# Air Arabia delay compensation: £220–£520 from UK airports

Source: https://airtravelrights.com/airlines/air-arabia/

> Air Arabia is on no CAA ADR list (checked 15 Sep 2026): a refused UK claim goes to non-binding CAA PACT. Arrivals from outside the UK or EU aren''t covered.

# Air Arabia delay and cancellation compensation

4 separate legal entities fly under the Air Arabia brand — UAE, Abu Dhabi, Morocco and Egypt — and each is a third-country operator with no UK or EU licence. A UK or EU departure still owes £220 to £520 a passenger for a delay of three hours or more, unless Air Arabia proves extraordinary circumstances; an arriving flight from any of its hubs owes nothing.

**Key facts: Air Arabia**

| Fact | Detail |
|:--|:--|
| Operating companies and licences | AIR ARABIA (UAE, ARE-0011); also Air Arabia Abu Dhabi (ARE-0019), Air Arabia Maroc (MAR-0001) and Air Arabia Egypt (EGY-0001) — all third-country operators, none on the CAA's UK Type A list |
| Air Arabia compensation | £220–£520 under UK261; €250–€600 under EU261 |
| Where a claim exists | Departures from UK airports (UK261) and from EU, Icelandic, Norwegian or Swiss airports (EU261) |
| Where none exists | Sharjah, or any airport outside the UK and EU, on a booking of its own |
| Vienna to Bangkok, via Sharjah | 8,451 km to the final stop on our own great-circle calculation — a route a passenger in our corpus actually flew |
| UK escalation | CAA PACT (non-binding); no Air Arabia entity is on a CAA ADR list |
| EU escalation | The enforcement body of the country you departed from; Austria's own limitation period is 3 years |
| Calculator | [Air Arabia preset](https://airtravelrights.com/compensation-calculator/?carrier=air-arabia) |

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 Air Arabia only on flights departing the UK or EU?

4 Air Arabia entities hold EASA third-country authorisation — ARE-0011 for the UAE parent, plus separate numbers for its Abu Dhabi, Moroccan and Egyptian units — and none of the four holds a UK or EU operating licence. Whichever entity operated your flight, an arrival into the UK or EU earns nothing; only a departure from one is covered.

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.

Article 3(1)(a) asks only where the flight left from, so a departure on any of the four entities carries the same obligation a UK or EU airline would owe on the identical route. Article 3(1)(b) asks a different question for an arrival — a UK or Community licence — and every entity fails that test.

**Which rules apply to your Air Arabia flight**

| Your Air Arabia flight | Rules | Currency |
|:--|:--|:--|
| Departs a UK airport | UK261 | £ |
| Departs an EU, Icelandic, Norwegian or Swiss airport | EU261 | € |
| Arrives in the UK or EU from outside both, on any Air Arabia entity | Neither | None |
| Starts and ends outside the UK and EU, booked on its own | Neither | None |

**Air Arabia's four entities**

| Entity | EASA authorisation | Status |
|:--|:--|:--|
| Air Arabia (UAE) | ARE-0011 | Third-country operator |
| Air Arabia Abu Dhabi | ARE-0019 | Third-country operator |
| Air Arabia Maroc | MAR-0001 | Third-country operator |
| Air Arabia Egypt | EGY-0001 | Third-country operator |

The coverage rule is identical across all four, but a claim goes to whichever entity's name sits on your ticket as the operating carrier, not to "Air Arabia" as a brand.

### UK261 on an Air Arabia flight from a UK airport

A UK departure on any of the four entities reads as one flight to its final destination under article 3(1A) once sold as a single booking; Gahan v Emirates [2017] EWCA Civ 1530 fixes that final destination, not any layover, as where the delay is measured. The decision binds courts in England and Wales.

### EU261 on an Air Arabia flight from an EU airport

Folkerts (C-11/11, 2013) applies the same logic to a departure from an EU, Icelandic, Norwegian or Swiss airport: the connection's last stop decides the euro band. A passenger in our own corpus flew exactly this shape of booking — Vienna to Bangkok via Sharjah on Air Arabia — which is where the worked distance below comes from.

