Your flight out of Manchester was due to leave at 7am. By lunchtime you're still at the gate with a meal voucher that barely covers a sandwich. Meanwhile, the airline app keeps nudging the departure time back. You get home a day late, send a complaint, and receive a polite template that says nothing about money.
That template leaves out the part that matters. If your flight left a UK airport, British law may owe you £220 to £520 in cash per passenger, on top of the food and hotel the airline should already have covered. The law is called UK261. We built Gyro to collect that money for you on a no-win, no-fee basis. That way, you never have to argue with an airline inbox again.
What is UK261, and how did it replace EU261 after Brexit?
UK261 is the name for Regulation (EC) No 261/2004 as it now exists in UK law. When the Brexit transition period ended on 31 December 2020, the UK kept the EU rule word for word. Then it swapped the euro amounts for pounds and rewrote the parts that referred to "Member States". Officially, it's now "assimilated" law. The UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) enforces it.
The two regimes have already started to drift apart. In December 2023, the Aviation (Consumers) (Amendment) Regulations 2023 added new clauses to the UK version only. One treats a journey with several legs as a single trip if you booked it as one unit. Another ties every claim to the six-year limitation period in English law. Neither exists in the EU text.
What UK261 gives you is the same three-part package passengers had before Brexit. There's care while you wait, a choice of refund or re-routing when things go badly wrong, and fixed cash compensation when the airline is to blame. A surprising number of travellers we speak to assume Brexit wiped all of this out. It didn't. That belief alone leaves a lot of money with the airlines.
Which flights are covered by UK261, and when does EU261 apply instead?
Article 3 of UK261 sets out three situations. Your flight is covered if it departs a UK airport, whatever the airline. It's also covered if it arrives in the UK from abroad on a UK or EU airline. Finally, it covers flights arriving in the EU on a UK airline.
You also need a confirmed booking and must check in on time. Where the airline sets no deadline, that means at least 45 minutes before the published departure. Free tickets and staff fares aren't covered. Frequent-flyer reward tickets are. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise.
Here's how common routes play out:
| Your flight |
Operating airline |
UK261 |
EU261 |
| London Heathrow to New York |
Any airline, e.g. Delta |
Yes |
No |
| London Gatwick to Malaga |
UK or EU airline, e.g. easyJet |
Yes |
Yes (one claim only) |
| Faro to Manchester |
UK or EU airline, e.g. Jet2 |
Yes |
Yes (one claim only) |
| New York to London Heathrow |
UK airline, e.g. Virgin Atlantic |
Yes |
No |
| New York to London Heathrow |
Non-European airline, e.g. American |
No |
No |
| Dubai to London Gatwick |
Non-European airline, e.g. Emirates |
No |
No |
Where both laws apply, you choose one and claim once. You can't collect UK and EU compensation for the same disruption. The CAA also points out that passengers arriving in the UK on non-European airlines, such as US carriers flying in from America, may have rights under a different system entirely.
Round trips trip people up most. Your outbound from Gatwick and your return from Malaga can sit under different laws, with different deadlines and different enforcement routes. We check every leg on its own before filing, because the regime you pick can decide how long you have and who settles the dispute.
How much UK261 compensation can you claim for a delayed flight?
Compensation depends on two things: the distance of your flight and how late you reached your final destination. Your ticket price doesn't come into it. A £29 sale fare to Amsterdam earns the same £220 as a flexible ticket on the same plane.
| Flight distance |
Example route |
Arrival delay |
Compensation per passenger |
| Up to 1,500 km |
Glasgow to Amsterdam |
3 hours or more |
£220 |
| 1,500 to 3,500 km |
East Midlands to Marrakesh |
3 hours or more |
£350 |
| Over 3,500 km |
London to New York |
3 to 4 hours |
£260 |
| Over 3,500 km |
London to New York |
4 hours or more |
£520 |
Distance is measured by the great circle route, the shortest line between the two airports. The delay that counts is your arrival time at your final destination. Under case law decided before Brexit, "arrival" means the moment the aircraft doors open. Pushing back four hours late doesn't qualify if the pilot makes up time and you land two hours and fifty minutes behind schedule.
On a single booking with a connection, the distance runs from your first airport to your last. A late arrival at the connecting airport doesn't count on its own. What matters is when you finally get where you were going, which is why a short first-leg delay that makes you miss your connecting flight can turn into a full £520 claim. Separate self-transfer bookings don't get this protection.
The airline must pay in cash, by bank transfer or by cheque. It can only use vouchers if you agree in writing. On long-haul claims, the step from £260 to £520 often comes down to a few minutes either side of the four-hour mark. We check the recorded door-opening time against the timetable on every long-haul claim, because a payment offer based on the touchdown time can leave half the money on the table.
