Downgraded on a UK flight: what UK261 pays back
A downgrade under UK261 pays back part of the fare for the flight you were downgraded on, not your whole trip: 30% up to 1,500 km, 50% on longer routes up to 3,500 km, 75% beyond that, payable within 7 days. Article 10 sets this out as its own right, separate from any delay or cancellation compensation you might also be owed, and priced on that one flight’s own fare, leaving out taxes and charges that do not depend on the class booked.
#How much do you get back if you are downgraded on a UK flight?
30% is the smallest refund UK261 pays for a downgrade, and it applies only to the shortest routes. Article 10(2) sets three bands by distance: 30% up to 1,500 km, 50% on longer routes up to 3,500 km, and 75% beyond that, refunded within 7 days.
Source: UK261 art. 10(2)(a)-(c) (downgrade reimbursement) — legislation.gov.uk, checked 2026-09-15.
A downgrade is being seated below the class you booked and paid for, business down to premium economy or premium economy down to economy. The extraordinary-circumstances defence in articles 5(3) and 6(4) releases the airline only from article 7 compensation, so an aircraft swap or a technical fault does not cancel an article 10 refund.
Distance of the downgraded flight | Refund of that flight's fare, class-neutral taxes excluded |
|---|---|
1,500 km or less | 30% |
Over 1,500 km up to 3,500 km | 50% |
Over 3,500 km | 75% |
A downgrade is not denied boarding. Article 4 pays £220, £350 or £520 for involuntary denied boarding by distance, a separate right that applies only when the airline refuses you a seat outright; article 10 pays a percentage of the fare when you do fly, only in a worse cabin. The UK261 delay compensation guide covers the delay figures in full.
Article 10(2) sets its bands by the length of the flight, and Mennens ties the refund to the flight you were downgraded on. A downgrade on one leg of a connecting itinerary is therefore measured on that leg, whatever band the rest of the trip falls into.
Write down the class you booked, the class you actually flew and the distance of that one flight before you work anything out.
#Which distance band applies to your downgraded flight?
3,500 km is the line between UK261’s middle and top downgrade bands, measured on the flight you were downgraded on, not your whole itinerary. Under that distance the refund is 30% or 50% depending on whether you crossed 1,500 km; over it, the refund rises to 75% regardless of how the rest of your trip was priced.
Source: UK261 art. 10(2) (downgrade bands); CJEU C-255/15 Mennens (2016), operative part points 1-2 — legislation.gov.uk, eur-lex.europa.eu, checked 2026-09-18.
The base is the price of the sector you were downgraded on, not the total you paid for a connecting itinerary, and taxes and charges drop out unless the duty to pay them or their amount depends on the class. The Court of Justice settled this in Mennens, C-255/15, a decision handed down in 2016, so it predates the end of the Brexit transition period and binds UK courts.
UK courts.Read article 10(2) on its own and the ticket price looks like the base for the whole itinerary; Mennens corrected that reading specifically, holding that a downgrade on one flight has no effect on the other flights the same ticket covers, so those other flights sit outside article 10(2) entirely.
Take a domestic UK flight priced at £180 for that sector before taxes: at under 1,500 km, the 30% band applies, so £54 is due. A long-haul sector priced at £620 net of taxes, well over 3,500 km, sits in the 75% band, so £465 is due, whatever the rest of a longer itinerary cost.
Where the ticket shows one through-fare with no figure for the downgraded sector, split that fare, taxes aside, by distance: that sector’s kilometres over the total kilometres the ticket entitles you to fly. A £560 fare covering a 1,000 km leg and a 3,000 km leg gives 1,000 ÷ 4,000 of £560, which is £140 for the downgraded leg, and the 30% band turns that into £42.
Ask the airline in writing for the fare it charged for that specific sector before you calculate the percentage yourself.
#Does EU261 pay the same downgrade percentages?
