EgyptAir delay and cancellation compensation

Checked 15 Sep 2026·8 min read

8 weeks of silence on a written claim opens AviationADR for a UK-departing EgyptAir complaint, and a refusal opens it at once, with 12 months from that final response to file. The CAA’s member list names EgyptAir, which most airlines outside Europe cannot say. The claim is worth £220, £350 or £520 per passenger, unless EgyptAir proves extraordinary circumstances.

• UK261 ££220–£520per passenger, 3 h or more late at arrival
• EU261 €€250–€600per passenger, 3 h or more late at arrival

Key facts: EgyptAir

Source: UK261 arts. 3 and 7, Limitation Act 1980 s.9 — legislation.gov.uk; EU261 arts. 3 and 7 — eur-lex.europa.eu; EASA third-country operators list (14 September 2026) — easa.europa.eu; CAA licence holders and ADR pages — caa.co.uk, checked 2026-09-15.

#Why do UK261 and EU261 cover EgyptAir only on flights departing the UK or EU?

EGY-0003 is the authorisation EgyptAir holds on EASA’s third-country operators list of 14 September 2026, and an authorisation to fly here is not a licence issued here. Arrival cover belongs to carriers licensed in the UK or an EU state, which leaves EgyptAir answerable on departures and nowhere else.

Source: EU261 art. 3(1) — eur-lex.europa.eu; UK261 arts. 2(c), 2(m) and 3(1) — legislation.gov.uk; EASA third-country operators list — easa.europa.eu; CAA airline licence holders — caa.co.uk, checked 2026-09-15.

Which rules apply to your EgyptAir flight

Operating entity: EGYPTAIR, third-country operator EGY-0003 on the EASA list, absent from the CAA’s UK Type A list.

#UK261 on an EgyptAir flight from a UK airport

The airport you started from settles it, not the airport where the delay happened. Article 3(1A), in force since 14 December 2023, reads a booking sold as one unit from its first airport, so a Manchester start carries the claim even when the late leg leaves Cairo.

In Gahan v Emirates [2017] EWCA Civ 1530, the Court of Appeal held that on a single booking from a UK or EU airport on a non-EU carrier, compensation is measured by the delay at the final destination, a missed connection outside the EU included. On a Manchester-Cairo-Nairobi booking the clock therefore reads at Nairobi. The decision binds lower courts in England and Wales.

#EU261 on an EgyptAir flight from an EU airport

Iceland and Norway apply the Regulation through the EEA Agreement, Switzerland through its Air Transport Agreement, so a Zurich or Oslo departure counts as an EU one.

Read the first airport off your booking before you ask EgyptAir for anything.

#How much does EgyptAir owe for a 3-hour delay from a UK or EU airport?

3,532 km separates London Heathrow from Cairo on our own great-circle calculation, 32 km past the line that opens the top band. Land 4 hours or more late on that departure and £520 per passenger is owed; between 3 and 4 hours the CAA’s figure is £260. Extraordinary circumstances EgyptAir could not have avoided remove both.

Source: UK261 arts. 2(n), 6(3), 7(1)-(2) and 7(4) — legislation.gov.uk; CAA, Delays — caa.co.uk; EU261 art. 7(1)-(2) — eur-lex.europa.eu; Sturgeon (C-402/07 and C-432/07, 2009), para 63 — eur-lex.europa.eu, checked 2026-09-15.

Article 7(2) says “may”, so the reduced figure is EgyptAir’s option rather than your ceiling, and it dies at exactly four hours.

A cancellation pays the same bands on less than 14 days' notice, unless the replacement flight fits the article 5(1)(c) windows. Where EgyptAir re-routes you to within 2, 3 or 4 hours of the original arrival, by band, article 7(2) allows it to halve the payment for that reason instead.

Folkerts (C-11/11, 2013) reads a connecting flight’s delay at the final destination, which is why a Cairo transfer on one EU-departing booking cannot shrink the band.

