Flight delay compensation calculator: how much can you claim?

Delayed by three hours or more, cancelled at short notice or bumped off an overbooked flight at Heathrow? You may be owed £220, £350 or £520 each, on top of meals and a hotel. Enter your flight below to see which law covers it and how much you could claim.

Can an airline refuse to let me board?

Yes and it’s a common misunderstanding. Airlines sometimes sell more seats than the plane holds because some passengers do not turn up. This is legal. When a flight is overbooked and there are more passengers than seats (inc all those in premium cabins), UK261 states that the airline must first ask for volunteers to not travel in return for negotiated benefits, perhaps to an upgraded cabin on a later flight or loyalty points. Only when not enough people volunteer can it refuse boarding to passengers.

Who do they pick?

The law does not set an order, with one exception: people with reduced mobility, anyone travelling with them, certified service dogs and unaccompanied children must be given priority. Beyond that each airline sets its own rules in its conditions of carriage. Airlines often board passengers who already have a seat number first, then decide by cabin and by how early you checked in. Check in online or in the app as soon as it opens and make sure you have a seat number.

Should I volunteer?

If you volunteer you get whatever you agree with the airline, often cash or vouchers, plus the choice of a later flight or a refund. You give up the fixed compensation below. Before you agree, ask what is on offer in writing and when the next flight leaves.

Refused boarding against your will?

• Compensation of £220, £350 or £520 depending on distance. It is halved to £110, £175 or £260 if the replacement flight gets you there within 2, 3 or 4 hours of your original arrival time.
• The airline must pay you straight away, in cash, by bank transfer or by cheque. Vouchers need your signed acceptance.
• Your choice of a full refund or the next available flight.
• Meals and drinks while you wait plus two calls or emails. A hotel and transport to it if your new flight is the next day.
• A written notice of your rights. Ask for it at the desk.
• No weather or air traffic control excuse. Overbooking or a smaller plane is the airline’s own decision.

When it does not count

You must have a confirmed booking and check in by the time the airline gave you, or at least 45 minutes before departure if it gave no time. Being refused for health, safety or security reasons, or because your passport or visa is not in order, is not denied boarding.