EU261 · UK261 · Canada APPR · US DOT
Find out what your airline owes you
A delayed, cancelled or overbooked flight can be worth up to €600 per passenger — or nothing at all, depending on the airline's home country and which direction you were flying. Put the flight in and we will tell you which, and why.
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The rule that decides most claims
The thing almost nobody knows
Direction decides everything. Leaving the EU or the UK, you are covered whoever you fly with, because the rules attach to the airport. Flying in from outside, you are only covered if the airline itself is European.
So the same five-hour delay between New York and London is worth up to £520 on British Airways or Virgin Atlantic, and exactly nothing on Delta, United or American. People assume a transatlantic flight is a transatlantic flight. It is not, and this single rule is the difference between a filled-in form and a wasted afternoon.
The four regimes
Which one applies is decided by geography and by the airline's licence, not by your nationality or where you bought the ticket.
EU, EEA and Switzerland
EU261 — €250 – €600
The strongest passenger-rights law in the world. Covers any flight leaving the EU/EEA, and flights into it on an EU airline.
United Kingdom
UK261 — £220 – £520
The retained UK version of EU261. Same structure, sterling amounts, and one extra tier most checkers get wrong.
Canada
Canada APPR — CA$125 – CA$1,000
Pays by how late you land rather than how far you flew, and the amount depends on the size of the airline.
United States
US DOT — $0 for delays
There is no US right to compensation for a delay. What you do have is a cash refund right, and a real payment scale for being bumped.
Knowing which refusals to argue with
32 guides on what airlines actually say, which excuses hold up, and how to escalate when they stop replying.
Technical faults: the refusal that usually fails
If your refusal letter says "technical issue", "aircraft defect" or "operational reasons", you are probably owed the money. Here is why, and what to write back.
Two hours fifty-five: the borderline claim
The difference between nothing and €600 is sometimes the twenty minutes between landing and the doors opening. Here is how to prove it.
Stuck overnight: meals, hotels and what gets reimbursed
This is the right that applies even when compensation does not, has no financial ceiling, and goes unclaimed more than any other.
When the airline simply does not reply
Passengers who spend six months exchanging letters are not more likely to be paid. They have simply spent six months.
Common questions
How late does my flight have to be?
Three hours under EU261 and UK261, measured by when you arrived at your final destination rather than when you took off. Canada starts at three hours too. In the United States there is no delay compensation at all, however late you land.
Does it matter which airline I flew?
For flights leaving the EU or UK, no — the rules follow the departure airport and cover every airline. For flights into the EU or UK from elsewhere it matters a great deal, because only EU or UK airlines are covered. A US carrier flying you from New York to London owes you nothing for a delay; a UK or EU carrier on the same route owes you up to £520.
What if my ticket was cheap?
Under EU261, UK261 and the APPR the amount has nothing to do with what you paid. A £39 fare delayed five hours on a long-haul route pays exactly the same as a full-fare ticket. The exception is US denied boarding, which is calculated as a percentage of your fare.
How far back can I claim?
Six years in England and Wales, five in Scotland, but as little as two years in parts of Europe and one year in Canada. See the deadlines guide before you assume an old flight is gone.
Do I need a claim company?
Usually not. For a clear-cut delay on a UK or EU airline, the job is one email, and our template is free. Claim firms take roughly a third. They earn it when the airline has already refused you or is hard to reach.