else, but rain alone rarely stops a flight. A flight is cancelled because of weather when flying would be unsafe: thick fog, winds too strong for takeoff and landing, or a thunderstorm directly over the airport.

Your flight can also be cancelled because of bad weather somewhere else, even when the sky above you is clear. This is because the plane and crew for your flight usually arrive from another airport, and a storm over that airport can strand them there.

Weather counts as an extraordinary circumstance, so cash compensation is unlikely. You still get a refund or a new flight, plus meals and a hotel if you're stuck overnight. One thing is worth checking: if other airlines were flying while yours cancelled, the real problem may have been within your airline's control.

Looking at natural factors, we have seen more cancellations recently that severe weather can cause more flight disruptions. According to the Met Office, fog, snow and high winds means that the air traffic controllers have to increase the time between planes landing, which reduces the number of flights that an airport can manage at a time. - Gavin Lapedis, Director at eShores.

2. Security concerns

Security problems cause far fewer cancellations than weather, and when they happen, the airline usually has no choice. A bag that fails screening, a security breach in the terminal, or a credible threat can each stop departures. A flight can also be cancelled because of an unruly passenger: if removing them takes too long, the crew runs past their legal working hours and the flight cannot leave.

Compensation depends on what caused the security problem. A threat to the airport is outside the airline's control, so compensation is unlikely in those cases. But the airline still has to show it did everything it reasonably could to avoid cancelling your flight, so a security cancellation is worth checking rather than assuming nothing is owed.

3. Knock-on delays and tight schedules

Most planes fly several routes a day, one after another, with less than an hour on the ground between them to unload, clean, refuel and board. If the first flight of the day runs late, every flight after it starts late too. By the evening, the delays can pile up so far that the airline cancels the last flight of the day rather than run it in the middle of the night or push the crew past their legal hours.

Compensation often applies here, because the airline is responsible for how tightly it plans its schedule. The airline may tell you the cancellation was caused by the morning's storm or breakdown, but if it had the whole day to recover and didn't, your claim can still be valid.

4. No aircraft available

Planes need regular maintenance and safety checks, and faults still appear between checks. If a plane is grounded and the airline has no spare, the airline cancels a flight and uses its remaining planes on the busiest routes. The problem gets worse in peak season, because airlines schedule more flights than their fleet can cover if anything goes wrong, so one grounded plane can mean several cancelled flights.

Keeping enough working aircraft is the airline's job. These cancellations count as within the airline's control, and compensation may apply.

5. Too few passengers

Airlines sometimes cancel a flight because too few people booked it. Flying a plane costs almost the same whether it carries 40 passengers or 180, so the airline merges two half-empty flights into one full one and saves money.

This is a business decision, and it is fully within the airline's control. If it happens less than 14 days before departure, compensation is likely.

We also can’t underestimate the effect rising fuel costs are having on the aviation industry, the same way they are affecting our cars. The demands of this can cause airlines to cancel flights to manage their resources more effectively. - Gavin Lapedis, Director at eShores.

6. Air traffic control restrictions

Air traffic control decides how many planes can safely use the airspace at once. When there are too many flights for the space available, controllers limit the number of takeoffs and landings, and airlines have to reroute, retime, or cancel flights to fit the limit. Shortages of air traffic controllers have made these limits more common across the UK and Europe.

These limits come from outside the airline, so they count as extraordinary circumstances and compensation is unlikely. Your refund, rebooking, and care rights still apply in full.

7. Technical and IT failures

Computer failures now cause more cancellations than most passengers expect. If an airline's own booking, check-in, or scheduling system fails, the airline may not be able to operate any flights at all, and if a national system fails, no airline can fly. UK passengers saw this in August 2023, when NATS, the UK's air traffic control system, failed on a bank holiday Monday and airlines had to cancel more than 1,500 flights.

Your rights depend on whose system failed. If the airline's own technology failed, compensation may apply. If a national system failed, that counts as extraordinary and compensation is unlikely. Faults with the aircraft itself follow the same rule as the airline's own technology, because courts have ruled that mechanical problems are part of running an airline, not extraordinary circumstances.