Price your own flight in the compensation calculator, then the UK261 delay guide.

#How do you claim compensation from EgyptAir directly?

The arrival time EgyptAir needs is the one at your final destination, not at the Cairo transfer: on a single booking the 3-hour threshold is read where you landed. Give the flight numbers of both legs and the hour you got there.

Source: UK261 arts. 3(1A), 6(1), 8(1), 9; EU261 arts. 6(1), 8(1), 9 and Folkerts, C-11/11 — legislation.gov.uk, eur-lex.europa.eu, checked 2026-09-15.

Write it, by the airline’s own claim channel or by letter, with the booking confirmation, the boarding passes and the message that announced the disruption attached. Name the departure airport, since that decides whether a claim exists, and give the cancellation notice you received. Give the distance too if your route sits near a band line: Heathrow to Cairo clears 3,500 km by 32 km on our own calculation, so a £350 offer on that route is the wrong band.

Reimbursement is a separate right and survives a refused compensation claim. Article 8(1) returns the ticket price within seven days after a cancellation if you would rather not be re-routed, and article 6(1) opens the same door once a delay reaches 5 hours.

Date-stamp what you send. The 8-week wait before AviationADR runs from that first written claim, not from the flight.

#Where do you escalate a refused EgyptAir claim from a UK flight?

1 approved scheme takes EgyptAir complaints: AviationADR, where the CAA’s membership list puts the airline alongside Air Canada, Asiana, Royal Brunei and Turkish Airlines. Wait 8 weeks after your written claim, or take a final refusal, then file within 12 months of that answer.

Source: CAA, Alternative Dispute Resolution — caa.co.uk; AviationADR, Airline and airport members — aviationadr.org.uk, checked 2026-09-15.

Filing costs nothing, most cases are decided within three months, and a decision you accept binds EgyptAir. That is the practical gap between this card and a Gulf or South Asian carrier with no scheme behind it, where the CAA can only pass a complaint on. From an EU departure the route is different again: the enforcement body of the country you left, from the Commission’s list updated 27 August 2026.

#If EgyptAir rejects your claim

Ask EgyptAir in writing which cause it relies on and what measures it took. Article 2(o) of UK261 sets the test, and which causes have ever passed it has a page of its own. Articles 5(3) and 6(4) then lift the fixed amount alone: meals, a hotel where the wait needs one, re-routing and a refund all stay owed.

Name the operating company, EGYPTAIR, in anything that reaches a court; a marketing name is not the carrier that owes the money.

Compare the ADR scheme guide, the ADR membership map and the refused compensation guide.

#How long do you have to claim against EgyptAir?

6 years is the court deadline in England and Wales, where article 3(9) of UK261 applies section 9 of the Limitation Act 1980, and Northern Ireland’s own statute lands on the same figure. Scotland’s 1973 Act prescribes at 5 years, a point no Scottish court has decided for UK261.

Source: UK261 art. 3(9); Limitation Act 1980 s.9; Limitation (Northern Ireland) Order 1989 art. 4; Prescription and Limitation (Scotland) Act 1973 s.6 — legislation.gov.uk; CAA, Alternative Dispute Resolution — caa.co.uk, checked 2026-09-15.

AviationADR runs on its own clock. The CAA’s conditions take an incident from within the last six years — five if you live in Scotland — and want the complaint inside 12 months of the airline’s final answer, so the scheme can close while the court route is still wide open.

File inside five years if a Scottish court might hear the case. EU261 fixes no period of its own, leaving each country’s limitation rules to set the deadline.

Similar third-country airlines: Royal Air Maroc, Kenya Airways, Turkish Airlines and Kuwait Airways.

Not your situation? A Canadian itinerary runs on the Air Passenger Protection Regulations, a damaged or lost bag on the Montreal Convention, and a flight inside the United States on US DOT rules, which are built differently. Which law covers my flight sorts a mixed itinerary.

