If your flight from Heathrow is delayed or cancelled, the airline still has a responsibility to look after you regardless of the reason. Flying home to Heathrow or changing planes here? Check whether UK or EU rules apply.
If you experience a significant delay or cancellation
- Your airline is obliged to pay for reasonable meals, a hotel if you have to stay overnight and transport to and from the airport, whatever caused the disruption.
- If the airline offers nothing, book something sensible yourself and claim back from the airline. Keep itemised receipts and try to get the name of any staff member you receive advice from. Most have name badges.
- You may want to book your own hotel. Be reasonable in your choice having checked our hotel pages for the most suitable option. In these circumstances you may want to book an Uber or use a local bus.
- If your flight is cancelled, you can choose a full refund or an alternative flight.
Do UK or EU passenger rights apply to my flight?
UK261 and EU261 are the rules that explain your rights when a flight is disrupted. Where they apply, the airline must give you meals and drinks while you wait. If you have to stay overnight, it must also give you a hotel and transport to it. If your flight is cancelled, you can choose a refund or another flight. On top of this you may be owed cash compensation of £220 to £520: see Will I get compensation?
Whether the rules apply depends on two things: where your flight leaves from and which airline operates it. The airline that counts is the one named after “operated by” on your booking.
| Your flight | UK or EU airline | Other airline |
|---|---|---|
| Leaving Heathrow | YesUK261 | YesUK261 |
| Flying to Heathrow from the EU, Iceland, Norway or Switzerland | YesEU261 | YesEU261 |
| Flying to Heathrow from anywhere else, for example New York or Dubai | YesUK261 | NoMontreal Convention and the airline’s own terms |
For example, British Airways and American Airlines both fly New York to Heathrow and sell seats on each other’s flights. If the flight is operated by British Airways, UK rules apply and it must look after you in New York, even if you booked with American Airlines. If it is operated by American Airlines, UK rules do not apply, even if your ticket says British Airways. UK rules then give you no right to meals, a hotel or fixed compensation, though the airline’s own terms may offer some help. You can still claim for losses the delay caused you under the Montreal Convention, an international treaty with 145 parties including the UK, the US and the UAE. You must prove what you lost. The airline can refuse if it shows it did everything it reasonably could to avoid the loss. Claims must be brought within two years. For a one-way flight from Algeria or Uzbekistan, an older treaty with similar rules, the Warsaw Convention, applies instead. Taiwan is not a party to the Montreal Convention, so for a one-way flight from Taipei check the airline’s own terms. A return ticket that starts in the UK is covered by the Montreal Convention wherever it goes.
Connecting to another flight at Heathrow?
If you booked the whole trip as one ticket, it counts as one flight from your departure airport. Dubai to Edinburgh via Heathrow is a flight from Dubai, so use the last row of the table, even when you are stuck at Heathrow.
If you booked your flights separately, each one is considered a separate flight. The Civil Aviation Authority says you then have no right to care, compensation or transport to your final destination if a late flight makes you miss your connection.
Not sure which terminal your airline uses? Look it up here.
Who can I speak to at the airport?
The person at the check-in desk or boarding gate may work for a ground handling company, rather than the airline. Airlines contract these companies to run their boarding process at Heathrow. They work to the airline’s instructions, so ask them what the airline is offering. The duty to feed you and find you a hotel remains with the airline.
- Check the airline’s app, email and texts first. Most airlines rebook you automatically and some add meals or hotel vouchers.
- No app update and still landside? Go to your airline’s check-in zone.
- Already through security? Go back to your gate or find the airline’s customer service desk. In Terminal 5, British Airways has desks near gates A10, A14, B36 and C54.
- Changing planes at Heathrow? Go to the flight connections desk in the terminal where you landed.
- Phone or message the airline while you wait. Our terminal lookup shows each airline’s desk and, where the airline publishes one, its UK phone number.
Heathrow’s own information desks can point you to the right counter. Heathrow refers all questions about delays and cancellations to the respective airline.
Top tips
- Take photos of the departures board and any queue. They help if you claim later.
- Ask for a written notice of your rights. UK261 Article 14(2) says the airline must supply you with one if your flight is cancelled, you are refused boarding or you are delayed by two hours or more.
Which hotel should I book?
Every hotel we list has 24-hour reception, so you can check in late.
The closest are joined to the terminals by covered walkways:
- Terminal 5: Sofitel Heathrow T5
- Terminals 2 and 3: Hilton Garden Inn T2 and T3 and Aerotel
- Terminal 4: Hilton, Crowne Plaza, Holiday Inn Express and Premier Inn
There are plenty of other hotels a short ride away on the Bath Road. These are usually cheaper, although the Premier Inn at Terminal 4 is one of the cheapest of all. Local buses cost £1.75 with a contactless card. Use the same card or phone for every journey that day or the £5.25 daily cap will not work. Live bus times from each terminal. Most local buses stop between about 00:20 and 01:05 and start again after 4am. The 105, 111 and 285 from the Central Bus Station at Terminals 2 and 3 run all night, every 30 minutes.
At Terminal 5 the Uber pick-up is on level 1 of the car park, about two minutes’ walk from arrivals.
What will the airline pay for?
UK261 Article 9 says the airline must offer, free of charge:
- Meals and drinks in reasonable relation to the wait
- A hotel if you have to stay overnight, plus transport between the airport and the hotel
- Two phone calls or emails
On a delay, meals start after 2 hours for flights up to 1,500 km, 3 hours for 1,500 to 3,500 km and 4 hours for longer flights. On a cancellation they start straight away.
