Flight delayed 2, 3, 4 or 5 hours: what you’re owed in the UK

Checked 15 Sep 2026·12 min read

3 hours late at your final destination is where cash starts under UK261: £220, £350 or £520 per passenger by distance, unless the airline proves extraordinary circumstances. Two hours can bring meals and calls on short flights. Five hours lets you give up the trip for a refund. The table runs hour by hour, with EU261 beside it for flights from the EU.

Flight delay hour by hour: UK261 and EU261

Source: UK261 arts. 2(n), 6(1), 6(3)-(4), 7(1)-(2), 8(1)(a) — legislation.gov.uk; EU261 arts. 6(1), 7(1)-(2), 8(1)(a) — eur-lex.europa.eu; Sturgeon, C-402/07 and C-432/07 (2009), operative part point 2 and para 63 — eur-lex.europa.eu; Civil Aviation Authority, Delays — caa.co.uk, checked 2026-09-15.

Two clocks run in that table. Care and the refund count from the scheduled departure; compensation counts from the moment you may leave the aircraft at your final destination. The £260 and €300 figures are the airline’s option, not an automatic cut, and EU261’s middle band also covers every intra-EU flight over 1,500 km, which stays at €400.

#Flight delayed 2 hours: is any compensation due?

2 hours late earns no compensation under UK261 or EU261, whatever the distance: the cash line sits at 3 hours at arrival. What 2 hours can unlock is care. On flights up to 1,500 km, once departure is expected to slip 2 hours, the airline owes meals and refreshments in reasonable relation to the wait, plus two calls or emails.

Source: UK261 art. 6(1), art. 9 — legislation.gov.uk; EU261 art. 6(1)(a)-(c), art. 9(1)-(2) — eur-lex.europa.eu, checked 2026-09-15.

The care threshold climbs with distance; the compensation threshold does not. Under UK261, meals and calls start at 2 hours on flights up to 1,500 km, at 3 hours on 1,500-3,500 km and at 4 hours beyond. EU261 runs the same ladder with one twist: every flight inside the EU over 1,500 km waits for the 3-hour line, however far it goes. Read “2 hours” and expect cash, and you have read the care rule, not the one that pays.

Even 2 hours 59 minutes misses. The compensation clock stops when you are permitted to leave the aircraft, UK261 article 2(n). For EU261 the CJEU fixed the same point in Germanwings, C-452/13 (2014): the moment at least one door opens. Touchdown doesn’t count, and neither does the time the aircraft reaches the stand.

So taxiing works for you. A flight that touches down 2 hours 50 minutes late and keeps its doors shut for another 15 minutes arrives 3 hours 5 minutes late: over the line.

Source: UK261 art. 2(n) — legislation.gov.uk; Germanwings, C-452/13 (2014), operative part — eur-lex.europa.eu, checked 2026-09-15.

If no vouchers appear at the 2-hour mark, ask at the airline desk. Failing that, buy what you need at a sensible price and keep every receipt: the right to care guide covers what counts and how to claim it back. Note the door-open time on your phone before you leave the aircraft.

#Flight delayed 3 hours: how much compensation do you get?

3 hours or more at your final destination pays £220 on flights up to 1,500 km, £350 on 1,500-3,500 km and £520 beyond under UK261, or €250, €400 and €600 under EU261, per passenger. On flights over 3,500 km arriving 3 to under 4 hours late, the airline may pay £260 or €300.

Source: UK261 art. 6(3)-(4) (inserted by SI 2023/1370), art. 7(1) — legislation.gov.uk; EU261 art. 7(1) — eur-lex.europa.eu; Sturgeon, C-402/07 and C-432/07 (2009), operative part point 2 — eur-lex.europa.eu, checked 2026-09-15.

UK261 has carried the 3-hour rule in its own text since 14 December 2023, article 6(3). The EU261 text in force does not state it: the line rests on Sturgeon, which gave delayed passengers the same article 7 compensation as passengers on a cancelled flight. The amount follows the distance to your final destination, not the price you paid.

One condition removes the payment. Under UK261 article 2(o), extraordinary circumstances are causes that are not inherent in the airline’s normal activity and are beyond its actual control, which it could not avoid with all reasonable measures, or the impact of an air traffic management decision that could not be avoided. The airline must prove the cause; you don’t have to disprove it. The extraordinary circumstances guide goes through weather, strikes and technical faults.

Scope matters too. UK261 covers every flight leaving a UK airport, flights into the UK on a UK or EU airline, and flights into the EU on a UK airline. Where you fly from and which airline operates the flight decide whether you are in pounds, euros or neither: check which law covers my flight.

Claiming from the airline yourself costs nothing. The UK261 delay compensation guide has the claim letter and the free ADR step if the airline refuses, and the compensation calculator works out your band and amount. Enter the delay at the door, not at touchdown.

#Flight delayed 4 hours: when does £260 become £520?

