Checked 15 Sep 2026 · every figure sourced to the act
Delayed or cancelled flight? You could be owed up to £520 or €600.
Arrive 3 hours or more late and you may be owed £220–£520 under UK261 or €250–€600 under EU261 per passenger, depending on the route and the cause. Paid in money, not vouchers, unless you agree. We tell you the figure, the law it rests on and how to claim it from the airline yourself, for free.
- Free · no sign-up · no commission
- UK · EU · Canada · US · Montreal
- 1,396 source citations in the guides
What went wrong?
My flight was delayedMy flight was cancelledI was denied boardingMy bag was lost or delayedStrike? Pick delayed or cancelled — which strikes count.
Find out how much you're owedAnswer drawn from UK261, EU261, APPR or US DOT — stated with its currency
- 215guides across 5 legal regimes
- 1,396source citations (“Source:” lines) in the guides
- 64airlines, one claim page each
- £0to use — the free DIY route is always shown first
Free instant check
Is your flight eligible? Two minutes, no account.
The calculator names the regimes that apply, the exact band and the deadline — and links the article it is drawn from. No account, no booking reference, and it never converts currencies.
Stansted, 3 h 20 min late · 470 km
EU airport, operated by an EU-licensed carrier. UK261 covers it too (
Irish court; courts elsewhere apply their own period.
Ryanair directly (free) →How it works
Three steps to the money the airline owes you
Airlines pay when they are asked correctly. Most passengers never ask.
Check your flight in 2 minutes
Route, airline, how late. The calculator names the regime and the exact band — £220, €400, C$1,000 — with the article of law behind it.
Claim from the airline yourself
Every airline card links the carrier’s own claim form, and the calculator turns your result into a fill-in letter. Free — you keep 100%. The airline has to answer, and we list which refusal reasons hold up.
Escalate if they say no
ADR scheme, CAA, CTA, DOT complaint or small claims — the free ladder, in order. If you’d rather hand it off, the comparison below says when a claim service is worth it.
CAA, 
CTA, DOT complaint or small claims — the free ladder, in order. If you’d rather hand it off, the comparison below says when a claim service is worth it.How much can you get?
The longer the route, the higher the fixed amount. It does not depend on what you paid for the ticket. UK261 pays in pounds and EU261 in euros — they are never converted. Two regimes can cover the same flight, but you are not paid twice for the same disruption.
Canada and 
US rules →Five regimes. More than one can cover your flight.
Side-by-side comparison table →
UK, or arriving on a 
England and 
Wales; in 
Scotland, claim within 5.Common flight problems
What each problem pays, and where to start
The honest comparison
Claim it yourself, or use a claim service?
The free route is always first: every airline page links the carrier’s own claim form and names the legal entity that owes you, before any third party is mentioned.
Claim yourself
Free · start hereClaim service
Third party · commissionWhy trust this site
A reference, not a sales funnel.
We are not a claims company. Every amount, threshold, deadline and enforcement body on the site is traceable to a primary source, and the site speaks only as an organisation.
How we verifyBy airline
Your airline, in one page
Who operated the flight, what it pays under each regime, its own claim form, which refusal reasons hold up, and how long it takes to pay.
Air Canada: from approval) to payment, from 3–4 dated passenger reports per airline: too few to rank airlines. *
British Airways: 214 days is counted from the flight cancellation, not from the claim (June 2022 to January 2023, mid-month dates assumed): the post gives no claim date, so it is only an upper bound for claim to payment. The other 3 posts, timed from the claim, give a median of 45 days (range 7–180). “United initially denied the claim, citing “environmental damage” as an extraordinary circumstance.”
United initially denied the claim, citing “environmental damage” as an extraordinary circumstance.”By airport
Where you are standing now
Heathrow
GatwickOriginal research
Datasets nobody else publishes
How these were collected
AirHelp+ membership, 11% off with code AHTPO11FAQ
Frequently asked questions
Short answers, number first. Each links to the guide with the full rule and its source.
Is there a time limit to claim?
Flight claims count from the flight date. UK261: 6 years to go to court in England and Wales and 6 in Northern Ireland; in Scotland the period is unsettled, so claim within 5 years. EU261 sets no deadline of its own: the country whose courts hear the claim decides (6 years in Ireland). Canada’s APPR: ask the airline within 1 year. Bags run on their own clocks under the Montreal Convention: a written complaint within 7 days of receiving a damaged bag, or within 21 days of a delayed bag being placed at your disposal, and 2 years to go to court from the day you arrived, the day you should have arrived or the day the journey stopped. Full answer and sources →
Which law applies to my flight?
UK261 covers flights departing the UK on any airline, and flights arriving in the UK on a UK or EU carrier. EU261 works the same way for EU airports and EU carriers. Nationality never matters; the route and the operating carrier’s licence decide. Two regimes can cover the same flight, but you are not paid twice for the same disruption. Full answer and sources →
Do US flights get delay compensation?
No. US DOT rules require a refund when a flight is cancelled or significantly changed, and 200–400% of the fare (up to $2,150) if you are bumped, but there is no cash compensation for a delayed US domestic flight. Full answer and sources →
The airline blamed the weather. Is that the end of it?
Not necessarily. Weather is extraordinary only if it actually affected your aircraft on that day and the airline took all reasonable measures. Technical faults are not extraordinary (Jet2 v Huzar, 2014). Full answer and sources →
Jet2 v Huzar, 2014). Can I claim for the people I travelled with?
Yes. Compensation is per passenger with a confirmed reservation, including children with their own seat. A family of four on a UK261 flight over 3,500 km that arrives 4 hours or more late can claim £520 each, £2,080 in total, unless the airline proves extraordinary circumstances. Arriving 3 to under 4 hours late, the airline may pay half: £260 each, £1,040. One claim form can usually list every passenger on the booking. Full answer and sources →
Most passengers never check. The ones who do get paid.
Two minutes. No account. The number, the law and the next step.