UK261 £Teesside International Airport: flight delay and cancellation rights

Checked 15 Sep 2026·6 min read

The UK Civil Aviation Authority recorded 3.85% of Teesside International Airport’s flights as cancelled in 2025, a share resting on a small base of 3,321 matched flights. Under UK261 the operating airline, not the airport, owes any compensation, and after a cancellation the notice given and the replacement flight’s timing decide how much.

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

#UK261 £Which rules cover flights departing Teesside International Airport?

UK261 article 3(1)(a) covers any flight departing Teesside International Airport, whatever the airline, since its only condition is a departure from an airport in the United Kingdom. Article 3(5) makes the operating carrier liable for refunds, care and compensation, and leaves Teesside International Airport liable for none of them.

Arriving flights are tested on the operator’s licence. Article 3(1)(b)(i) covers a flight into Teesside from outside the UK only when a UK air carrier, Loganair for example, or a Community carrier such as Air France operates it, and not if you already received benefits or compensation and assistance where you departed.

A single booking with a change of plane is treated as one journey from its first departure point under article 3(1A), and a delay on it is measured at the final destination.

Flights leaving EU airports are covered by EU261 in euros. Canada’s Air Passenger Protection Regulations and US federal rules, which give no compensation for a domestic delay, work differently; the which-law test sorts a mixed booking. The UK261 guide covers the departure rules, and Newcastle, to the north, is listed with every other airport on the UK airports index. Your boarding pass names the operator, so start there.

Source: UK261 art. 3(1)(a), 3(1)(b), 3(1A), 3(5), 6(3) — legislation.gov.uk; EU261 art. 3(1)(a) — eur-lex.europa.eu, checked 2026-09-15.

#What is owed when a Teesside flight is cancelled at short notice?

14 days' notice or more rules out compensation for a cancelled Teesside flight under UK261 article 5(1)(c)(i). With less notice, the £220, £350 or £520 set by distance may be due in full, halved, or not due at all, depending on how closely the replacement flight matches the original times.

Between seven and fourteen days' notice, nothing is owed if the replacement leaves no more than 2 hours early and arrives less than 4 hours late; under seven days, the limits are 1 hour early and less than 2 hours late. The airline must prove when it told you. Whatever the notice, article 8(1) gives you the choice between re-routing and a refund, and a refund must be paid within seven days.

Where compensation is owed and you are re-routed, article 7(2) lets the airline halve it if the new flight arrives no more than 2 hours late on routes up to 1,500 km, 3 hours up to 3,500 km, or 4 hours beyond. At exactly that boundary the sources disagree. Article 7(2) allows the reduction where the delay “does not exceed” the limit, while the CAA’s cancellation table pays the full amount from “two or more hours late” and halves only below it. If your replacement lands exactly on the line and the airline pays half, cite the CAA table in your reply.

Extraordinary circumstances remove only the fixed payment; the refund, re-routing and care continue (refund or voucher; schedule changes).

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

#How often were Teesside flights cancelled in 2025, and what does a small airport’s rate mean?

3.85% of Teesside International’s flights were cancelled in 2025, on the CAA’s figures, and it matched only 3,321 flights there. 68.5% ran within the CAA’s on-time window of 15 minutes early to 15 minutes late, and the average delay was 14.7 minutes, both measured on that small base of flights.

The on-time share divides into 33.5% early and 35.0% up to 15 minutes late. Newcastle, the larger airport to the north, cancelled 0.76% of its flights and matched 38,598, so Teesside’s higher share rests on under a tenth of Newcastle’s flight count.

A small base is sensitive: a few days of cancellations move a percentage built on about 3,300 flights much further than the same days would at a large airport, so one year’s figure is not a forecast. The CAA’s percentage and its matched-flight count are also different bases, so the share cannot be turned into a number of cancelled flights. It also counts only flights whose cancellation was announced less than 24 hours before scheduled departure, or after it, so cancellations made days ahead are not in it. The data does not measure what UK261 measures either. Times come from the runway and gate, and bands are statistical. Cargo, oil-rig, air-taxi, positioning, private and military flights are excluded, and the CAA accepts no liability for the file.

Keep the cancellation notice and the times of any replacement flight you are offered.

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

#Where do you complain after a disrupted Teesside flight?

Two approved schemes, AviationADR and CEDR, hear UK261 complaints free of charge once the airline has left a written complaint unanswered for 8 weeks, but only for airlines that joined them. At Teesside, a decision you accept binds the airline; one you reject leaves court open.

Air Baltic, Air Astana, Asiana and EgyptAir are among AviationADR’s airline members, and CEDR’s list carries British Airways, BA CityFlyer, Cathay Pacific and Scandinavian Airlines. Lodge with the scheme within 12 months of the airline’s last response; most decisions take up to three months. An airline outside both leaves the CAA’s Passenger Advice and Complaints Team, which can give its view and raise the complaint with the airline but cannot impose a result.

Court is the last step, and English law gives it a long runway at Teesside: six years, via UK261 article 3(9) and section 9 of the Limitation Act 1980. The same statute fixes the court deadline for a Liverpool departure.

Set out the notice date, the replacement times and the amount you calculate in one written complaint; if the airline refuses, the refusal route explains what comes next.

Source: AviationADR, airline and airport members — aviationadr.org.uk; CEDR, Aviation — cedr-assist.com; CAA, Alternative dispute resolution and How the CAA can help — caa.co.uk; UK261 art. 3(9), Limitation Act 1980 s.9 — legislation.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 - 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, Cancellations - caa.co.uk, 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 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

What share of Teesside flights were cancelled in 2025?

3.85% of Teesside International's flights were cancelled in 2025 on the CAA's figures, against 0.76% at Newcastle. Teesside's 3,321 matched flights are under a tenth of Newcastle's 38,598, so a few days of disruption move its share more, and the share says nothing about which cancellations earned compensation.

Why is the Teesside cancellation rate based on so few flights?

3,321 matched flights is Teesside International's whole 2025 base in the CAA file, which combines scheduled and charter flights and leaves out cargo, private and military movements. On a base that size, each cancelled flight moves the percentage more than at an airport with tens of thousands of flights.

Can the airline pay me less if it rebooks me quickly?

Yes, by half at most. When compensation is owed after a cancellation and you are re-routed, UK261 article 7(2) lets the airline halve it if you arrive no more than 2, 3 or 4 hours late, by distance band. At exactly that boundary, the law's wording and the CAA's table disagree.

Does Teesside International Airport pay compensation?

No. Teesside International Airport owes nothing; the operating airline owes any £220 to £520, which 14 days' notice or proven extraordinary circumstances rule out and a close re-routing may halve. A refund or re-routing is owed after any cancellation, whatever the cause.