What to Do When Your Flight Is Delayed at the Airport

Flight delay compensation is a fixed legal payment when a covered flight arrives late for a reason the airline is responsible for. In the UK, the main rules are UK261 and EU261. They can apply even if the airline does not volunteer the money or tells you the delay was not its fault.

This guide explains what to do when your flight is delayed at the airport in practical terms. You need the flight number, date of travel, route, airline, scheduled arrival time, actual arrival time, and the reason the airline gives for the delay. MeClaims uses those details to check whether your route is covered and whether the delay reached the legal threshold.

When a delayed flight qualifies

A flight usually qualifies if it departed from the UK, European Union, EEA or Switzerland, or if it arrived into one of those places on a UK, EU, EEA or Swiss carrier. UK261 covers UK departures and certain UK arrivals. EU261 covers EU departures and certain EU arrivals. The airline nationality, departure airport, arrival airport and operating carrier all matter.

For delay claims, the usual trigger is arrival at your final destination 3 hours or more after the scheduled arrival time. The airline can avoid paying only if it proves the disruption was caused by extraordinary circumstances, meaning events outside its control that could not have been avoided even with reasonable measures. Ordinary technical problems, crew planning issues and many operational failures are often not enough on their own.

What evidence you should keep

Keep your boarding pass, booking confirmation, delay messages, screenshots from the airline app, airport photographs, gate notices, and any written explanation from staff. If you were rebooked, keep the new itinerary as well. Evidence matters because airlines often answer with short template refusals, and a strong claim needs dates, times and documents.

You do not need perfect evidence to start. Flight history can confirm scheduled and actual timings, and MeClaims can request further information from the airline. What you should avoid is deleting airline emails or relying only on memory. Dates and flight numbers make the check much stronger.

How much you can claim

The amount is based on distance, not ticket price. Short haul is £220 per passenger. Medium haul is £350 per passenger. Long haul is £520 per passenger under UK261. EU261 uses the equivalent distance bands of €250, €400 and €600. The amount does not reduce just because your ticket was cheap, bought with points, or part of a package holiday.

Families should calculate the amount per passenger. Two passengers on a long-haul qualifying delay can be owed £1,040. Four passengers can be owed £2,080. If some passengers were rerouted differently, each passenger position should be checked separately.

What the airline will check

The airline will normally check the operating carrier, the route, whether the flight was delayed or cancelled, the final arrival time, the disruption reason, whether you accepted rerouting, and whether any compensation reduction applies. If the airline says the flight does not qualify, it should give a reason that can be tested against the facts.

Package holidays, business trips and flights paid by someone else can still qualify. The right belongs to the passenger who suffered the delay, not only to the person who paid for the ticket. If an employer paid, you may still have the passenger compensation claim.

How MeClaims handles your claim

MeClaims checks the route, distance, operating airline, flight history and disruption details before preparing the claim. We ask for the evidence that matters, submit the claim in a structured way, and challenge weak refusals. You do not pay upfront. We only get paid when you do, and we handle legal fees if escalation is needed.

Before you leave the claim with the airline or assume the delay was not covered, check it with MeClaims. A free check can confirm the route, the compensation band, the evidence you need, and the next step if the airline has already refused.

A useful claim is built from small facts that fit together. The flight number identifies the service. The date confirms the schedule. The route sets the compensation band. The arrival time proves whether the delay threshold was reached. The airline reason decides whether the carrier has a defence. When those pieces are gathered early, the airline has less room to avoid the real issue.

You should also keep the claim focused. Do not mix every inconvenience into the compensation request. UK261 and EU261 deal with fixed delay compensation. Care expenses, baggage problems and insurance claims may sit alongside it, but they should be organised separately. MeClaims can help separate those issues so the airline response is easier to challenge.

If you travelled as a group, make sure every passenger is named. Airlines sometimes process one passenger and ignore others, especially where children or relatives were on the same booking. The law works per passenger, so the claim should list everyone affected and the amount sought for each person.