General information, not legal advice. Your own case belongs with the CAA, your national European Consumer Centre or a solicitor.

EgyptAir complaints in the CAA figures

100 Reg 261 complaints about EgyptAir reached AviationADR in the CAA's 2025/26 figures (April 2025 to March 2026), an estimated 273 per million passengers, and 58.9% of cases were upheld. These are complaints the ADR body or the CAA received, not delays.

EgyptAir: complaints, April 2025 to March 2026

CAA figure	FY26
Handled by	AviationADR
Reg 261 complaints	100
All complaints opened	139
Per million passengers (CAA estimate)	273
Uphold rate	58.9%

1. Wizz Air629
2. Air France / KLM419
3. Ryanair283
4. EgyptAir273
5. TUI Airways259
6. Turkish Airlines197
7. TAP Air Portugal169
8. easyJet154
9. Air Canada129
10. Virgin Atlantic112

Source: CAA, Passenger Complaints Data FY26 (Q2 2025 – Q1 2026), data correct as of 3 June 2026 — caa.co.uk, checked 2026-09-22. The CAA calls the per-million figure "an indicative estimated value only".

#Sources

• Regulation (EC) No 261/2004 as it forms part of UK law, arts. 2-9 - legislation.gov.uk, checked 2026-09-15.
• The Aviation (Consumers) (Amendment) Regulations 2023 (SI 2023/1370) - legislation.gov.uk, checked 2026-09-15.
• Regulation (EC) No 261/2004, arts. 3, 5, 7, 8 and 16 - eur-lex.europa.eu, checked 2026-09-15.
• Limitation Act 1980 s.9 - legislation.gov.uk; Limitation (Northern Ireland) Order 1989 art. 4 - legislation.gov.uk; Prescription and Limitation (Scotland) Act 1973 s.6 - legislation.gov.uk, checked 2026-09-15.
• EASA, Authorised Third Country Operators (updated 14 Sep 2026) - easa.europa.eu, checked 2026-09-15.
• Civil Aviation Authority, Airline licence holders - caa.co.uk, checked 2026-09-15.
• Civil Aviation Authority, Delays - caa.co.uk, checked 2026-09-15.
• Civil Aviation Authority, Alternative Dispute Resolution for air passengers - caa.co.uk, checked 2026-09-15.
• AviationADR, Airline and airport members - aviationadr.org.uk, checked 2026-09-15.
• European Commission, National Enforcement Bodies — Regulation (EC) No 261/2004 (updated 27 Aug 2026) - transport.ec.europa.eu, checked 2026-09-15.
• Sturgeon, joined cases C-402/07 and C-432/07 (2009), CJEU - eur-lex.europa.eu.
• Folkerts, C-11/11 (2013), CJEU - eur-lex.europa.eu.
• Gahan v Emirates [2017] EWCA Civ 1530, Court of Appeal (Civil Division) - caselaw.nationalarchives.gov.uk.

#FAQ

Is EgyptAir a member of an ADR scheme?

Yes, which few carriers outside Europe are. The CAA's membership list puts EgyptAir in AviationADR alongside Air Canada, Asiana, Royal Brunei and Turkish Airlines. Filing there is free, most cases are decided within three months, and a decision you accept binds the airline.

My EgyptAir flight from Cairo landed five hours late: what can I claim?

Nothing under either Regulation. Cover on an arrival asks for a carrier licensed in the UK or an EU state, and EgyptAir instead holds authorisation EGY-0003 as a third-country operator. Only the leg out of a UK or EU airport carries a claim at all.

Is London Heathrow to Cairo inside the top compensation band?

£260 is what the CAA's table pays here for an arrival three hours or more late but still under four; £520 starts at four hours, and EgyptAir sheds both only by proving extraordinary circumstances. The band is the top one because Heathrow-Cairo measures 3,532 km on our own calculation, 32 km past 3,500.