UK261 £Cardiff Airport: flight delay and cancellation rights

Checked 15 Sep 2026·6 min read

Cardiff Airport, listed as “Cardiff Wales” in the UK Civil Aviation Authority’s file, matched 7,354 flights in 2025 at an average delay of 15.4 minutes. UK261 makes the operating airline, not the airport, pay £220 to £520 when an arrival is three hours or more late. A Welsh claim uses the courts and court fees of England and Wales.

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

#UK261 £Which rules cover delayed flights departing Cardiff Airport?

2 questions decide whether UK261 reaches a Cardiff flight: did it depart the UK, and, for an arrival, which licence did the operator hold? Article 3(1)(a) answers the first for every Cardiff departure on any airline, and article 3(5) sends the bill to that airline rather than to the airport.

For a flight into Cardiff from outside the UK, article 3(1)(b)(i) needs an operator with a UK licence, such as British Airways, or an EU licence, such as Air France. An airline with neither is outside UK261 on that flight, and the cover lapses where you already received benefits or compensation and assistance in the country you left.

A connection moves the starting point. Under article 3(1A) a booking made as one unit counts as departing from its first leg, so Cardiff is the point of departure only when the booking begins here.

Other regimes cover other airports. EU261 governs flights leaving an EU airport, in euros, which matters for the flight home to Cardiff; Canada has its own Air Passenger Protection Regulations; and US federal rules differ, with no federal compensation for a domestic delay. The which-law test separates a booking that mixes them, and the UK261 guide holds the full rules. Across the Severn, Bristol sits with every other airport on the UK airports index. Check the operating carrier on your booking before anything else.

Source: UK261 art. 3(1)(a), 3(1)(b), 3(1A), 3(5) — legislation.gov.uk; EU261 art. 3(1)(a) — eur-lex.europa.eu, checked 2026-09-15.

#How much is due for a delayed flight from Cardiff Airport?

3 hours late at the final destination is the line for a Cardiff flight: reach it and UK261 articles 6(3) and 7(1) give £220 up to 1,500 km, £350 from 1,500 to 3,500 km, or £520 beyond. The airline avoids paying only by proving extraordinary circumstances it could not have avoided.

The clock stops only when passengers may step off (article 2(n)); minutes queuing for a stand still count. One minute short of three hours pays nothing, while three hours exactly pays the band. The top band has a step. The CAA’s delays page gives £260 for an arrival between three and four hours late on a flight over 3,500 km, the halving article 7(2) allows the airline to apply, and £520 for more than four hours. A cancellation uses the same three amounts, subject to the notice the airline gave.

Extraordinary circumstances cannot remove re-routing or a refund under article 8, or care under article 9. A hotel offered in the middle of the night is care, and it settles nothing about the separate fixed payment.

If the airline treats the two as one, the refusal route sets out the next step, and the delay compensation guide carries the distance table.

Source: UK261 art. 2(n), 5(3), 6(3)-(4), 7(1)-(2), 8, 9 — legislation.gov.uk; CAA, Delays — caa.co.uk, checked 2026-09-15.

#How punctual was Cardiff Airport in 2025?

68.0% of the 7,354 flights the CAA matched at Cardiff Wales in 2025 ran within its two “on time” bands, from 15 minutes early to 15 minutes late. The average delay across those flights was 15.4 minutes, and 0.93% of flights were cancelled over the year.

Inside that window, 32.1% ran early and 35.8% ran up to 15 minutes late. Bristol, across the Severn, matched 72,010 flights that year at an average delay of 16.2 minutes, close to Cardiff’s pace on almost ten times as many matched flights.

The figures come with conditions the CAA sets itself. Its times are runway and gate times, whereas a UK261 claim turns on when the doors opened at your destination. Its bands exist for statistics and are not legal thresholds. It leaves out all-cargo, oil-rig, air-taxi, positioning, private and military flights, and it accepts no liability for the file’s accuracy. Its cancellation share takes in only flights whose cancellation was announced less than 24 hours before scheduled departure, or after it, and it records no causes, so it cannot show how many passengers were owed money.