If the airline does not arrange care, the Civil Aviation Authority says you can make your own arrangements and claim the reasonable cost back. Alcohol, room service and luxury hotels are unlikely to be repaid. The airline cannot opt out of any of this: UK261 says these duties may not be limited or waived.
Will I get compensation?
Compensation is a separate cash payment of £220, £350 or £520 per passenger, depending on the distance. It is not paid when the cause was outside the airline’s control.
After the air traffic control failures on 8 and 21 September 2026, the Civil Aviation Authority said passengers were unlikely to be owed compensation but must still be looked after. It said the same after the Heathrow closure in March 2025.
Should I claim on my travel insurance?
Claim from the airline first. Most travel insurance policies exclude costs you can recover elsewhere. The insurers’ trade body gave the same advice when Heathrow closed in March 2025.
If the airline tells you to claim on your insurance instead, it still owes you the meals and hotel. Insurance is for other losses, such as a prepaid hotel night at your destination.
If your policy pays a fixed amount for delays, the Financial Ombudsman says insurers should not reduce it because the airline paid you.
How do I claim afterwards?
- Use the airline’s own claim form and attach your receipts. For British Airways, go to the BA Feedback and Claims portal and choose Raise a new case.
- No reply after 8 weeks, or a refusal? Take it to the airline’s free dispute scheme within 12 months. The Civil Aviation Authority lists which scheme each airline uses.
- You do not need a claims company. The dispute schemes are free. The Civil Aviation Authority warns that a claims company may keep a significant share of any payout. The published fees we checked range from 35% to more than half of the payout.
- Keep copies of everything you send.
Other questions people ask
Is there disruption at Heathrow today?
Check the box near the top of this page and your airline’s app. Your airline’s app is the most reliable source for your own flight.
The airline says it was a technical fault. Do I still get compensation?
Usually yes. The Court of Appeal ruled in Jet2 v Huzar (2014) that technical problems are not extraordinary circumstances. The European Court agreed in KLM v van der Lans (2015). The exceptions are a hidden manufacturing defect or damage caused by sabotage or terrorism.
What if the airline blames the weather?
Weather that makes it unsafe to fly counts as extraordinary circumstances, so no compensation is due. The airline must still give you meals and a hotel if you have to stay overnight. The Civil Aviation Authority says the airline should explain the reason for the disruption and, if it rejects your claim, clearly set out why.
Can the airline give me a voucher instead of my money back?
Only if you agree in writing. UK261 says refunds and compensation must be paid in cash, by bank transfer or by cheque. Travel vouchers are allowed only with your signed agreement. A refund for a cancelled flight is due within seven days.
How long do I have to claim?
In England and Wales you have up to six years to claim UK261 compensation. The Court of Appeal settled this in Dawson v Thomson Airways (2014). A claim under the Montreal Convention must be brought within two years.
I booked a package holiday. Who helps me?
Contact your tour operator as well as the airline. Under the Package Travel Regulations 2018 the organiser is responsible for every part of your package. It must give you appropriate assistance without undue delay, including helping you find other travel arrangements. The airline still owes you meals and a hotel under UK261. ATOL and ABTA protection is different: it refunds you or brings you home if the travel company goes out of business. It does not cover flight delays or cancellations.
Sources
- Civil Aviation Authority: flight cancellations
- Civil Aviation Authority: flight delays, including connecting flights and separate bookings
- Civil Aviation Authority statement, NATS disruption, 8 September 2026
- Civil Aviation Authority statement, NATS disruption, 21 September 2026
- Civil Aviation Authority guidance, Heathrow closure, 21 March 2025
- UK261 Article 3: which flights are covered and why the operating airline is responsible
- EU261 (Regulation 261/2004): which flights are covered, Article 3
- UK261 Article 6: delays
- UK261 Article 7: compensation
- UK261 Article 8: refunds within seven days
- UK261 Article 9: right to care
- UK261 Article 14: written notice of your rights
- UK261 Article 15: duties cannot be waived
- Montreal Convention 1999 as it applies in UK law: Articles 1 (scope), 19 (delay) and 35 (two-year time limit)
- ICAO: current list of parties to the Montreal Convention 1999
- Warsaw Convention as amended at The Hague 1955, as it applies in UK law
- ICAO: parties to the Warsaw Convention and Hague Protocol
- Association of British Insurers: disruption at Heathrow Airport, 21 March 2025
- Financial Ombudsman Service: travel insurance
- Financial Ombudsman Service: delay and abandonment guidance
- Heathrow Airport: contact us (airline enquiries)
- Heathrow Airport: connecting flights
- Heathrow Airport: terminal maps
- Civil Aviation Authority: am I entitled to compensation? (extraordinary circumstances, Jet2 v Huzar, KLM v van der Lans)
- Court of Appeal: Dawson v Thomson Airways [2014] EWCA Civ 845 (six-year time limit)
- Package Travel Regulations 2018, regulation 15: the organiser is responsible for the package
- Package Travel Regulations 2018, regulation 18: duty to give assistance
- ATOL: what ATOL does not cover
- ABTA: is my money protected?
- Civil Aviation Authority: alternative dispute resolution and claims management companies
- Bott and Co: flight delay compensation fees
- AirHelp: our fees
Last checked 27 September 2026 against the Civil Aviation Authority, EU261, UK261 and other sources.