What can I claim if my flight is delayed?

Should we remain in the EU? Many of us are undecided on how to vote later this month.

However if you want to claim compensation for a delayed flight, then you can only claim for EU-regulated flights.
An EU flight is where the flight departs from an EU airport, regardless of the airline OR where an EU airline lands at an EU airport. Under this law, EU airports also include those in Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland. So a delayed Manchester to Miami flight qualifies, regardless of the airline. Yet for Miami to Manchester, you would be entitled to compensation flying Virgin or KLM, but not on Air India.

How far back can I claim?
In theory you can apply for compensation for any past delays stretching back as far as February 2005 – but in practice it’s extremely unlikely you’ll be able to go back further than 2010.

However in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, due to the statute of limitations, if you need to take the airline to court to get the compensation, then you can only go back six years. In Scotland, it’s five years. So older claims can be tricky.
How do I check how long my flight has been delayed for?

Don’t remember how long your flight was delayed for? You can check this using sites such as FlightStats. You may need to register to use them, but many are free although they may not show older flights and they will not tell you what caused a delay.
When am I entitled to compensation?

You are only entitled to the compensation if the delay was something within the airline’s control such as staffing problems and underbooking – political unrest in a country or strikes cannot be claimed for.

The rule about claiming for compensation for delays is about when you arrive at your destination, not when you leave. So if you’re on a flight that takes off four hours late but lands 2 hours 55 minutes late, you’re not over the three-hour delay needed to be eligible for compensation.

Your arrival time however is actually deemed to be when the plane opens at least one of its doors, not when it touches down.
What can I claim?

Compensation claims are also per person but if a passenger travels free of charge – a child, for example – you cannot claim. Compensation payments are also based in euros, meaning the amount you’ll get in sterling will fluctuate, depending on the exchange rate at the time the payment is made.

Compensation is calculated for a delay, not a refund of the flight ticket cost, so the amount you are due is fixed dependent on the delay length and distance travelled:

1. if you are delayed for 2 hours or more, reclaim the cost of food and drink ( reasonable costs and not the gastro pub!). If you need to phone a friend or keep them up to date by email from your smart phone -reclaim this cost. If you are forced into an overnight stay at the airport then reclaim the cost of a room. Airlines normally give you the vouchers at the airport, but failing that, keep your receipts to reclaim expenses later.
2. if you are delayed for 3 hours or more in addition to the above ( provided it is the airline’s fault) you are entitled to set amounts of compensation which depend on the distance of the flight of anywhere between €250 (for flight less than and up to 1,500km ) to €600(for flights over 3500km).
3. if the delay is more than 5 hours then, regardless of whose fault it is, you can get a full refund or, if you are part way through the journey, a flight back to where you started in addition to the above rights.
4. likewise, if your flight is cancelled you can get a full refund.

What if the airline rejects my claim?

If the airline has rejected or put your case on hold, this doesn’t necessarily mean they are correct. If you feel you’ve a legitimate claim but have been fobbed off, you can take your case to the relevant regulator or ombudsman to look into.
Can you complain to an ombudsman in the UK?

In Feb 2015, the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) said it wanted to launch a new ombudsman-style scheme with binding powers, but since then it has struggled to make it work and only one EU airline has signed up with a UK adjudication scheme.

If Thomson – the only airline to have signed up – has rejected your claim, you can now escalate it to the Centre for Effective Dispute Resolution. If you are unsuccessful you will have to pay a £25 fee, but if you’re awarded any compensation this fee will be waived.

Otherwise your only option within the UK currently is to refer your case to the CAA itself – though it’s not an ombudsman, so its rulings aren’t technically binding. You can submit your complaint via the CAA website for free – it will take them about a week to decide if it can accept your case, and if it does, it will then give a final decision within 9-12 weeks.
However from 1st June 2016, the CAA plans to charge airlines £150 for each complaint it takes on. By doing this it hopes to push airlines to sign up to an Ombudsman scheme so in the meantime the charge may also make airlines more willing to settle legitimate cases quickly to avoid this extra expense.

We hope you get to where you are going on time but, if you need help or clarification regarding your rights if you do not, then please contact us on (01267) 237441.