Passenger rights / practical next steps

Flight disrupted?
Know what you can claim.

Separate the money you may be owed from the help you need right now. Check your rights, organise the evidence and prepare your own claim, all in one place.

Check my flight →Read the complete guide

Free tools · No sign-up · Sources reviewed 4 October 2026

General information, not legal advice or a guaranteed payout. Ad-labelled links may earn us a commission. Claiming directly is always an option. FlightLogic is our sister site under shared ownership.

Can I get money back for a delayed or cancelled flight?

Possibly. A covered UK/EU flight can qualify for fixed compensation, care, reimbursement or rerouting, but each has different conditions. Route, operating airline, delay, cancellation notice and cause matter. Use the free checker for direct-flight UK261/EU261 scenarios, then read the full guide. An unknown cause or connecting journey needs review, not a guaranteed payout.

Start with your situation

What went wrong with your flight?

Flight delayed

Start with final arrival time, cause and the applicable route.

See rights and next steps →

Flight cancelled

Check notice, the alternative offered and your choice of remedy.

See rights and next steps →

Missed connection

Establish whether the itinerary is one protected booking.

See rights and next steps →

Denied boarding

Separate involuntary bumping from volunteering or document refusal.

See rights and next steps →

Expenses or refund

Meals, hotels and unused tickets are not the same as compensation.

See rights and next steps →

Claim rejected

Ask for evidence, then check the correct escalation route.

See rights and next steps →

Is a flight refund the same as compensation?

No. A refund repays eligible ticket costs when you choose not to travel under the applicable rules. Compensation is a separate fixed award for a qualifying disruption. Care covers reasonable needs while waiting; rerouting gets you to your destination. Do not assume you can both refund and replace the same unused journey at the airline’s expense.

Four different passenger remedies
Remedy	What it addresses	What to keep
Fixed compensation	Qualifying disruption and lost time	Final arrival, cause, route and notice evidence
Care expenses	Reasonable needs while waiting	Assistance requests and itemised receipts
Ticket refund	Eligible travel you choose not to use	Original booking and your remedy choice
Rerouting	Alternative transport to your destination	Offers, response times and new itinerary

Still stranded? Ask the airline for assistance now. A compensation calculation is not a prerequisite for requesting meals, an appropriate overnight stay or an explanation of your travel options.

Check a delay or cancellation

Free educational check. No email, booking reference or payment. Direct flights only; connections return a review prompt. Switzerland and special territories are outside this simplified test.

1. Where did you fly?

Rules to check

Departure region

Arrival region

Operating airline licence

Booking type

Great-circle distance (km)

Use the airline actually operating your flight, not the website that sold it. Check overlapping regimes separately; you cannot recover twice for the same disruption.

2. What happened?

Disruption

Actual arrival delay (minutes)

Departure waiting time (minutes; 0 if none)

Airline’s stated cause

180 minutes = 3 hours; 240 = 4 hours. Arrival is normally when a door opens for passengers to leave, not touchdown. For cancellations, enter the timing of the alternative offered; use a negative arrival delay if it arrives early. This checker does not cover denied boarding or downgrades.

Rules reviewed 4 October 2026. No live flight lookup or adjudication. Read the full rules, evidence and limitations. Inputs remain in this page’s memory until you leave or clear them; TravelShifu does not submit them.

Can travellers outside the UK use this section?

Yes. Protection follows your route and operating carrier, not your nationality. The complete guide distinguishes UK261, EU261, US refund rights and Canadian APPR, and explains why those frameworks do not automatically cover domestic flights elsewhere. The calculator only assesses simplified UK/EU direct-flight scenarios; it does not calculate US or Canadian claims.

UK261 & EU261: route coverage →United States: refunds & oversales →Canada: APPR compensation & care →Indonesia, Australia & other markets →

Your free claim toolkit

Evidence first. A clear letter next.

Keep originals offline. Tick what you have, choose a template and edit the draft. Nothing is sent to the airline, stored by TravelShifu or saved automatically. Avoid adding passport numbers or bank details here. Downloaded files remain on your device.

