Middle East Flight Delay Compensation: Rules by Country

Which Middle East countries pay fixed flight delay compensation?

Seven of the ten countries we checked have binding rules with fixed sums: Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Israel, Oman, Jordan, Egypt and, on a small scale, Bahrain. The UAE, Qatar and Kuwait do not. There, you rely on airline conditions, the Montreal Convention for proven losses, and EU261 or UK261 where they apply.

We read each regulator’s own text rather than summaries. Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Bahrain set amounts in Special Drawing Rights (SDR), the International Monetary Fund’s unit of account; Oman sets rials, Turkey euros and Egypt Egyptian pounds, while Israel indexes shekel amounts every January. Egypt’s sums cover cancellations and denied boarding only, not delays. Most are rules issued by the aviation regulator under a civil aviation law rather than acts of parliament, but they bind airlines all the same.

Coverage follows a common pattern: every departure from the country on any airline, plus arrivals on the country’s own airlines. Israel goes further and covers flights to and from Israel on any airline. Bahrain covers flights to and from Bahrain by its own airlines and those appointed to serve it, and Jordan and Egypt pay cash compensation on international flights only.

The UAE’s federal Passenger Welfare Program (CAR-PWP Issue 02, applicable from 1 January 2025) requires information, care and rerouting but no cash compensation; Issue 02 even removed the word “compensation” from its definition of cancellation. Qatar’s Civil Aviation Law gives a general right to compensation for a passenger not carried on a booked seat, without amounts. We found no published Kuwaiti regime with fixed sums.

How do the Middle East compensation rules compare country by country?

The highest fixed sums are Israel’s, up to NIS 3,670 in 2026, followed by Turkey’s €600 and Oman’s OMR 260 on long flights. Saudi Arabia pays 50 or 150 SDR for delays, Jordan up to 200 SDR, Bahrain up to 100 SDR and Egypt up to EGP 1,500. AirHelp says it handles Saudi, Turkish and Omani claims.

The table gives each regime’s headline sums and triggers; each country guide explains coverage, exceptions and deadlines in full. Approximate conversions use the ECB reference rates and the IMF SDR valuation for 15 October 2026, which make 1 SDR about €1.21 or £1.02. They change daily; the legal amount is always the figure in the official text.

AirHelp’s position comes from its own pages, checked on 16 October 2026. It publishes country pages for Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Oman saying it handles claims under those rules. It has none for Israel, Jordan, Egypt, Bahrain, the UAE, Qatar or Kuwait, and its pages for airlines from those countries cite only EU and UK law.

Where AirHelp does not handle the local regime, it can still take a flight that EU261 or UK261 covers, such as any departure from London or an EU airport. That is often the larger claim: £220 to £520, or €250 to €600, from a three-hour arrival delay.

How do EU261 and UK261 apply to Middle East flights?

They cover every flight departing the UK or EU, whatever the airline, so London–Dubai on Emirates is a UK261 claim. Flights from the Middle East into Europe are covered only on a UK or EU airline. Emirates, Qatar Airways, Etihad, Turkish Airlines, Saudia and El Al are neither, so their inbound flights fall outside.

UK261 applies to all departures from a UK airport and to UK arrivals only on UK or EU airlines, as Article 3 of the UK regulation and the CAA’s coverage table show. EU passenger rights cover all EU departures but only EU airlines flying in. Turkey, Israel and every Gulf state are outside the EU, so a flight within or between them is never an EU261 flight.

Both regulations exclude inbound passengers who already “received benefits or compensation and were given assistance” in the third country. Several Middle East regimes also step back where another country’s rules apply: Saudi Arabia, Oman, Jordan and Egypt for inbound flights on their own airlines, and Israel through its bar on receiving the same type of benefit twice. Declare any payment you have received and expect one recovery per disruption.

Compare the European regimes in our UK261 vs EU261 guide and EU261 rules guide. A long-haul London departure arriving four hours late is worth £520 under UK261, more than most Middle East regimes pay, so check UK and EU coverage before anything else.

Which law applies to a connection through Dubai, Doha or Istanbul?

On a single booking that starts in the UK or EU, UK261 or EU261 covers the whole journey, so a missed connection in Dubai on a London–Bangkok Emirates ticket counts by final arrival time. On the way back, Bangkok–Dubai–London on Emirates is outside both, and the UAE’s rules give care, not cash.

The EU Court of Justice held in Wegener (C-537/17) that a journey booked as one unit and departing from the EU is covered as a whole, even when the connection happens outside the EU. In České aerolinie (C-502/18) it held that the EU airline operating the first leg can be liable for a delay on a non-EU airline’s second leg. Both rulings came before 2021, so UK courts also apply them under UK261 unless a higher court departs from them.

Separate tickets are separate journeys. If you book Dubai–Istanbul and Istanbul–London yourself, each flight stands alone and a missed self-transfer is your risk, unless the seller gives a guarantee. For how protected connections work, see our missed connection guide.

