What are my rights if a flight is delayed or cancelled?
Two separate entitlements — care while you wait, and compensation afterwards — and why airlines rarely mention the first.
- Difficulty
- beginner
- Time
- 25 min
- Read
- 2 min
- Safety
- caution
Short answer
Care and compensation are different things. Care — food, drink, accommodation — is due during a long delay regardless of the cause. Compensation depends on the delay length and whether the cause was within the airline's control.
The most useful thing to know is that the airline owes you assistance during a delay even when no compensation is due. That entitlement is rarely announced and it is the one that matters while you are stuck in a terminal.
Safety
Step by step
- Separate care from compensation.Care — meals, refreshments, communication, and a hotel with transport for an overnight delay — is owed during long delays regardless of the cause. Compensation is a separate payment that depends on the cause and the delay length.
- Ask for care in writing at the airport.Airlines frequently do not offer it. Ask at the desk, and if they refuse or there is no desk, keep receipts and claim reasonable costs back later.
- Keep every receipt.Food, drinks, hotel, transport, essential items if a bag is delayed. Reasonable expenses are recoverable, and receipts are how.
- Understand what removes compensation."Extraordinary circumstances" outside the airline's control — severe weather, air traffic control strikes, security incidents. Technical faults and crew shortages are generally within their control and do not remove it.
- Note the delay length at arrival, not departure.Compensation thresholds are usually based on how late you arrive at the final destination, not how late you took off. This distinction matters.
- Know your rerouting rights for a cancellation.You are generally entitled to choose between a refund and rerouting at the earliest opportunity. If they only offer one, you can ask for the other.
- Claim directly with the airline first.Free. Claims management companies take a substantial percentage for a form you can submit yourself in fifteen minutes.
- Escalate if refused.The airline's dispute resolution scheme, or the aviation regulator. Both are free and both handle a large volume of these.
Tips
- Photograph the departure board showing the delay and any announcement. Airlines occasionally dispute the length or the reason later.
- Package holidays carry additional protections beyond flight-only bookings. Check which you have.
- Compensation claims can usually be made long after the flight — often years. It is worth checking old flights you never claimed for.
Questions people ask
Am I owed food and a hotel during a delay?
For long delays, yes — care is owed regardless of the cause, unlike compensation. Ask at the desk, and keep receipts if you have to arrange it yourself.
Do I get compensation for a weather delay?
Usually not — severe weather counts as outside the airline's control. But care is still owed, and technical faults or crew shortages do not remove compensation.