A delay is not automatically a payout
UK and EU passenger rules can mean meals, a hotel and, in some cases, a fixed sum of money. Those are different things. Care (food, calls, overnight rooms) can be owed even when compensation is not. Compensation is a set amount for qualifying long delays, cancellations with short notice, or denied boarding — and airlines often argue that weather or air-traffic restrictions put the disruption outside the rules.
This page is a planning guide, not legal advice. Use it to decide whether a claim is even plausible, what evidence to keep, and whether to write to the airline yourself or use a specialist. Live eligibility checks sit with partners below. For a longer walkthrough of the same rules, see Am I entitled to flight compensation?
What the clock actually measures
For delay claims, the useful number is how late you reached your final destination — doors open, not how long you sat on the tarmac. A two-hour wait at the gate that still lands you 90 minutes late is usually a care question, not a compensation one. A connection that strands you overnight can still qualify if you arrive three hours or more behind the original schedule.
UK retained passenger rules and EU261 use distance bands. In the UK the familiar ceilings are £220, £350 and £520 per person depending on the length of the journey; EU figures are often quoted in euros at €250, €400 and €600. Those are legal maxima for qualifying cases, not a promise and not a live quote. Denied boarding (overbooking) and cancellations with little notice follow related tests. Always match the itinerary you actually flew, including codeshares.
When airlines say no — and when that is fair
“Extraordinary circumstances” is the phrase that kills a lot of letters. Severe weather, some air-traffic control decisions, political unrest and certain hidden manufacturing defects can let an airline refuse the fixed payment while still owing care. A crew-roster problem or a technical issue the airline could reasonably have prevented is a weaker defence — which is why the same delay can produce two different answers from two different carriers.
Keep the distinction in your head: you can be owed a hotel and still lose the cash claim. You can also be owed nothing extra if the airline rerouted you to arrive under the time threshold. Read the refusal letter for the actual reason, not the tone. If you want worked examples of delay length versus distance, the companion article airport delay claim example payouts stays on that arithmetic.
Airline first, or a specialist
Writing to the airline yourself is free and often enough when the facts are clean: a three-hour-plus arrival, a cancellation inside fourteen days without a convincing extraordinary-circumstances story, and paperwork that still exists. Specialists take a success fee if they win. That is a reasonable trade when the airline has already said no, the route is messy, or you do not want to chase correspondence for months.
Deadlines vary. Some EU countries are short; England and Wales often allow much longer for a court claim than passengers expect. Do not assume a two-year-old disruption is dead, and do not assume a six-year-old one is still easy. Check before you pay anyone to “guarantee” an outcome — nobody can. The widgets below run eligibility checks; they do not replace the airline’s decision or a regulator.
- Keep boarding passes, booking emails, delay or cancellation notices, and receipts for meals or hotels you had to buy.
- Note the flight numbers you actually operated, not only the marketed codeshare.
- Photograph the arrivals board or the airline app timestamp if you can — final arrival time is the argument.
Care on the day, claim later
If you are still in the terminal, ask the airline for meals and, if you are stranded overnight, a room. Compensation letters happen after you are home. A lounge pass can make a long delay less grim while you wait — see airport lounge access — but it is not a substitute for the care the airline should provide when the rules say they must.
If the disruption wrecks a hotel night or a transfer you already paid for, keep those receipts too. They are not the same as the fixed compensation band, but they are the practical cost of the day. Then use a partner check if you want a second view of whether the flight sits inside the rules at all.
Flight compensation FAQs
Does a three-hour delay always mean compensation?
No. Three hours at the final destination is the usual delay threshold, but the airline can still refuse the fixed payment if extraordinary circumstances apply. You may still be owed meals or a hotel. Check the actual arrival time, the distance band, and the reason given — not only how long you queued at the gate.
Should I claim myself or use a company?
Start with the airline when the facts are simple and you still have the booking trail. A specialist is more useful after a refusal, on messy connections, or if you do not want to manage the letters. They charge a success fee if they recover money. Compare that cut with the likely band before you sign.
How far back can I claim?
It depends on the country whose rules apply and on whether you are writing to the airline or going to court. Some EU time limits are short; England and Wales can be much longer. Treat “flights up to six years” marketing as a prompt to check, not as a guarantee that your old ticket still qualifies.
Is this legal advice?
No. SkyStayTravel explains how the rules are usually described so you can decide whether to check a partner or write to the airline. For a binding view, use the airline’s process, a specialist, or official CAA / EU guidance. Partner widgets below are eligibility tools, not a court.
