UK261 Explained: UK Flight Delay Compensation Rules and Amounts in 2026

Last updated: Jul 31, 2026

If your flight arrives at its final destination three hours or more late and the cause was within the airline’s control, UK261 gives you a fixed cash payment of £220, £350 or £520 per passenger, set by how far the flight was.

This page sets out what the rules say today.

Table of Contents

What UK261 actually is

UK261 is shorthand, and no Act of Parliament carries that name. It refers to Regulation (EC) No 261/2004, the instrument travellers in Europe know as EU261.

The UK kept it on the statute book at the end of the Brexit implementation period on 31 December 2020, with The Air Passenger Rights and Air Travel Organisers’ Licensing (Amendment) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019 making the changes needed for it to work as domestic law. That is where the euro sums became sterling sums.

The Aviation (Consumers) (Amendment) Regulations 2023 then amended it again. UK261 and EU261 started identical and are now measurably different documents.

For the wider picture across regimes, see our guide to flight delay compensation.

Which flights UK261 covers

Article 3(1) sets the scope test, and it has three limbs:

Any flight departing from an airport in the UK, on any airline of any nationality.
A flight arriving at a UK airport from a country outside the UK, if the operating carrier is a UK air carrier or a Community carrier, meaning an airline licensed in the EU.
A flight arriving in an EU member state from outside the UK, if the operating carrier is a UK air carrier, unless you already received benefits, compensation and assistance in that other country.

Worked through: a British Airways service leaving London for New York is covered because it departs the UK. An easyJet flight from Gatwick to Malaga is covered on the same basis.

The return from Malaga to Gatwick is covered too, because easyJet operates as an EU-licensed carrier into the UK. An Emirates flight from Dubai to Heathrow falls outside UK261, because it arrives in the UK on a carrier that is neither UK nor EU licensed. The same aircraft going the other way, Heathrow to Dubai, is covered.

If your flight sits outside UK261, the departure country’s own regime may still apply, and those regimes are far less generous. Compare Canada’s APPR and the US position on delay compensation.

Article 3(2) adds conditions. You need a confirmed reservation and to have presented yourself for check-in as instructed or, where no time was given, no later than 45 minutes before the published departure time.

Tickets issued free or at a reduced fare not available to the public are out of scope. Frequent flyer award tickets are in scope.

The 2023 amendment inserted Article 3(1A), which settles connecting flights: a journey of more than one leg is treated as a whole if it was booked as a single unit, and as departing from the point of departure of the first leg. A single booking from Manchester to Singapore via Dubai counts as a UK departure the whole way through.

What you get if your flights are delayed

UK261 runs three separate timers, and travellers routinely confuse them.

Departure delayed 2 hours (under 1,500 km), 3 hours (1,500 to 3,500 km) or 4 hours (over 3,500 km)

Right to care under Article 9: food and drink proportionate to the wait, plus two phone calls or emails. If the delay runs overnight, the airline must provide hotel accommodation and transport to and from it.

Arrived 3 hours or more late at your final destination

Right to fixed cash compensation under Article 7, unless the airline proves extraordinary circumstances. Arrival time means the moment passengers are permitted to exit the aircraft.

Delay of 5 hours or more

You can choose not to travel and claim a refund of the unused portion of the ticket, on top of any compensation you are owed.

The care duties apply whatever caused the delay. Bad weather and closed airspace remove the airline’s liability for cash compensation while leaving its duty to feed you and put you up intact.

If the airline provides nothing and you pay for a meal or a hotel in London yourself, keep the receipts and claim the reasonable cost back.

UK261 compensation amounts in 2026

The sums come from Article 7 as it stands in UK law. They are per passenger, including children on their own ticket, and are paid regardless of the fare.

UK261 compensation per passenger by flight distance and arrival delay. Distances are measured by the great circle route.
Flight distance	Under 3 hours late	3 to 4 hours late	Over 4 hours late
1,500 km or less London to Amsterdam	Nothing	£220	£220
1,500 km to 3,500 km London to Marrakesh	Nothing	£350	£350
Over 3,500 km London to New York	Nothing	£260	£520

The £260 figure in the bottom row is the one people miss. Article 7(2) lets the airline halve the payment where the shortfall against the original arrival time is small, and the CAA applies that reduction to long-haul flights landing three to four hours late.

Cross the four-hour mark on a flight over 3,500 km and the figure doubles to £520.

Extraordinary circumstances: what does and does not count

This is where most refused claims land. Since December 2023 UK261 carries its own definition: circumstances that, by their nature or origin, are not inherent in the normal exercise of the airline’s activity, are beyond its actual control, and which it took all reasonable measures over but could not avoid.

A second limb covers anything arising from the impact of an air traffic management decision.

CAA guidance says the following usually qualify: weather incompatible with the safe operation of the flight, strikes unrelated to the airline, acts of terrorism or sabotage, security risks, political or civil unrest, and hidden manufacturing defects.

