Your Flight Delay Rights in 2025: What UK Airlines Must Pay You

Every year, tens of thousands of UK travellers miss out on compensation they're legally entitled to. Following Brexit, the UK retained the EU261/2004 regulation under UK law (now UK261), which gives passengers on flights departing from or arriving into the UK significant protections.

What You're Entitled To Under UK261:

The compensation amounts are fixed, based on flight distance:

| Flight Distance | Delay (3+ hours) | Compensation | |---|---|---| | Up to 1,500 km | 3+ hours | £220 | | 1,500–3,500 km | 3+ hours | £350 | | Over 3,500 km | 3–4 hours | £260 | | Over 3,500 km | 4+ hours | £520 |

When Are You NOT Entitled to Compensation?

Airlines can avoid paying if the delay was caused by "extraordinary circumstances" — meaning things genuinely outside their control:

• Extreme weather
• Air traffic control strikes
• Security threats
• Hidden manufacturing defects (not normal technical faults)

Note: standard technical faults are NOT extraordinary circumstances. If your airline tries to use a routine engine fault as justification, challenge it.

The 6-Year Rule

In the UK, you have up to 6 years to claim flight compensation (5 years in Scotland). Many travellers don't realise they can still claim for flights that were disrupted years ago.

How to Claim:

1. Claim directly with the airline first. Use their compensation claim form. Keep records of all correspondence.
2. If rejected (or no response in 8 weeks): Escalate to the airline's Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) body. Most UK airlines use CEDR or AviationADR — it's free for passengers.
3. Still no resolution: The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) can investigate systemic non-compliance, though individual claim resolution sits with ADR.
4. As a last resort: Small claims court. The online service (gov.uk/make-court-claim-for-money) costs £25–£115 depending on claim size and is often sufficient leverage to prompt airline settlement.

Useful Tools:

• CAA Flight Delay Checker: caa.co.uk
• MoneySavingExpert's free Flight Delay Reclaim tool: moneysavingexpert.com/travel/flight-delays

DheeVoy's Disruption Alerts (Coming Soon)

DheeVoy Premium will monitor your flights in real-time and alert you the moment a delay crosses a compensation threshold — so you know your rights before you even land.