What are your UK261 rights when a flight is cancelled?
A cancellation gives you an immediate choice between a full refund and re-routing to your destination, either at the earliest opportunity or on a later date that suits you. The refund covers every unused part of the booking. It must arrive within seven days. It's yours whatever caused the cancellation.
Compensation depends on how much notice you got. With 14 days or more, there's nothing extra to claim. With less, you're owed £220 to £520 unless the airline gave you a replacement flight close to your original times:
- 7 to 14 days' notice: no compensation if the new flight left no more than two hours early and arrived less than four hours late.
- Under 7 days' notice: no compensation if the new flight left no more than one hour early and arrived less than two hours late.
Long delays carry a similar exit. Once your flight is five hours late, you can refuse to travel and take a refund for the flights you haven't used. If you're stuck at an airport where you were changing planes, the airline must also fly you back to where you started. Before you accept anything at the desk, it's worth knowing how to insist on a cash refund instead of travel credit.
Airline apps tend to put the voucher button first. We regularly hear from passengers who tapped "accept credit" in the middle of the night and assumed they'd given up their compensation. On its own, accepting a refund in credit doesn't cancel the separate fixed sum the airline may still owe you.
What care must airlines provide under UK261 while you wait?
The right to care starts long before compensation does. It also applies whatever caused the delay, including bad weather and air traffic control failures. Your airline must look after you once your departure is delayed by:
- at least two hours on flights up to 1,500 km;
- at least three hours on flights between 1,500 km and 3,500 km;
- at least four hours on flights over 3,500 km.
Care means food and drink in proportion to the wait, two phone calls or emails, and a hotel plus transfers if you're stuck overnight. On a cancellation, care applies until the airline actually gets you on a plane, however long that takes.
If the airline doesn't arrange any of this, you can pay for it yourself and claim the money back. Keep itemised receipts. The CAA warns that airlines are unlikely to repay alcohol, luxury hotels or fine dining.
Expense claims fail far more often on missing paperwork than on the law. A card statement showing "£47.80, Pret, Gatwick North" proves less than the itemised receipt it replaced. Photograph every receipt the moment you get it, before it vanishes into a coat pocket.
Did you know?
Did you know? UK261 has its own claim clock. Since December 2023, Article 3(9) links every claim to section 9 of the Limitation Act 1980, which gives you six years to claim in England and Wales. The reformed EU rules, due from mid-2027, give passengers nine months.
Which delays count as extraordinary circumstances under UK261?
Airlines don't have to pay compensation when an "extraordinary circumstance" caused the disruption. The regulation never defines the term. The courts have filled the gap. According to the CAA's own guidance, the events that usually qualify are:
- weather that makes flying unsafe;
- strikes unrelated to the airline, such as air traffic control, airport or border staff;
- terrorism, sabotage, security risks, and political or civil unrest;
- hidden manufacturing defects, such as a recall that grounds a whole fleet.
UK courts have narrowed the airline's escape route twice. In Jet2 v Huzar (2014), the Court of Appeal ruled that routine technical faults aren't extraordinary. Then in Lipton v BA Cityflyer (2024), the Supreme Court unanimously held that a captain calling in sick is "an inherent part" of running an airline. The burden of proof sits with the airline, not with you.
The two NATS failures in September 2026 show the other side. After the flight planning outage on 8 September and the Prestwick fault on 21 September, the CAA said both were likely to be extraordinary circumstances, including some of the knock-on delays. Passengers on those flights are owed care but probably not compensation.
That knock-on label deserves scrutiny. The CAA itself states that its view is "for guidance only" and that each case depends on its facts. When a flight two days after an outage is cancelled because the crew ran out of hours, we ask what actually grounded that specific aircraft, not what was happening in the news that week.
How do you claim UK261 compensation, and where do you escalate if the airline says no?
Start with the airline, in writing. Quote UK261, your booking reference, the flight number, the scheduled and actual arrival times, and the amount you're claiming. Some airlines want compensation and expenses claimed through separate forms. Check before you send.
