UK and EU law gives passengers strong protections when flights go wrong. Here’s everything you need to know — explained clearly, without the legal jargon.
Whether you’re flying within the UK, between the UK and EU, or on an EU carrier arriving into the UK, the law is on your side. Here’s what you may be entitled to when things go wrong.
Up to £520 / €600 per passenger for delays, cancellations, or denied boarding — depending on flight distance.
If your flight is cancelled or you’re denied boarding, you can choose between a full refund or an alternative flight to your destination.
Airlines must provide meals and drinks while you wait, if your disruption lasts two or more hours.
If you’re stuck overnight, your airline must arrange and pay for a hotel, plus transfers to and from the airport.
Lost, delayed, or damaged baggage may be covered under the Montreal Convention, regardless of airline or route.
You may be able to claim for flights up to 6 years ago, depending on your jurisdiction — so past disruptions still count.
Your rights depend on where your flight departs from and which airline operates it. For most passengers travelling to, from, or within the UK and EU, two key pieces of legislation apply.
Following Brexit, the EU’s passenger rights regulation was incorporated directly into UK law. This is sometimes called “UK 261” and it protects passengers on:
The legislation covers flight delays of 3+ hours, cancellations with less than 14 days’ notice, denied boarding, and missed connections caused by the airline. The full text is available at legislation.gov.uk.
The original EU regulation remains in force across all European Union member states and applies to:
This regulation is especially relevant for UK passengers flying into the EU on a European carrier. Rights are essentially identical to UK 261, with compensation up to €600. The full regulation is available at eur-lex.europa.eu.
The Montreal Convention is an international treaty that applies to almost all international flights, regardless of route or airline. It primarily covers:
Which regulation applies to your flight? In some situations, both UK and EU law may provide protection — we’ll always consider which gives you the stronger claim. If you’re unsure, get in touch and we’ll help you work it out.
UK law and EC 261 include an important exception: airlines are not required to pay if a disruption was caused by extraordinary circumstances — events genuinely outside the airline’s control. Examples generally include:
Storms, fog, or ice conditions that make safe flight operations impossible and affect the airport or airspace.
Industrial action by air traffic control staff — but not strikes by the airline’s own employees.
Unexpected security threats or airport closures that are beyond the airline’s reasonable control.
Technical faults are usually not extraordinary circumstances. A hidden manufacturing defect that could not have been detected may qualify, but routine maintenance issues or known faults generally do not. Courts have consistently found that airlines cannot use technical problems as a blanket defence.
If your airline claims extraordinary circumstances, it’s worth checking whether other flights operated normally on the same route that day — this can be a useful indicator of whether the disruption was truly unavoidable.
We have tailored pages for the companies we deal with most below: