Cancelled Flight Compensation: Passenger Rights, Eligibility, Amounts, How to Claim

Reviewed by a licensed lawyer.

Last Updated: September 24, 2024

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In 2023, approximately 2.8 million passengers in the UK experienced a flight cancellation, according to The Independent. As maddening and inconvenient as these flight disruptions can be, passengers might find some peace of mind knowing that they do have air passenger rights that protect them when they have a cancelled flight. Let’s examine what kind of compensation you can expect from airlines, when you’re eligible, and how you can get it.

Key Points

• Passengers in the UK can get up to £520 for cancelled flights
• In addition to monetary compensation, passengers can also expect to get a refund or an alternate flight
• UK air passenger rights protect all passengers flying from or within the UK or on a UK-based airline, as well as within Europe on a EU-based airline

Disrupted flight?You might have a right to compensation - up to €600Check Your Flight

Understanding Cancelled Flight Compensation 

If your flight was cancelled, you have rights as a UK citizen, resident, or traveller that entitle you to compensation as long as your flight meets certain basic criteria. 

• Your flew with a UK airline including British Airways, easyJet, Ryanair, Wizz Air, Virgin Atlantic, Jet2 or
• Your flight was with a non-UK carrier departing from a UK airport like Heathrow or
• You were flying within the UK on any airline

You could receive monetary compensation, care and assistance, a refund or a rebooked flight. So, let’s take a closer look at the details.

Your Air Passenger Rights

Your rights are protected by the Air Passenger Rights and Air Travel Organisers’ Licensing (Amendment) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019, also called UK 261. These laws incorporated EU 261 regulation into UK law following Brexit, so your UK flight cancellation rights for compensation are still protected in the same way.

What You’re Entitled To

UK 261 Regulations state that, if your flight is cancelled, then you are entitled to:

• A full ticket refund as well as a return flight back to your original destination, or
• A replacement flight (rebooking) to your final destination

You are entitled to these choices whether or not the airline is responsible for the cancellation.

If your flight was cancelled, then you might also be owed care and assistance compensation in addition to a refund and/or an alternate flight. Complementary meals and phone calls are offered when you have to wait in the airport for at least 2 hours as a result of your cancelled flight. 

Refunds

A flight refund will cover your cancelled flight ticket price, as well as the cost of any other tickets that couldn’t be used as a result of the cancellation or tickets you already used that are rendered useless because of the cancelled flight and a flight back to your original departure point.

Example scenario

You are travelling from London to New York to attend a convention. Your booking includes two separate flights: London to Amsterdam and Amsterdam to New York.

When you land in Amsterdam, the airline tells you that your flight to New York is cancelled. They offer an alternative flight, but it doesn’t depart for another day when the conference is over. So, since the trip to New York is now unnecessary, the airline must refund all your tickets, including your London to Amsterdam flight, and your flight back to London.

If your flight was delayed, canceled or overbooked within the last 3 years, you could be eligible for up to €600 in compensationCheck Your Flight

Alternative Flights

If you decide to take an alternate flight, then the airline must offer you one of the following:

• A flight that will arrive at your final destination with similar conditions and at the earliest opportunity or
• A later flight of your choice to your final destination with similar conditions to your original flight (as long as seats are available) or
• A comparable flight that leaves from another nearby airport. In this case, the airline also has to pay for your transportation to the other airport.
• A refund between 30-75% of your original ticket price if you accept an alternate flight but given a seat in a lower class. (If you’re given a seat in a higher seating class, then you will not be required to pay for the price difference.)

Example scenario

Say you had a cancelled flight that was supposed to land at Heathrow London. The airline offers you an alternate flight, and you accept it, but instead of going to Heathrow, it goes to Stansted. When you get to Stansted, the airline must pay for your transportation to either Heathrow or to another local destination of your choice.

Monetary Compensation

The amount of financial compensation you could receive is based on when you were notified of the cancelled flight and whether the airline was responsible for the cancellation. 

Timing of the cancelled flight notification

If you were notified of the cancelled flight more than 14 days before departure, and the airline is at fault, then you won’t be eligible for monetary compensation.

• If you were given less than 14 days’ notice and the airline is at fault, then you could be eligible for monetary compensation.
• If you were given less than 7 days’ notice and the airline is at fault, then your monetary compensation will be calculated based on the details of your alternate flight (if you choose to accept what the airline offered).

