You can make a claim under EC Regulation 261/2004
(the Regulation) if:
✔ Your flight’s arrival delay is over 3 hours (not the departure delay)
(A flight’s take-off delay is not considered when making a claim for compensation under the Regulation – a delay can increase or decrease during the flight)
✔ Your flight was cancelled
✔ You were denied boarding
✔ You are claiming expenses/refund relating to a delay, cancellation, or denied boarding
For anything else, you can contact our Customer Services Team here
Important Information Before You Claim
Am I entitled to compensation?
You are not entitled to compensation if:
- You have entered your flight or passenger details incorrectly and we are unable to process your claim
Please check the details on your booking confirmation e.g. passenger name(s), original flight number, original scheduled flight date. If you would like to claim on behalf of passengers outside of your family group, we require their signed written permission. You cannot claim for passengers on another booking reference.
- Your flight’s arrival delay is less than 3 hours
- Your flight delay or cancellation was caused by “Extraordinary Circumstances”
Under the rules for airlines, compensation is not payable if the delay or cancellation was caused by what are known as ‘extraordinary circumstances’. This is when the disruption’s source was caused by factors outside of our control, despite us doing everything we could to avoid it. There is no definitive list of extraordinary circumstances, but the following are some examples of when a flight is unlikely to be eligible for compensation:
Examples:
- Air Traffic Control Restrictions
- Adverse Weather Conditions
- Disruptive Passengers
- Passenger Medical Emergencies
- Foreign Object Damage
- Bird Strike/Lightning Strike
- Airport/Runway problems or closures
I need more information
For more information on claiming under the Regulation, please see our extensive, multi-language guidance documents:
What happens next?
We aim to contact you within 28 days. Please submit your claim to us directly and allow us sufficient time to respond before engaging with other parties to claim on your behalf.
I would prefer to contact you in writing
EU261 Team, PO Box 284, Leeds LS11 1GE.
Please read the information above so you are aware of our claims handling process.
How can I take my claim further, if I don’t agree with the outcome?
If you are not satisfied with the outcome of your claim, you can appeal to the Civil Aviation Authority’s Passenger Advice and Complaints Team (PACT) at: https://www.caa.co.uk/passengers/resolving-travel-problems/how-the-caa-can-help/how-the-caa-can-help/. They will review your case and if we need to look at it again, they will contact us directly.
For flights departing Spain, the State Aviation Safety Agency of Spain (AESA) has been recognised as an Alternative Dispute Resolution organisation, providing air passengers with an alternative option to resolve their disputes relating to EC Regulation 261/2004 (“EU261”), which establishes common rules on compensation and assistance to passengers in the event of denied boarding, cancellation, or long delay, and repeals Regulation (EEC) No 295/9; and (EC) No 1107/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 5 July 2006 concerning the rights of disabled persons and persons with reduced mobility when travelling by air, but does not include claims regarding baggage, damages and clauses of the transport contract.
If you have experienced an incident covered by these Regulations, you must submit a claim to us prior to using the alternative dispute resolution procedure. The easiest way to make a claim is by completing our online form, above.
We must provide a response to you within one month. Once received, if you disagree with our decision, you may then appeal to AESA using the dispute resolution procedure (https://www.seguridadaerea.gob.es/ ). Appeals to AESA must be made within 1 year of submitting a claim to us. The decision taken by AESA is binding on the airline.