Booking confirmation and operating carrierFlight date, number, route and original scheduleActual final arrival time and its sourceCancellation notice and alternative flight offerAirline’s written explanation and your correspondenceItemised receipts and a separate expense total

Letter purpose (changing this replaces the draft)

Editable draft

Subject: Request to assess UK261 / EU261 compensation

Dear [operating airline],

Please assess compensation for [passenger(s)], flight [number], on [date], from [origin] to [destination], booking [reference]. Scheduled arrival was [time, date and time zone]; actual arrival was [time, date and time zone]. The disruption was [facts, including any cancellation notice and alternative offered].

I believe [UK261 or EU261] applies because [route and operating carrier]. I request [amount and currency, per eligible passenger] under the applicable passenger-rights rules, subject to the evidence attached. I have not already recovered compensation for the same disruption [amend if necessary].

Please explain any refusal, identify the precise cause and provide the evidence and reasonable measures relied on if you assert extraordinary circumstances. Please keep compensation separate from any refund or expense claim.

Attachments: [list evidence].
Please respond in writing and identify the appropriate escalation body if this is your final response.

[Name and contact details]

General drafting aid, not legal representation. Replace or remove every bracketed placeholder. Send through the airline’s official claim channel and keep the submission receipt. Do not send the same claim through several representatives.

Find your operating airline

Airline-specific claim guidance

Once you understand the rule, find the appropriate airline process. These editorial links open our sister site FlightLogic, which shares TravelShifu’s ownership. They are not official airline claim forms or independent endorsements. Verify the airline’s own channel before submitting personal information.

British Airways compensation claim guide ↗easyJet compensation claim guide ↗Ryanair compensation claim guide ↗Jet2 compensation claim guide ↗Wizz Air compensation claim guide ↗Virgin Atlantic compensation claim guide ↗Aer Lingus compensation claim guide ↗American Airlines compensation claim guide ↗KLM compensation claim guide ↗Lufthansa compensation claim guide ↗TUI Airways compensation claim guide ↗

Browse FlightLogic’s airline compensation guides. Check the operating airline, not only the brand on your ticket.

Choose how much help you need

Claim yourself, or compare paid help

Start directly

No claims-company success fee. You collect the evidence and use the airline’s official claim channel.

Prepare a free claim draft →

Escalate a dispute

Check the airline’s final response, participating ADR scheme or relevant regulator. Deadlines and scheme terms vary.

Understand your escalation route →

Consider AirHelp

Optional paid claims handling. Fees apply; check the terms before signing.

Ad · affiliate link — we may earn a commissionView AirHelp’s paid claim service

Compare AirHelp with claiming yourself

Your choice of claim route does not change the checker’s result. Claiming directly avoids a claims-company fee.

Go deeper before choosing

Air France: delayed or cancelled?

Check your operating airline, Paris connections, evidence and the direct claim process before choosing paid help.

Planning a future trip with AirHelp+?

Understand membership, registration requirements and how limited flight benefits differ from travel insurance.

Before you send a claim

Does TravelShifu submit or save my compensation claim?

No. The checker and letter editor keep inputs in page memory only. No email, passport upload or account is required. Download your draft before leaving and submit it yourself through the airline’s official channel. Optional analytics and affiliate-loader scripts are suppressed on this workspace. Downloaded or copied text remains your responsibility; nothing here pauses a legal deadline.

Do I need to pay a company to claim flight compensation?

No. You can claim directly from the airline without a claims-company success fee. Paid help is optional; check the provider’s terms before signing. Ad-labelled links may earn TravelShifu a commission and do not change the checker’s result.

Check the source, not just the headline

Research reviewed 4 October 2026. The rules applying on your flight date matter; an announced reform may not yet be in force. Read the complete guide for exclusions and jurisdiction limits. No calculator verifies the airline’s evidence or stops a legal deadline.

Review method and reform notes · Readable Markdown reference · Structured reference for researchers and agents · Report a correction

The structured reference contains public editorial content only, never calculator inputs or claim drafts. It is not a claims API. See the editor and our editorial policy.