UK261 £Edinburgh Airport: flight delay and cancellation rights

Checked 15 Sep 2026·7 min read

£220 to £520 per passenger is the UK261 compensation for a flight from Edinburgh Airport that arrives three hours or more late, or is cancelled when no exception applies. Edinburgh Airport cancelled flights on the day appear on its live departures board.

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

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

Article 3(1)(a) of UK261 covers every flight departing Edinburgh Airport, on any airline, because the rule attaches to departures from an airport in the United Kingdom. Compensation runs from £220 to £520 by distance band, in pounds, and the operating carrier owes it: Edinburgh Airport has no compensation duty.

Source: UK261 art. 3(1)(a) and art. 7(1) (as substituted by SI 2019/278) — legislation.gov.uk; EU261 art. 3(1)(b) — eur-lex.europa.eu, checked 2026-09-15.

The airline’s nationality does not change this, so your claim for an Edinburgh departure starts in pounds. EU261 can also reach the same flight when a Community carrier flies it from Edinburgh into the EU: article 3(1)(b) of EU261 covers that flight unless you already received benefits or compensation and assistance in the UK.

Start with the UK261 hub, then the UK261 compensation page for the amount table and claim letter. Read what to do if the airline refuses to pay before you accept a no.

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

£220 up to 1,500 km, £350 up to 3,500 km and £520 beyond: those are the UK261 amounts per passenger. They are due when your flight from Edinburgh reaches its final destination three hours or more late. Arrival means the moment passengers are permitted to leave the aircraft, not touchdown, so time held on the tarmac still counts.

Source: UK261 arts. 2(n), 2(o), 5, 6(3)-(4), 7 and 9 (SI 2019/278, SI 2023/1370) — legislation.gov.uk; CAA, Delays — caa.co.uk, checked 2026-09-15.

Above 3,500 km, an arrival between three and four hours late may be cut to £260, the CAA’s figure. Article 7(2)(c) says “may”, so the cut is the airline’s option. From 4 hours late, the full £520 is due.

For Edinburgh Airport cancelled flights, notice decides: 2 weeks' notice or more means no compensation. Between 2 weeks and 7 days, none is owed if the airline offered a replacement leaving no more than 2 hours before and arriving less than 4 hours after your original times; inside 7 days, no more than 1 hour before and less than 2 hours after. The airline must prove when it told you.

Extraordinary circumstances, such as an air traffic management decision that all reasonable measures could not have avoided, remove compensation but not care. Write down the time the doors opened.

#How punctual were flights at Edinburgh Airport in 2025?

117,237 Edinburgh Airport flights were matched to a planned gate time in calendar year 2025, and 64.6% of them counted as on time under the CAA’s two bands, from 15 minutes early to 15 minutes late. Delay averaged 15.3 minutes across those flights. Separately, the CAA logged 1.1% of flights as cancelled with less than 24 hours' notice.

Source: CAA, UK flight punctuality statistics 2025, annual summary - caa.co.uk, checked 2026-09-15.

Of Heathrow, Gatwick, Manchester, Stansted and Birmingham in the same file, only Heathrow had a higher on-time rate and a shorter average delay than Edinburgh, and only Heathrow had a higher cancelled rate. Edinburgh sat above Stansted, Birmingham, Gatwick and Manchester on the on-time measure that year. Across all 25 airports in the file, Glasgow came in ahead of it on both counts: 12.1 minutes of average delay against Edinburgh’s 15.3, and 69.7% on time against 64.6%.

A delay band is not a legal threshold. Punctuality statistics are not compensation eligibility either. The table pools every airline at Edinburgh over a whole year. UK261 delay compensation looks only at your own flight. It must reach your final destination three hours or more late. Keep your own arrival time as evidence, not these averages.

#Where do you complain about an airline after a disrupted Edinburgh Airport flight?

8 weeks without a reply to your written complaint, or a final response turning you down, opens the airline’s approved scheme: AviationADR or CEDR, which takes cases within 12 months of the airline’s final response or last written communication. Both schemes are free, and most decisions arrive within 3 months.

Source: CAA, Alternative Dispute Resolution for air passengers and How the CAA can help (PACT) — caa.co.uk; AviationADR members — aviationadr.org.uk, checked 2026-09-15.

easyJet, Ryanair and KLM are on the CAA’s list for AviationADR, which covers its members' flights involving a UK airport. British Airways is on the CEDR list.

Jet2 and Loganair are not listed by the CAA, AviationADR or CEDR. For them, the CAA’s Passenger Advice and Complaints Team (PACT) can take up a valid complaint but cannot impose a solution, and turns away complaints with less than a year left to take legal action. Send your written complaint to the airline now.

#Do the rules change for flights arriving at Edinburgh Airport?