8. Crew shortages and staff strikes

A flight cannot leave without a full crew, and the crew must be rested and within their legal working hours. Sometimes crew members call in sick. Sometimes they're stuck in another city because an earlier flight was delayed, or their shift runs past its legal limit. And sometimes they're on strike. In every case, the airline is left without enough staff to operate the flight, so it cancels.

Crew planning is the airline's responsibility, so compensation usually applies. The same goes for a strike by the airline's own staff, because courts have ruled that staff disputes are part of running the business. A strike by people the airline does not employ, such as air traffic controllers or airport security staff, is different: the airline cannot control them, so compensation is unlikely.

Disrupted flight? You might have a right to compensation - up to £520 (€600).Check Your Flight

9. A sick pilot

Pilots get ill like everyone else, but they are legally banned from flying while unwell. If the airline can't find a qualified replacement in time, it cancels the flight.

This sounds like bad luck, but courts have ruled that airlines must plan for it with standby pilots, so compensation may still apply. Airlines often reject these claims, and they are often worth challenging.

10. Bird strike

A bird strike is a collision between an aircraft and a bird, usually during takeoff or landing. Even a single bird can damage the engines, nose, or windscreen, so after a bird strike, the aircraft must be inspected before it can fly again. If the airline has no replacement plane, your flight is cancelled.

Courts have ruled that bird strikes are extraordinary circumstances, so compensation is unlikely. The bird strike does have to be the real reason for the cancellation, and your care and rebooking rights always apply.

Which cancellations pay compensation? At a glance

Compensation under UK261, and under EU261 for flights departing the EU, depends on one question: was the cause within the airline's control? If it wasn't, the rules call it an extraordinary circumstance, and no cash compensation is due. Whatever the cause, you always have a right to a refund or a new flight, plus meals and a hotel while you wait.

Why is your airline cancelling flights today?

When an airline cancels hundreds of flights in one day, the cause is almost always one of three things: severe weather, an air traffic control restriction, or a failure in the airline's own systems or staffing. You can usually work out which within minutes. First, check the airline's travel alerts page. Then check whether other airlines at the same airport are still flying. If they are, the problem is probably with your airline, not the weather or the airspace. Write down what you find, because that difference decides whether the airline owes you compensation.

Can you avoid cancelled flights?

You can't eliminate the risk, but you can minimise it. Book the first flight of the day, because the plane has usually parked at your airport overnight and no knock-on delays have built up yet. Book a nonstop flight where you can, because a late first flight can't make you miss a connection you don't have. And prefer airlines that fly your route several times a day, because they can rebook you within hours instead of the next day.

What are your rights if your flight is cancelled?

You have three separate rights, and airlines rarely explain them together.

First, you choose between a full refund and a new flight to your destination. This applies whatever caused the cancellation. Second, the airline owes you care while you wait: meals, communication, and a hotel if you're stuck overnight. This also applies whatever the cause. Third, if the cause was within the airline's control and you were told less than 14 days before departure, UK261 compensation of up to £520 (€600) may apply on top.

If your flight departed from the EU or was operated by an EU airline, your claim falls under EU Regulation 261 (EC 261), which pays up to €600 when the cancellation was the airline’s fault and you were notified less than 14 days before departure. For flights to, from, or within the UK, the same protections apply under UK261, with payouts of up to £520. The exact amount depends on how far you were flying.

If you're stranded mid-trip, here's what to do when your flight is cancelled. If you paid for a hotel yourself, you may be able to claim the cost back.

Figuring out how much you are owed for a disrupted flight can be complicated. We’re here to help. Let us assess your compensation for you.Check Your Flight

Before you accept the airline's explanation

Airlines decide for themselves how to classify a cancellation, and that classification decides whether they pay, so the first explanation you're given is not always the full story. A "weather" cancellation on a clear afternoon can be a valid claim. So can a "technical issue" the airline calls extraordinary, because courts say technical faults are the airline's responsibility. Keep your booking confirmation and every message from the airline, note what other flights were doing, and check whether your flight qualifies. It takes a few minutes, claims can go back 3 years, and challenging the airline's first answer costs nothing.

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Frequently asked questions

Author:

Nicolle Harwood-Nash

Job/Position: Writer & Content Creator

Nicolle is a copywriter and editor with over 15 years of international experience shaping content for industries including aviation, technology, finance, and healthcare. Skilled at both creative storytelling and precise editing, she brings adaptability and insight to every project she takes on.

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