4 hours is the mark that ends the only cut a plain delay allows. On flights over 3,500 km, such as London to New York, arriving 4 hours or more late pays the full £520 under UK261 or €600 under EU261. Arrive 3 to under 4 hours late and the airline may pay half. Shorter flights never drop.

Source: UK261 art. 7(2) — legislation.gov.uk; Civil Aviation Authority, Delays — caa.co.uk; Sturgeon, C-402/07 and C-432/07 (2009), para 63 — eur-lex.europa.eu, checked 2026-09-15.

The cut comes from article 7(2)(c), which Sturgeon applied to delays. Its words draw the line at “less than four hours”. On that wording, at 4 hours 0 minutes the full amount is due. The CAA’s delays page gives £260 “between three and four hours late” and £520 “more than four hours late”, wording that leaves the exact 4-hour minute open, so the minute your doors opened matters.

Two groups never see the halved figure. Flights up to 3,500 km sit under article 7(2)(a) or (b), which Sturgeon’s wording excludes, so a 3-hour delay there pays the full £220 or £350. Under EU261, intra-EU flights over 1,500 km fall under 7(2)(b) as well and stay at €400.

A different 50% cut applies after a cancellation, when the airline re-routes you on another flight. Article 7(2) lets it halve the amount if the replacement lands no more than 2, 3 or 4 hours after the original schedule, by band. The legal text allows the cut at exactly 2, 3 or 4 hours; the CAA’s cancellation table pays in full from “two or more hours late” and halves only below that. Keep the two apart: one runs on your own delayed aircraft, the other on a replacement.

4 hours is also when meals and calls start on flights over 3,500 km, except intra-EU ones under EU261. Offered £260 for an arrival 4 hours or more late? Reply quoting Sturgeon, para 63, and the minute the doors opened.

#Flight delayed 5 hours or more: can you take a refund instead?

5 hours past the scheduled departure gives you a choice you did not have before. Under article 6(1)(iii) of both UK261 and EU261, you can give up the journey and get the full ticket cost back within 7 days, paid in cash, by bank transfer or by cheque, and in vouchers only if you sign to accept them.

Source: UK261 arts. 6(1)(iii), 7(3), 8(1)(a) — legislation.gov.uk; EU261 arts. 6(1), 7(3), 8(1)(a) — eur-lex.europa.eu, checked 2026-09-15 (UK art. 8 wording re-read 2026-10-05).

The refund covers the part of the journey you did not make, with a return flight to your first point of departure where that is relevant. At 5 hours every distance band is inside the care rules too, so meals and two calls stay owed while you decide.

Compensation is a separate question, still settled by your arrival time if you fly. Arrive 5 hours late and every band pays in full: £220, £350 or £520, or €250, €400 or €600, unless the airline proves extraordinary circumstances. The 5-hour refund is not lost to that defence: it follows from the delay itself, whatever the cause.

Below 5 hours there is no such right. Under UK261, article 8 applies only where the delay, cancellation and denied-boarding articles send you to it, and a flight that operates late but under 5 hours is not one of them. Walking away at 3 hours is your own cancellation, and the fare’s terms decide what comes back: see cancelling a flight yourself.

Ask for the refund in writing, at the desk or through the airline’s own disruption page, and screenshot the delay notice that shows the 5-hour figure.

#Overnight flight delay: do you get a hotel and compensation?

1 night or more at the airline’s expense: when your new departure is at least the day after the original time, UK261 and EU261 add a hotel room, and transport between airport and hotel, to the meals and two calls. Extraordinary circumstances can cancel compensation, but they do not cancel this care.

Source: UK261 art. 6(1)(ii), art. 9 — legislation.gov.uk; EU261 art. 6(1)(ii), art. 9(1) — eur-lex.europa.eu; McDonagh, C-12/11 (2013), operative part — eur-lex.europa.eu, checked 2026-09-15.

The hotel sits inside the same distance ladder: it is owed once the delay has also reached 2, 3 or 4 hours for your band. McDonagh, C-12/11 (2013), held that even a volcanic ash closure of airspace did not release the airline from care. Under UK261, articles 5(3) and 6(4) excuse the airline only from “compensation in accordance with Article 7”; article 6(1) care is not qualified, and SI 2023/1370 did not extend the exemption.

The two can meet on the same night. Recital 15, in both the EU and the UK text, says extraordinary circumstances should be deemed to exist where an air traffic management decision about one aircraft on one day gives rise to a long delay, an overnight delay or a cancellation, even though the airline took all reasonable measures. A night lost to that kind of decision may pay no compensation. The airline still owes the hotel.

Source: Regulation (EC) No 261/2004, recital 15 — eur-lex.europa.eu; legislation.gov.uk, introduction, checked 2026-10-12.

If the airline arranges nothing, book a modest room near the airport and keep the receipts. McDonagh limits what you can reclaim to amounts that were “necessary, appropriate and reasonable”, so the nearest standard hotel is safer than the best one. Compensation is still decided by your arrival time, and if the overnight wait also passes 5 hours, the refund option above applies.