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

8,451 km is the distance from Vienna to Bangkok on our own great-circle calculation — the final stop of a real Air Arabia booking in our corpus, connecting through Sharjah. That clears 3,500 km by a wide margin, so a delay of four hours or more is worth €600 a passenger, unless Air Arabia proves extraordinary circumstances.

| Distance to your final destination | UK departure | EU departure |
|:--|:--|:--|
| 1,500 km or less | £220 | €250 |
| 1,500 to 3,500 km | £350 | €400 |
| Over 3,500 km, arriving 4 hours or more late | £520 | €600 |
| Over 3,500 km, arriving 3 to under 4 hours late | £260 on the CAA's table | €300, at Air Arabia's option |

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.

Each leg alone looks short or medium-haul — Vienna to Sharjah is 4,227 km, Sharjah to Bangkok another 4,889 km — but article 7(4) measures a single booking to its final destination, never the sum of the legs. That is what pushes this itinerary into the top band despite Air Arabia's short-haul reputation.

Check your own band in the [compensation calculator](https://airtravelrights.com/compensation-calculator/?carrier=air-arabia), then the [UK261 delay compensation guide](https://airtravelrights.com/uk261/flight-delay-compensation/).

## How do you claim compensation from Air Arabia directly?

1 rule decides which Air Arabia entity gets your claim: whichever one is named as the operating carrier on your ticket or boarding pass, not the brand you searched for online. Send your flight number, date, delay length or cancellation notice, and distance band to that entity in writing.

Source: UK261 arts. 6(1), 7(3), 8(1) – legislation.gov.uk; EU261 arts. 6(1), 7(3), 8(1) – eur-lex.europa.eu, checked 2026-09-15.

That entity could be the UAE parent, its Abu Dhabi arm, or the Moroccan or Egyptian units, depending on the route you flew — attach your boarding passes and the message that announced the disruption, and keep a dated copy of everything you send. A refund runs separately from compensation and survives a refused claim: article 8(1) hands back the ticket price within seven days if you decline re-routing after a cancellation, and the same seven-day window opens after a delay of five hours or more, on the covered leg only.

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

0 of the CAA's three approved schemes list any Air Arabia entity, checked 15 September 2026, so a UK-departure complaint goes to the non-binding Passenger Advice and Complaints Team once 8 weeks have passed with no reply, or a written refusal has arrived — and from there, only a court can force payment.

Source: CAA, Alternative Dispute Resolution and How the CAA can help – caa.co.uk, checked 2026-09-15.

An EU departure answers to a different authority. Leave from Vienna, and Austria's Agentur für Passagier- und Fahrgastrechte takes the complaint once the airline has had six weeks to answer in writing — the same window a passenger in our corpus was told to observe on a baggage dispute. The claim itself runs on Austria's three-year period, under paragraph 1489 of the ABGB.

### If Air Arabia rejects your claim

A Reddit thread from March 2026 (passenger report, u/Junior_Passenger_606) shows what a written refusal from Air Arabia looks like — for delayed baggage under the Montreal Convention, not delay compensation, but the same entity: "please note that we will not be able to provide you with any compensation as Air Arabia does not compensate for baggage delay cases." The passenger had already waited six weeks and contacted Austro Control and Austria's Agentur für Passagier- und Fahrgastrechte, who advised letting that window run first. The dispute was about baggage; the flat written refusal and the six-week wait carry across both kinds of claim.

A flat refusal is not a defence: article 2(o) is, and [the reasons that pass it](https://airtravelrights.com/uk261/extraordinary-circumstances/) are a short list. Even one that passes removes the fixed sum; meals, a hotel, re-routing and a refund keep running. Name the entity that operated your flight, not just "Air Arabia", in anything that reaches a regulator or a court.

Compare the [ADR scheme guide](https://airtravelrights.com/uk261/airline-adr-schemes/), the [ADR membership map](https://airtravelrights.com/uk261/airline-adr-map/) and the [refused compensation guide](https://airtravelrights.com/airline-refused-compensation/).

## How long do you have to claim against Air Arabia?

6 years is how long a UK261 claim against any Air Arabia entity survives in an England, Wales or Northern Ireland court, under the Limitation Act 1980 and its Northern Irish counterpart. Scotland's 1973 Act points to 5 years instead, untested 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, checked 2026-09-15.