If your rebooked flight leaves within 1 hour of your original flight time and arrives within 2 hours of the original time, then you will not be eligible for monetary compensation.

When the airline is at fault

If your cancelled flight was caused by one of the following reasons, then you could get monetary compensation in addition to a refund or rebooked flight.

• Too few passengers - Sometimes a flight is cancelled because it is more cost-effective for the airline to scrap a flight than to fly with a plane that is only partially filled.  
• No available aircraft - If the plane scheduled for a flight is unavailable and no replacement can be found, then the airline will cancel the flight.
• Mechanical & technical issues - If there are technical problems with the aeroplane, and a replacement can’t be found in time, then the flight will be cancelled.
• Pilot unfit to fly - If a pilot is feeling unwell before a flight and another pilot can’t be found in time, then the flight will be cancelled.

But no matter what causes the cancellation, the airline is still responsible for providing you with either a full ticket refund or an alternate flight to your destination. You just can’t claim for both. If you choose a refund, UK261 states that the airline must give you your full refund within 7 days of your scheduled flight.

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How Much Cancelled Flight Compensation Can You Get

When your flight is cancelled, the airline is required by law to offer you compensation between £100 - £520. The exact amount you receive depends on several factors:

• How far you would be travelling
• Whether your flight was travelling inside, outside, or partially in the UK.
• How long you were delayed at your final destination

The following table will help you determine how much you could be compensated for each situation.

When You Are NOT Eligible for Monetary Compensation

Time Limits to Claim Flight Cancellation Compensation

If you’ve had a cancelled flight and you want to file a compensation claim, then you have up to 3 years to do it. Three years might seem like a long time to make a cancelled flight compensation claim, but you should start the process right away. Let AirAdvisor take care of the claim process for you, and get up to £520 in compensation. See how much you’re eligible to receive.

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Cancelled Flight Regulations in Other Regions

Other regions have their own flight compensation regulations, so if your travel involves the U.S., Ireland, Canada, or the EU, you can find detailed info on your air passenger rights. Just check the links below:

• Ireland Cancelled Flight Compensation
• EU Cancelled Flight Compensation
• U.S. Flight Cancellation Compensation
• Canada Cancelled Flight Compensation

What to Do if Your Flight is Cancelled

If your flight has been cancelled, you’ll have to take the following steps in order to get the compensation you’re owed.

• Ask airline representatives what caused the cancellation and get written confirmation.
• Gather all relevant flight details and documents like your boarding pass
• Collect proof of the cancelation by taking photos of the departure timetable
• Ask for either an alternate flight or a ticket refund.
• If you choose to take an alternate flight, note the actual arrival time to your destination and request complimentary meals and refreshments if you have to wait longer than 2 hours, or ask for a hotel room if you have to wait until the next day.
• Keep track of all your receipts for any essential purchases you had to make as a result of the cancelled flight.
• If you’re offered a travel voucher, read the fine print! Sometimes accepting a voucher will eliminate your right to cash flight cancellations compensation, so if you have to sign anything, pay close attention to what you’re signing.

How to Claim Compensation for Cancelled Flight

To claim compensation for a cancelled flight, you must first take the steps outlined in What to Do if Your Flight is Cancelled. Next, send your claim to the airline. You can do this by either sending an email or completing a form on the airline’s website. Once you’ve sent your claim information, you can expect to wait anywhere between a few days and a month to get a reply.

Unfortunately, UK regulations don’t state a time limit for when the air carrier must respond. From our experience here at AirAdvisor, airlines will take as much time as possible to resolve your claim. In many instances, they will deny the claim altogether even though you are entitled to compensation. Airlines do this because they understand most air passengers are unaware of their rights and won't take further action to pursue them.

AirAdvisor Can Help You Get Up To £520 for Flight Cancellations

If all this seems confusing to you, you’re not alone. The claims process is complex and frustrating to say the least, which is why over 330,000 passengers have chosen us to file their flight cancellation claims for them. Plus, we have a 98% success rate! 

At AirAdvisor, we’ll take care of the complex claim process for you, and the best part is that we only get paid when you do. Here’s a few more reasons why you can trust us with your claim:

• We’re seasoned experts
• We’ve been fighting for passenger rights since 2017
• Our services are available to passengers in 214 countries and growing
• If English isn’t your first language, no worries. We provide our legal services in 13 different languages to better accommodate you.
• We fight for your passenger rights for any kind of flight disruption including denied boarding compensation, flight delay compensation, missed connections, in addition to flight cancellations.

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