#How do Canada’s APPR and US DOT rules compare on delay length?

3 hours is the shared line in Canada, where the Air Passenger Protection Regulations make a large carrier pay C$400, C$700 or C$1,000 as the arrival delay passes 3, 6 and 9 hours. US federal rules pay nothing for a delay: 3 hours late domestically, or 6 internationally, only lets you refuse the alternative and take a refund.

Source: Air Passenger Protection Regulations (SOR/2019-150) s.19(1) — laws-lois.justice.gc.ca; DOT, Fly Rights — transportation.gov; 14 CFR 260.2 — ecfr.gov, checked 2026-09-15.

Delay thresholds by regime

Source: UK261 and EU261 arts. 6, 7(1), 8(1)(a); Sturgeon, C-402/07 and C-432/07 (2009) — legislation.gov.uk, eur-lex.europa.eu; Air Passenger Protection Regulations (SOR/2019-150) ss. 9, 14, 19 — laws-lois.justice.gc.ca; 14 CFR 259.4(c), 260.2 — ecfr.gov, checked 2026-09-15.

Canada’s bands depend on carrier size. A large carrier carried two million passengers or more in each of the two preceding years; a small one pays C$125, C$250 or C$500. The cause must be within the carrier’s control and not required for safety, and scheduled maintenance does not count as safety. Compensation is due only if you were told 14 days or less before departure. Arrival is the moment a door opens after landing, much as in the UK.

The Department of Transportation puts the US position plainly: “for domestic itineraries airlines are not required to compensate passengers whose flights are delayed or canceled.” A refund after a significant delay arrives within 7 business days by credit card, 20 calendar days otherwise. On the tarmac, the US caps a wait at 3 hours domestic and 4 international, with food and water within 2 hours; Canada’s cap is 3 hours, stretched to 3 hours 45 minutes if take-off is likely by then and food, drink and ventilation continue.

How long a delay must run, how long airlines take to pay and how long you have to claim are three separate questions; the third is at flight compensation time limits.

This page is general information, not legal advice. For your case, contact the CAA (UK), your national enforcement body or the European Consumer Centre network (EU/EEA), the Canadian Transportation Agency or the US Department of Transportation.

#Sources

• Regulation (EC) No 261/2004 as it forms part of UK law, recital 15 and arts. 2, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 (as amended by SI 2019/278 and SI 2023/1370) — legislation.gov.uk, checked 2026-09-15; recital 15 checked 2026-10-12.
• The Aviation (Consumers) (Amendment) Regulations 2023, SI 2023/1370 — legislation.gov.uk, checked 2026-09-15.
• Regulation (EC) No 261/2004, recital 15 and arts. 6, 7, 8, 9 — eur-lex.europa.eu, checked 2026-09-15; recital 15 checked 2026-10-12.
• Civil Aviation Authority, Delays — caa.co.uk, checked 2026-09-15.
• Civil Aviation Authority, Cancellations — caa.co.uk, checked 2026-09-15.
• Sturgeon, joined cases C-402/07 and C-432/07 (2009), CJEU — eur-lex.europa.eu, checked 2026-09-15.
• Germanwings (Henning), C-452/13 (2014), CJEU — eur-lex.europa.eu, checked 2026-09-15.
• McDonagh, C-12/11 (2013), CJEU — eur-lex.europa.eu, checked 2026-09-15.
• Air Passenger Protection Regulations (SOR/2019-150), ss. 1, 9, 11, 12, 14, 17-19 — laws-lois.justice.gc.ca, checked 2026-09-15.
• 14 CFR Part 259 (tarmac) and Part 260 (refunds) — ecfr.gov/259 ; ecfr.gov/260, checked 2026-09-15.
• US Department of Transportation, Fly Rights — transportation.gov, checked 2026-09-15.

#FAQ

Can I get compensation for a 2 hour flight delay?

2 hours late at your final destination pays nothing under UK261, EU261 or Canada’s APPR: all three start at 3 hours, measured when you may leave the aircraft, so 2 hours 59 minutes earns nothing. US federal rules set no delay compensation at all. On flights up to 1,500 km, 2 hours does start free meals and two calls.

How much compensation do I get if my flight is delayed 3 hours?

3 hours or more at arrival pays £220 up to 1,500 km, £350 on 1,500-3,500 km or £520 beyond, per passenger under UK261, unless the airline proves extraordinary circumstances. On flights over 3,500 km arriving 3 to under 4 hours late, the airline may pay £260 instead. Flights from the EU pay €250, €400 or €600 under EU261.

Is compensation based on departure or arrival delay?

Arrival, not departure, decides compensation under UK261, EU261 and Canada’s APPR alike: the clock stops once you reach your final destination and a door opens. A flight that departs 4 hours late but lands only 2 hours 50 minutes behind schedule pays nothing; a flight that departs on time but arrives 3 hours late still qualifies.