Ask the airline, in writing, for your own flight’s recorded times.

Source: UK Civil Aviation Authority, 2025 Annual Punctuality Statistics Summary Analysis — caa.co.uk, checked 2026-09-18.

#Where do you complain, and which court hears a Welsh claim?

8 weeks after a written complaint with no reply, a Cardiff passenger can go to AviationADR or CEDR, the two CAA-approved schemes, if the operating airline belongs to one. A claim that reaches court in Wales is heard in the England and Wales system, with six years to issue it.

AviationADR lists Ryanair, TUI Airways, Turkish Airlines and Virgin Atlantic among its airline members, and CEDR lists British Airways, Cathay Pacific and Scandinavian Airlines. Neither charges the passenger. A case must reach the scheme within 12 months of the airline’s final response, and most are decided within three months. The CAA’s Passenger Advice and Complaints Team may help with an airline in neither scheme, but it cannot make a binding decision.

For court, Wales uses the rules of England and Wales: six years under section 9 of the Limitation Act 1980, which UK261 article 3(9) applies. A claim worth £10,000 or less normally goes on the small claims track. The issue fee rises with the amount, £35 up to £300, £50 up to £500 and £70 up to £1,000, so a single £520 claim costs £70 to issue. Further fees, such as a hearing fee, may follow.

Work out your fee band before you issue, using the small claims guide.

Source: AviationADR, CEDR and CAA ADR pages; UK261 art. 3(9), Limitation Act 1980 s.9 — legislation.gov.uk; Civil Procedure Rules r.26.9 — justice.gov.uk; court fees — gov.uk, checked 2026-09-15.

General information, not legal advice. For your specific case: the CAA or Citizens Advice.

#Sources

• Regulation (EC) No 261/2004 as it forms part of UK law, arts. 2, 3, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 - legislation.gov.uk, checked 2026-09-15.
• Regulation (EC) No 261/2004, art. 3 - eur-lex.europa.eu, checked 2026-09-15.
• Civil Aviation Authority, Delays - caa.co.uk, checked 2026-09-15.
• Limitation Act 1980, s.9 - legislation.gov.uk, checked 2026-09-15.
• Civil Procedure Rules, r.26.9 - justice.gov.uk, checked 2026-09-15.
• gov.uk, Make a court claim for money: court fees - gov.uk, checked 2026-09-15.
• Civil Aviation Authority, Alternative dispute resolution - caa.co.uk, checked 2026-09-15.
• Civil Aviation Authority, How the CAA can help - caa.co.uk, checked 2026-09-15.
• AviationADR, airline and airport members - aviationadr.org.uk, checked 2026-09-15.
• CEDR, Aviation - cedr-assist.com, checked 2026-09-15.
• UK Civil Aviation Authority, 2025 Annual Punctuality Statistics Summary Analysis - caa.co.uk, checked 2026-09-18.

#FAQ

How many flights did Cardiff Airport handle in 2025?

7,354 flights were matched at Cardiff, listed as Cardiff Wales, in the CAA's 2025 punctuality file, a count that leaves out cargo, private and military flights. Of those, 68.0% ran within 15 minutes of schedule and 0.93% were cancelled, and the average delay was 15.4 minutes, against Bristol's 16.2.

Which court do I use for a flight claim in Wales?

£10,000 or less goes on the small claims track of England and Wales, which Welsh claims share. The issue fee starts at £35 for a claim up to £300, and a single £520 claim pays £70. Further fees, such as a hearing fee, can follow.

How long do I have to claim for a Cardiff flight?

6 years from the date the claim arose, under section 9 of the Limitation Act 1980, which UK261 article 3(9) applies in England and Wales. The ADR route is much shorter: a case must reach AviationADR or CEDR within 12 months of the airline's final response, after 8 weeks without a reply.

Does Cardiff Airport pay compensation for delays?

No. UK261 article 3(5) puts the duty on the operating carrier, so nothing is payable by Cardiff Airport itself. The carrier owes £220 to £520 once arrival is 3 hours or more late, unless proven extraordinary circumstances excuse that sum; the refund or re-routing, meals and hotel still stand.