Article 3(1)(b) of UK261 covers a flight into Edinburgh from outside the UK only when the operating carrier is a UK air carrier or a Community carrier. It does not apply if you already received benefits or compensation and assistance in the country you departed from.

Source: UK261 arts. 2(c), 2(m) and 3(1)(b) — legislation.gov.uk; EU261 art. 3(1) — eur-lex.europa.eu; Emirates licence status — easa.europa.eu, caa.co.uk, checked 2026-09-15.

If your flight was operated by Emirates, for example, an arrival into the UK falls outside UK261, while its UK departures stay covered.

A flight from an EU airport to Edinburgh is an EU261 departure on any airline, in euros, under article 3(1)(a) of EU261. On a Community carrier it also meets the UK261 arrival rule, unless you already received benefits or compensation and assistance in that EU country.

Not your situation? EU261 covers EU departures, the Air Passenger Protection Regulations cover flights to, from and within Canada, and which law covers my flight checks other routes; US federal rules differ: US DOT rules.

Check the operating carrier on your booking first.

#How long do passengers in Scotland have to claim?

5 years under the Prescription and Limitation (Scotland) Act 1973 is the Scottish period, against 6 years in England and Wales. For UK261 it is an open point: article 3(9) points to section 9 of the Limitation Act 1980, an England and Wales provision, and no Scottish court has yet decided which rule governs.

Source: UK261 art. 3(9); Limitation Act 1980 s.9; Prescription and Limitation (Scotland) Act 1973 s.6 — legislation.gov.uk; Dawson [2014] EWCA Civ 845 — caselaw.nationalarchives.gov.uk; CAA ADR page — caa.co.uk; Simple Procedure guide — scotcourts.gov.uk, checked 2026-09-15.

In Dawson v Thomson Airways Ltd [2014] EWCA Civ 845, the Court of Appeal held that EU 261 delay compensation falls outside the Montreal Convention’s 2-year time bar. The decision binds courts in England and Wales.

The CAA’s ADR page says approved schemes cover incidents from the last 6 years, or 5 if you live in Scotland, so claim well inside 5 years. Aberdeen passengers work to the same five-year line.

Money claims of £5,000 or less can use Scotland’s Simple Procedure; see the small claims court page.

See the airports index for other airports. General information, not legal advice. For your specific case: the CAA, Citizens Advice or a solicitor.

#Sources

• Regulation (EC) No 261/2004 as it forms part of UK law, arts. 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 and 9 - legislation.gov.uk, checked 2026-09-15.
• Regulation (EC) No 261/2004 (EU text), art. 3 - eur-lex.europa.eu, checked 2026-09-15.
• The Aviation (Consumers) (Amendment) Regulations 2023 (SI 2023/1370) - legislation.gov.uk, checked 2026-09-15.
• CAA, UK flight punctuality statistics 2025, annual summary (CSV) - caa.co.uk, checked 2026-09-15.
• Limitation Act 1980, s.9 (England and Wales) - legislation.gov.uk, checked 2026-09-15.
• Prescription and Limitation (Scotland) Act 1973, s.6 - legislation.gov.uk, checked 2026-09-15.
• Civil Aviation Authority, Flight 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.
• Civil Aviation Authority, How the CAA can help - caa.co.uk, checked 2026-09-15.
• Civil Aviation Authority, Airline licence holders - caa.co.uk, checked 2026-09-15.
• EASA, Authorised third-country operators list - easa.europa.eu, checked 2026-09-15.
• Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service, Guide to Simple Procedure - scotcourts.gov.uk, checked 2026-09-15.
• Dawson v Thomson Airways Ltd [2014] EWCA Civ 845, Court of Appeal (Civil Division) - caselaw.nationalarchives.gov.uk.

#FAQ

Does Edinburgh Airport pay compensation for delays?

£220 to £520 in UK261 compensation is owed by the airline operating a covered flight, not by Edinburgh Airport. It is due when you reach your final destination three hours or more late, unless the airline proves extraordinary circumstances. The airport itself has no compensation duty under UK261.

Who do I claim from after an Edinburgh Airport delay?

8 weeks after writing to the airline operating your flight, you can escalate if it has not replied: to AviationADR or CEDR if the airline is a member, or to the CAA's PACT team if it is not. Claim from that airline, never from Edinburgh Airport, which owes no UK261 compensation.

Can I take an Edinburgh Airport flight claim to Simple Procedure?

Yes. Scotland's Simple Procedure handles money claims of £5,000 or less, and a UK261 claim sits well inside that. The deadline is the open point: article 3(9) points at an England and Wales provision giving 6 years, Scottish prescription runs 5, and no Scottish court has decided. Raise it inside 5 years.