If the airline rejects you, or hasn't replied within eight weeks, you can escalate. Most airlines flying from the UK belong to a CAA-approved Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) scheme. ADR is free and usually decides within three months. If you accept the decision, the airline has to follow it. You must apply within 12 months of the airline's final answer.
| Airline (CAA list) |
Where to escalate |
Is the outcome binding? |
| British Airways, BA CityFlyer, Cathay Pacific, SAS |
CEDR |
Yes, on the airline, if you accept the decision |
| easyJet, Ryanair, TUI Airways, Virgin Atlantic, Wizz Air, KLM, Air France |
AviationADR |
Yes, on the airline, if you accept the decision |
| Lufthansa, Swiss, Austrian, Brussels Airlines |
Schlichtung Reise & Verkehr (Germany) |
Handled under that scheme's own rules |
| Airlines not signed up to an ADR scheme |
CAA Passenger Advice and Complaints Team (PACT) |
No, PACT can only press the airline |
The CAA's Passenger Advice and Complaints Team steps in for airlines outside any scheme. It can't force a payment, though. Residents of Northern Ireland can also go to the Consumer Council. When everything else fails, the small claims court is the final step. For a fuller picture of how each enforcement body fits together, see our guide to which regulator handles your complaint and when to escalate.
ADR adjudicators decide on the papers. They don't investigate or phone the airline's operations team. That means the claim you submit is the whole case: the delay reason in writing, the arrival time, every receipt, and every email. We assemble that bundle before escalating, because a gap in it is the easiest thing for an airline's defence to exploit.
How long do you have to make a UK261 claim?
In England and Wales, you have six years from the date of the flight. UK261 now says so directly: Article 3(9) ties claims to section 9 of the Limitation Act 1980. Northern Ireland also allows six years, while Scotland allows five.
That's generous by European standards. Under today's EU rules, the deadline depends on which country's courts hear your claim and can be as short as a year. Under the reformed EU261, due from mid-2027, passengers will have nine months to submit a claim.
Six years is long enough for most people to forget a disruption entirely. When passengers connect their inbox to Gyro's Autopilot, we scan up to three years of bookings. We regularly turn up delayed UK departures that are still well inside the window and still worth hundreds of pounds.
How is UK261 changing in 2026 and 2027?
For the first time since Brexit, the two laws are about to split. The European Parliament approved the EU261 reform by 646 votes to 12 on 7 July 2026. The Council gave final sign-off on 13 July. Airlines then get a 12-month transition. That puts the new EU rules in force from around mid-2027.
The EU kept its three-hour trigger and its €250 to €600 amounts. It also added a nine-month claim window, a 30-day deadline for airlines to answer, and a free personal item in the cabin. None of that touches UK261. Unless the UK chooses to copy it, a flight departing London will run on different rules from one departing Paris.
| Rule |
UK261 (in force now) |
Reformed EU261 (expected mid-2027) |
| Delay trigger for compensation |
3 hours at arrival |
3 hours at arrival |
| Compensation amounts |
£220 / £350 / £520 |
€250 / €400 / €600 |
| Time to submit your claim |
6 years (5 in Scotland) |
9 months |
| Deadline for the airline to answer |
None fixed; ADR after 8 weeks |
30 days |
| Free personal item in the cabin |
Not required |
Required |
At home, the Civil Aviation (Consumer Protection and Regulatory Reform) Bill has passed the House of Lords and is now in the Commons. It would let the CAA fine airlines directly when they fail to pay compensation or provide care. Today, the regulator has to go to court. The Bill would also give ministers power to rewrite passenger rights, including disruption compensation, through future regulations. You can follow it on the UK Parliament Bill page.
Nothing in the Bill changes what you're owed today. The £220 to £520 amounts, the three-hour trigger and the six-year window apply to every UK flight right now. If ministers do rewrite the rules later, it will come through new regulations after the Bill passes. We'll update this guide when it happens.
What should you do if UK261 covers your disrupted flight?
UK261 is one of the few consumer laws that hands you a fixed cash sum without asking you to prove a penny of loss. If your flight left a UK airport, or flew into the UK on a British or European airline, and you arrived three or more hours late, the starting assumption should be that you're owed something. The airline has to prove otherwise. The UK's highest court has already rejected two of its favourite excuses.
The bigger risk isn't losing a claim. It's never making one. A refund taken in credit, a template rejection left unanswered, or a delay from three summers ago that you've filed under bad luck can all still be worth £220 to £520 per passenger. Run your flight through Gyro to see whether it qualifies. You can also connect your inbox to Autopilot and let us find the claims you've forgotten. We file the claim, chase the airline and escalate to ADR if it stalls. You only pay when you get paid.
Find out what your UK flight was worth
If your flight from a UK airport arrived 3+ hours late, was cancelled at short notice or was overbooked, you may be owed £220 to £520 per passenger under UK261. Gyro checks your eligibility for free. You keep 100% of whatever the airline pays.
- Free eligibility check in 60 seconds
- You keep 100% of the compensation, no percentage cut
- Autopilot scans up to 3 years of bookings for UK flights you forgot to claim
Check what you're owed
