UK261: compensation for delayed and cancelled flights from the UK
Since Brexit the UK has kept the EU passenger rules as its own law, with the same three hours and the amounts converted into pounds.
Your compensation · LGW · London → FAO · Faro
£350
per passenger, no deduction · owed
- UK261 (UK law)£350 · owed
Three hours or more late at the final destination: full compensation (CJEU, Sturgeon).
- Great-circle distance
- 1,688 km
- Distance band
- 1,500 to 3,500 km
- Court time limit, England and Wales
- 23 October 2032
- Court time limit, Scotland
- 23 October 2031
Write the claim letter to the airline
Prepared by Radif Partners · Method · law as of October 22, 2026 · 4,008 airports (OurAirports)
UK261 is Regulation (EC) No 261/2004 as retained in UK law at the end of the Brexit transition period and amended since. It covers every flight departing from a UK airport, whatever the airline, and flights arriving in the UK from abroad when a UK or EU airline operates them. If you reach your final destination three hours or more late, or your flight is cancelled less than 14 days before departure, each passenger is owed £220 for flights up to 1,500 km, £350 from 1,500 to 3,500 km and £520 beyond, which the airline may halve to £260 when a long-haul delay stays under four hours. Nothing is owed when the cause was an extraordinary circumstance such as weather or air traffic control restrictions, but a technical fault or a sick crew member is the airline’s problem under UK case law. After five hours of delay you may choose a refund instead of flying. Claims can be brought for six years in England and Wales and five years in Scotland, through the airline first, then an approved ADR body or the Civil Aviation Authority, then the courts.
Which flights UK261 covers
The table runs the site’s engine on seven typical cases with an arrival delay of four hours and ten minutes and a cause within the airline’s control. It shows how often two regimes overlap since 2021.
| Flight | Distance | UK261 | EU261 |
|---|---|---|---|
| London Gatwick to Faro, UK airline | 1,688 km | £350 | no |
| Faro to London Gatwick, UK airline | 1,688 km | £350 | €400 |
| Faro to London Gatwick, EU airline | 1,688 km | £350 | €400 |
| New York to London Heathrow, UK airline | 5,540 km | £520 | no |
| New York to London Heathrow, US airline | 5,540 km | no | no |
| Manchester to Dubai, any airline | 5,656 km | £520 | no |
| Edinburgh to Amsterdam, UK airline | 666 km | £220 | no |
Three rules explain every line. First, any departure from the UK is covered by UK261. Second, an arrival in the UK is covered only if a UK or EU airline operates the flight, so a US airline from New York is outside it. Third, EU261 still applies on its own terms to flights leaving the EU, so the Faro to Gatwick leg carries a euro amount whatever the airline.
UK261 and EU261 by distance
EU261 today (1,500 to 3,500 km)
€400
| UK261 | £350 |
| Long haul, 3 to 4 h late | – |
The amounts in detail
| Distance | Delay at arrival | Compensation |
|---|---|---|
| Up to 1,500 km | 3 h or more | £220 |
| 1,500 to 3,500 km, and flights within the UK over 1,500 km | 3 h or more | £350 |
| Over 3,500 km | 3 h to under 4 h | £260 |
| Over 3,500 km | 4 h or more | £520 |
The distance is measured on the great circle between the first departure airport and the final destination on one booking, not along the route flown. The delay is counted until a door opens and passengers may leave, as in the Civil Aviation Authority’s guidance. A cancellation pays the same amounts, unless you were told at least 14 days before, or were offered a replacement close to your original times, as set out in the CAA’s page on cancellations.
Long haul: the four-hour line
EU261 today
€300
| EU261 from 23 Oct 2027 | €300 |
| UK261 | £260 |
What the airline owes besides money
From two hours of delay on short flights, three on medium and four on long ones, the airline must offer food and drink in proportion to the wait, and a hotel with transfers if you are stuck overnight. Keep receipts: reasonable expenses you paid yourself because the airline did not provide care are claimed separately from the fixed compensation. After five hours you can give up the journey and get the unused part of the ticket refunded, with a flight back to your starting point if you are mid-trip.
How to escalate
Write to the airline that operated the flight first; the letter generator above prepares the text with the right article and amount. If the airline refuses, or has not given a final answer after eight weeks, the next step depends on whether it belongs to an approved scheme. Most large airlines use AviationADR or CEDR; their decision binds the airline if you accept it, and you have twelve months from the airline’s final response to apply. Airlines outside any scheme are handled by the CAA’s Passenger Advice and Complaints Team, which can press the airline but cannot impose a decision.
Court is the last step. In England and Wales a claim of this size goes on the small claims track and can be filed with Money Claim Online; the time limit is six years under section 9 of the Limitation Act 1980. In Scotland the limit is five years under the Prescription and Limitation (Scotland) Act 1973, and claims go through the simple procedure in the sheriff court.