Regulation 261/2004 leaves an EU departure's deadline to national law instead. Vienna gives 3 years under [paragraph 1489 of Austria's ABGB](https://airtravelrights.com/eu261/claim-in-austria/), from when the passenger knew both the loss and who caused it — far shorter than the UK's six.

In England and Wales, a £520 UK261 claim against Air Arabia is a [small claim](https://airtravelrights.com/uk261/small-claims-court/): limit £10,000, £70 to issue if unpaid.

Compare Air Arabia with [Etihad Airways](https://airtravelrights.com/airlines/etihad-airways/), [Pegasus Airlines](https://airtravelrights.com/airlines/pegasus-airlines/) and [Royal Air Maroc](https://airtravelrights.com/airlines/royal-air-maroc/).

Flying through Canada, on a damaged bag, or on a US-only itinerary? The [Air Passenger Protection Regulations](https://airtravelrights.com/canada-appr/), the [Montreal Convention](https://airtravelrights.com/montreal-convention/) and [US DOT rules](https://airtravelrights.com/us-dot/) apply there instead — sort a mixed booking with [which law covers my flight](https://airtravelrights.com/which-law-covers-my-flight/).

General information, not legal advice. For your specific case, contact the CAA, your national European Consumer Centre or a solicitor.

## Sources

- Regulation (EC) No 261/2004 as it forms part of UK law, arts. 2-9 – [legislation.gov.uk](https://www.legislation.gov.uk/eur/2004/261/contents), checked 2026-09-15.
- The Aviation (Consumers) (Amendment) Regulations 2023 (SI 2023/1370) – [legislation.gov.uk](https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2023/1370/made), checked 2026-09-15.
- Regulation (EC) No 261/2004, arts. 3, 5, 7, 8 and 16 – [eur-lex.europa.eu](https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/HTML/?uri=CELEX:32004R0261), checked 2026-09-15.
- Limitation Act 1980 s.9 – [legislation.gov.uk](https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1980/58/section/9); Limitation (Northern Ireland) Order 1989 art. 4 – [legislation.gov.uk](https://www.legislation.gov.uk/nisi/1989/1339/article/4); Prescription and Limitation (Scotland) Act 1973 s.6 – [legislation.gov.uk](https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1973/52/section/6), checked 2026-09-15.
- EASA, Authorised Third Country Operators (updated 14 Sep 2026) – [easa.europa.eu](https://www.easa.europa.eu/download/tco-lists/TCO%20Status%20Report.pdf), checked 2026-09-15.
- Civil Aviation Authority, Airline licence holders, Delays, Alternative Dispute Resolution and How the CAA can help – [caa.co.uk](https://www.caa.co.uk/air-passengers/travel-problems-and-rights/travel-complaints/alternative-dispute-resolution/), checked 2026-09-15.
- ABGB §1489 – Rechtsinformationssystem des Bundes (RIS); Agentur für Passagier- und Fahrgastrechte (apf) – [apf.gv.at](https://www.apf.gv.at/flug-fristen), checked 2026-09-18.
- European Commission, National Enforcement Bodies – Regulation (EC) No 261/2004 (updated 27 Aug 2026) – [transport.ec.europa.eu](https://transport.ec.europa.eu/document/download/d7b5dd33-4083-4faa-8132-b6dc8b3a1c07_en), checked 2026-09-15.
- Sturgeon, joined cases C-402/07 and C-432/07 (2009), CJEU – [eur-lex.europa.eu](https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX:62007CJ0402).
- Folkerts, C-11/11 (2013), CJEU – [eur-lex.europa.eu](https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX:62011CJ0011).
- Gahan v Emirates [2017] EWCA Civ 1530, Court of Appeal (Civil Division) – [caselaw.nationalarchives.gov.uk](https://caselaw.nationalarchives.gov.uk/ewca/civ/2017/1530).
- Reddit r/Flights, "Airline ignoring claim for delayed baggage" (9 Mar 2026) – [reddit.com](https://www.reddit.com/r/Flights/comments/1rp9utd/airline_ignoring_claim_for_delayed_baggage/).