Flight compensation time limits: how far back you can go
A delayed flight from 2021 can still be worth a claim in England. The same flight claimed through a German court would have run out years ago.
Last day
31 December 2026
- Time limit in Germany (BGB s. 195, 199) : 31 December 2026 · 69 days left
Prepared by Radif Partners · Method · law as of October 22, 2026 · 4,008 airports (OurAirports)
Neither EU261 nor UK261 sets a deadline of its own for compensation; the Court of Justice held in 2012 (C-139/11) that the time limit comes from national law. In England and Wales you have six years under section 9 of the Limitation Act 1980; in Scotland five years under the 1973 Prescription and Limitation Act. In Germany the period is three years, running from the end of the year of the flight, so a flight in August 2023 is time-barred on 31 December 2026. Canada’s APPR require the claim to reach the airline within one year of the flight. For EU flights from 23 October 2027, the amended regulation adds a new and much shorter step: the claim must reach the airline within nine months of the flight date, and the airline must answer within 30 days. UK261 has no such rule. Baggage is different again: two years under the Montreal Convention, with written notice within 7 or 21 days.
The limits side by side
| Where the claim is brought | Time limit | Flight on 12 Aug 2023: last day |
|---|---|---|
| England and Wales | 6 years (Limitation Act 1980, s. 9) | 12 August 2029 |
| Scotland | 5 years (1973 Act, s. 6) | 12 August 2028 |
| Germany | 3 years from the end of the year (BGB s. 195) | 31 December 2026 |
| Canada, APPR request | one year after the flight | 11 August 2024 |
| EU flights from 23 October 2027 | 9 months to claim from the airline | not applicable |
The calculator above is set to a flight on 12 August 2023 and shows each date. In England and Wales that claim is good for years to come; in a German court it expires at the end of 2026, a few weeks from now.
Enter your flight date
Time limit in Germany
31 December 2024
| UK261, England & Wales | 15 March 2027 |
| Canada (APPR) | 14 March 2022 |
For a flight on the 15th of the month.
Where you claim decides the clock
EU261 and UK261 contain no time limit, so courts apply their national rules. For UK passengers on flights from UK airports, UK law and its six or five years will normally govern. If you fly from Frankfurt or Munich and want to use the German arbitration body or a German court, the three-year rule applies, counted from 31 December of the flight year (BGB s. 199). Using the longest period available is fine; relying on it without checking is risky.
What stops the clock
In England and Wales only issuing a court claim stops the limitation period. Writing to the airline or chasing it on social media does not. In Germany, by contrast, ongoing negotiations and an application to the arbitration body suspend the period, and the suspension lasts until six months after the procedure ends. Details on escalation: how to escalate a flight delay claim.
The new nine-month window in the EU
Regulation (EU) 2026/2202 introduces, for flights from 23 October 2027, a deadline that did not exist before: 9 months from the flight date to claim from the airline, which must answer within 30 days. A flight on 1 December 2027 must be claimed by 1 September 2028. UK travellers flying home from Spain or Greece will fall under it, whatever the airline. See EU261 reform 2027.