Flight Delay & Cancellation Compensation

Which rules apply

It depends on where you took off where you took off

There is no single worldwide compensation scheme. The itinerary decides which set of rules your flight falls under, and they are not equivalent.

Any airline

Departing the EU

Flights departing an EU airport, on any airline, fall under EU261 — which sets fixed compensation amounts for long delays and for cancellations notified late, unless the cause was outside the airline's control.

Any airline

Departing the UK

The UK kept an equivalent regime after leaving the EU. Departures from UK airports follow it, and arrivals into the UK on a UK or EU carrier generally do too.

Refunds, not compensation

US domestic

There is no federal scheme paying fixed compensation for delay in the United States. What there is instead is a right to a refund when a flight is cancelled or significantly changed, and whatever the airline's own policy adds.

How we help

Working out whether you have a claim a claim

Accredited & verified by

Speak to a consultant⁦(888) 887-4348⁩

Send the flight number, date and what happened
Delayed, cancelled, denied boarding, or rerouted — and by how long. Those four facts decide almost everything that follows.
We identify which regime the flight falls under
Departure airport, arrival airport and the airline's home country together decide whether EU261, UK261 or no scheme at all applies.
We tell you plainly whether it is worth pursuing
Including when the answer is no. Extraordinary circumstances — weather, air traffic control, security — remove the entitlement to compensation in most regimes, however inconvenient the delay was.
You claim with the facts in hand
A claim goes to the operating airline. What we give you is the correct route, the right reference numbers and a realistic expectation of the outcome.

Worth knowing

Three things people get wrong get wrong

A refund is not compensation

Getting your money back for a flight you did not take is a separate thing from being paid for the disruption. You may be owed one, both or neither.

The cause matters more than the delay

A six-hour delay caused by weather and a six-hour delay caused by crew scheduling are treated completely differently, even though your day was the same.

Care is owed even when money is not

Under the EU and UK regimes, meals, communication and accommodation can be owed during a long delay regardless of whether compensation is payable.

In detail

What decides a claim

Compensation for air travel is not one system but several, and the first question is never "how late was it" — it is "which rules does this flight sit under".

Under the European regime, and the equivalent United Kingdom one, three things are looked at in order: whether the flight departed from a covered airport or was operated by a covered airline into one; how long the delay at arrival was, or how much notice a cancellation was given with; and whether the cause was within the airline's control. Fixed amounts follow from the distance flown. The amounts do not scale with what your ticket cost, which is why a cheap short-haul ticket can attract more compensation than the fare itself.

In the United States there is no equivalent. What exists is a right to a refund — including of the unused portion — when a flight is cancelled or significantly changed and you choose not to travel, together with whatever an individual airline's policy offers beyond that. A delay alone does not create a compensation entitlement.

Extraordinary circumstances

This is the phrase that decides most claims, and it is narrower than airlines often suggest and wider than passengers usually hope. Weather that closes an airport, air traffic control restrictions, security incidents and strikes by third parties are typically outside the airline's control. Technical faults with the aircraft, crew shortages and scheduling decisions typically are not.

Time limits

Claims do not stay open indefinitely, and the window varies by jurisdiction — in some cases years, in others considerably less. If something went wrong on a flight, the useful moment to establish whether you have a claim is now, while the boarding passes, the booking reference and the airline's own notifications still exist.

This page is general information about how the schemes work, not legal advice about your particular flight.

Good to know

Frequently asked questions

Q1. How long does a flight have to be delayed before compensation applies?

Under the EU and UK regimes the usual threshold is three hours late at arrival, not departure, and the cause must have been within the airline's control. There is no equivalent threshold for US domestic flights, because there is no federal delay-compensation scheme.

Q2. My flight was cancelled. Am I owed compensation or a refund?

Possibly both, and they are different things. A refund returns what you paid for a flight you did not take. Compensation is a separate payment for the disruption, and whether it is due depends on the regime, the notice you were given and the cause.

Q3. Does it matter that I booked a cheap ticket?

Under the EU and UK schemes, no — the amounts are set by flight distance, not by fare, so compensation can exceed what the ticket cost. For a refund, what comes back is what you paid.

Q4. The airline says it was extraordinary circumstances. Is that the end of it?

Not automatically. The term has a specific meaning and airlines do apply it to situations that do not meet it. It is worth establishing what actually caused the disruption before accepting the answer.

Q5. Can Vaavia claim on my behalf?

A claim is made to the operating airline and it is yours to make. What we do is establish which rules apply to your flight, tell you honestly whether it is worth pursuing, and give you the flight details and references the airline will ask for.

Still have a question?A consultant can talk it through with you.⁦(888) 887-4348⁩

Had a flight delayed or cancelled?

Send us the flight number, the date and what happened. We will tell you which rules apply and whether there is a claim worth making — including when there is not.

Call ⁦(888) 887-4348⁩Email the team

IATA & CLIA accredited
A named consultant on every booking
Specialists on call 24/7