Routine technical faults do not qualify. The Court of Appeal settled that in Jet2 v Huzar in 2014, and the Supreme Court declined to hear an appeal that October.

An unexpected mechanical problem counts as part of running an airline, so a delay caused by one is compensable. Airline staff strikes, crew shortages and knock-on delays that better planning would have absorbed usually sit in the same category.

Air traffic control strikes and airspace closures generally are extraordinary, which is why French ATC strike delays rarely produce a payout.

One point to hold on to: extraordinary circumstances remove the cash compensation only. Your right to care, to rerouting and to a refund survives.

Where UK261 now differs from EU261

Five differences are worth knowing.

The sums are fixed in sterling. £220, £350 and £520 were set on 31 December 2020 and have not been uprated since. The EU figures remain EUR 250, EUR 400 and EUR 600, unchanged since 2004. Exchange-rate movement has no effect on what a UK claim is worth.
The UK top band is wider. The EU version puts intra-Community flights of more than 1,500 km into the middle band, capping them at EUR 400 however long they are. The UK version deleted that limb, so any flight in UK261 scope that exceeds 3,500 km sits in the top band at £520.
Key case law is now written into the UK text. The 2023 amendment inserted a statutory definition of extraordinary circumstances, a definition of arrival time, the three-hour compensation right, the connecting-flight rule and an express limitation rule. In the EU those points still rest on Court of Justice judgments.
Court of Justice rulings no longer bind UK courts. Under section 6(1) of the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018, a UK court is not bound by any decision of the European Court made on or after the end of the implementation period, although it may have regard to one. UK and EU interpretation can drift apart from here.
Enforcement is purely domestic. Article 16 now points to a body designated under the Civil Aviation (Denied Boarding, Compensation and Assistance) Regulations 2005, which is the CAA. The pre-Brexit option of complaining to another country’s enforcement body is gone.

How to claim, and how long you have

Compensation is not automatic. You claim from the operating carrier, the airline that actually flew the aircraft, which may differ from the one you booked with.

Put the claim in writing so you have a dated record, and include the booking reference, flight number and date, every passenger’s name, how late you arrived at the final destination, and receipts for anything you had to pay for.

On the deadline, the 2023 amendment inserted Article 3(9), which states that a claim under the regulation is determined for limitation purposes in accordance with section 9 of the Limitation Act 1980. That gives six years, consistent with the Court of Appeal’s decision in Dawson v Thomson Airways in 2014.

The CAA notes that a five-year limit applies in Scotland. Article 15 stops airlines shortening that in their conditions of carriage, so a two-year cut-off in the small print is unenforceable.

Carrier guides worth reading first: easyJet delay compensation and Ryanair flight delay compensation, both of which sit inside UK261 scope across much of their network.

What to do when the airline refuses

Ask for the refusal reason in writing, naming the circumstance relied on. Then escalate in order.

Alternative dispute resolution. The CAA has approved two ADR bodies, AviationADR and the Centre for Effective Dispute Resolution (CEDR). ADR is free for passengers, usually decides within three months, is generally final with no appeal, and the airline is required to follow the outcome. Check which body your airline belongs to, because membership is currently voluntary.
The CAA’s Passenger Advice and Complaints Team. If your airline is not signed up to an ADR body, PACT may take up your case. It cannot issue a binding decision.
The Consumer Council. For flights to and from Northern Ireland, complaints can go there instead.
Court. A UK261 claim can be brought as a small claim, provided you are inside the limitation period.

None of this needs a claims management company. ADR costs you nothing, and a firm running the same process will keep a share of the payout.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is UK261 the same as EU261?

They share a common origin and are no longer identical. The UK version pays in sterling, has its own statutory definition of extraordinary circumstances, and is interpreted by UK courts that are no longer bound by Court of Justice rulings. On a flight from the UK to the EU, both regimes can be in play, and you claim once.

Is my Emirates flight from Dubai to London covered?

No. UK261 covers arrivals into the UK only where the operating carrier is a UK or EU airline. Emirates is neither, so the inbound leg falls outside. The outbound leg from a UK airport is covered, because a UK departure brings any airline into scope.

Is the payment per booking or per passenger?

Per passenger. A family of four delayed five hours on a flight over 3,500 km is owed £520 each, £2,080 in total, whatever they paid for the tickets.

Can I get compensation and a refund?

Yes. If the delay reaches five hours and you choose not to travel, the refund and the Article 7 compensation are separate entitlements. Reasonable out-of-pocket costs the airline should have covered are separate again.

Does a strike always kill my claim?

No. A strike by people outside the airline, such as air traffic controllers or third-party ground handlers, is usually treated as extraordinary. A strike by the airline’s own staff generally is not, so those delays remain compensable.

Sources

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