30%, 50% and 75% are EU261’s percentages too, but its article 10(2) splits them differently. A flight within the EU over 1,500 km stays at 50% however long it is, except between the European territory of the Member States and the French overseas departments, which gets 75%. UK261 has no intra-Community rule, so distance alone sets its band.
EU over 1,500 km stays at 50% however long it is, except between the European territory of the Member States and the French overseas departments, which gets 75%. UK261 has no intra-Community rule, so distance alone sets its band.Source: EU261 art. 10(2)(a)-(c) (downgrade reimbursement) — eur-lex.europa.eu; UK261 art. 10(2) — legislation.gov.uk, checked 2026-09-15.
Neither text fixes a pound or euro amount, because the refund is a share of the fare, and the underlying test is identical: the class you flew against the class you paid for, on that one flight’s own fare, net of taxes and charges that do not depend on the class.
EU261 pairs its downgrade rule with a mirror-image one for the other direction: article 10(1) bars any supplementary payment when the airline places a passenger in a higher class. That question sits outside this UK261 guide, which covers only the downgrade side.
The two regimes overlap only in this narrow sense: both trace back to the same 2004 Regulation, so a downgrade dispute argued under one body of case law reads across to the other in principle, subject to the binding-versus-persuasive line for CJEU rulings decided after the end of the Brexit transition period. Mennens predates that line, so it settles the base identically on both sides of the Channel.
Departing an EU airport instead of the UK? See the EU261 downgrade guide for the euro figures and the French overseas department case in full.
Match your departure airport to the right regulation and currency before you send a claim.
#How fast must the airline pay, and how do you claim?
7 days is UK261’s deadline for a downgrade refund, the same window article 8(1) gives for reimbursing a ticket. Send your booking confirmation, boarding pass and the downgraded sector’s fare, citing article 10(2) and your distance band, to the airline directly.
Source: UK261 art. 10(2) (7-day deadline), art. 8(1) (reimbursement), art. 16(1) (enforcement) — legislation.gov.uk, checked 2026-09-15.
Article 10(2) does not say from which moment the seven days run, so date your written claim and treat that date as the start. An airline that has not paid a week after your dated claim, or refuses outright, gives you a clear point to escalate.
The case rests on two documents. The booking confirmation shows the class you paid for; the boarding pass or seat map shows the class you actually flew. Where the confirmation gives only one price for a connecting ticket, ask the airline in writing for the sector fare, or work out the distance share shown above and state your figure in the claim, so the airline has to answer a number rather than a request.
No reply within eight weeks, or a final response you reject, moves the claim to AviationADR or CEDR depending on your airline, or to the Civil Aviation Authority’s own complaints team if your airline belongs to neither; the ADR scheme guide sets out which is which.
AviationADR or 
CEDR depending on your airline, or to the 
Civil Aviation Authority’s own complaints team if your airline belongs to neither; the Put the class booked, the class flown, the sector fare and your claim date in one letter, and keep a dated copy of everything you send.
Not your situation? A flight departing an EU airport instead follows EU261 in euros, covered above. Routes to, from or within Canada follow the Air Passenger Protection Regulations; flying in the US, federal rules differ — see US DOT rules. Unsure which law applies? Work it out here.
Canada follow the 
US, federal rules differ — see General information on UK261 downgrades, not legal advice. For your specific case, contact the Civil Aviation Authority, Citizens Advice or a solicitor.
Citizens Advice or a solicitor.#Sources
- Regulation (EC) No 261/2004 as it forms part of UK law, arts. 4, 7, 10, 16 - legislation.gov.uk, checked 2026-09-15.
- Regulation (EC) No 261/2004, art. 10 - eur-lex.europa.eu, checked 2026-09-15.
- CJEU (Third Chamber), C-255/15 Mennens, judgment of 22 June 2016, operative part points 1-2 - eur-lex.europa.eu, checked 2026-09-18.
- Civil Aviation Authority, Alternative Dispute Resolution for air passengers - caa.co.uk, checked 2026-09-15.