The local regimes measure connections in their own ways. Saudi Arabia treats carriage by connecting airlines under one agreement as a single journey, Jordan defines a flight to include an uninterrupted chain of connections, Turkey measures compensation to the planned final destination, and Israel’s law covers a flight to or from Israel “including a stopover”. Use the distance to your final destination, not the leg that went wrong.

What can you claim in the UAE, Qatar or Kuwait without a compensation law?

No fixed sum, but not nothing. UAE rules require meals from three hours and a hotel after eight, plus rerouting. All three countries are Montreal Convention parties, so an airline is liable for proven losses from delay up to 6,303 SDR unless it took all reasonable measures. Conditions of carriage and EU or UK law may add more.

The UAE’s CAR-PWP applies to airlines flying from and to UAE airports. It requires flight information for delays of one to three hours; meals, refreshments and communication from three hours; and, beyond eight hours, a hotel and transport. For a cancellation within 48 hours of departure, it requires information, care, carriage on another flight and the option of a return flight or rerouting, for transit passengers and those whose flight does not start in their home city. Its guidance says disruptions at airports outside the UAE follow local rules. Dubai’s Civil Aviation Authority announced a separate consumer welfare directive in April 2026; we could not obtain its official text and do not rely on press summaries of it.

In Qatar, Article 78 of Law No. 15 of 2002 entitles a passenger with a confirmed ticket to compensation if not carried on the booked seat, but sets no amount. The QCAA’s complaints page asks you to allow the airline 14 days, then submit your letter, the airline’s reply and proof of travel, and says the journey should not include Doha as a transit point. Kuwait’s civil aviation authority published a complaints procedure with replies due within three working days for delays and lost luggage, but no compensation scale.

The Montreal Convention covers international journeys between its parties, which include the UAE, Qatar and Kuwait. Article 19 makes the airline liable for proven damage caused by delay, such as meals, hotels or prepaid services you lost, unless it shows it took all reasonable measures; claims must be brought within two years under Article 35. Keep receipts: Montreal pays losses, not a fixed sum.

Do airspace closures and conflict in the region cancel compensation?

Usually yes for cash compensation, not for care or refunds. Each regime here excuses airlines for unavoidable security events or closed airspace, at least for cancellations, but most keep duties to inform, look after and refund you. Israel can also suspend some rights by ministerial order during a declared emergency, though we found no such order.

Under EU261 and UK261, closed airspace and security risks are classic extraordinary circumstances, but care continues; see our extraordinary circumstances guide. The local texts take similar lines: Egypt lists air-traffic restrictions and airspace closure, Turkey lists political instability and security risks, Saudi Arabia exempts disruptions backed by GACA-approved security and safety reports, and Israel excuses special circumstances outside the airline’s control.

Israel added section 9A to its Aviation Services Law in February 2025. Once a declared special situation has lasted more than 14 days, the transport minister may, with Knesset Economics Committee approval, cap hotel nights at no fewer than two, cut the 14-day notice period to as little as three days, or remove cash compensation for cancellations for up to 45 days. We found no order made under it as of 16 October 2026; see our Israel guide.

Ask for the reason in writing. “Operational reasons” is not a security event, and knock-on delays after an earlier closure are argued case by case. Refund rights survive almost everywhere: Saudi Arabia lets you cancel for a full refund once force majeure lasts more than three hours on a domestic flight or six on an international one.

How do I claim Middle East flight compensation with AirHelp?

Start with AirHelp’s eligibility check. It tests your flight against UK261, EU261 and the Saudi, Turkish and Omani rules it handles, deals with the airline, escalates when needed and charges only if it wins: 35% including VAT, plus 15% if legal action is needed. You can also contact the airline yourself.

AirHelp’s fee page, updated 11 August 2026, sets the service fee at 35% of the compensation including VAT, and a legal action fee of 15% on top where court action is needed; nothing is payable if no compensation is won. Its own worked example leaves €390 from a €600 award. AirHelp’s country pages for Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Oman say it pursues claims under those regulations.

For Israel, Jordan, Egypt and Bahrain, AirHelp does not say it handles the local rules, so it fits only where UK261 or EU261 also covers your flight. Each country guide sets out which law applies and how a claim under the local rules works: Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Israel, Jordan, Egypt, Bahrain and Oman.

Advertising disclosure: an AirHelp link marked Ad may earn TravelShifu a commission. That does not change the legal assessment in these guides. If you have already raised the disruption with the airline, tell AirHelp so the claim is not duplicated, and never appoint two services for the same flight.

• Booking reference and the “operated by” airline for every sector.
• Scheduled and actual departure and arrival times, with local time zones.
• Cancellation or delay messages with their timestamps, and any alternative offered.
• The reason the airline gave for the disruption, in writing if possible.
• Receipts for meals, hotels or transport the airline did not provide.

How long do you have to claim in each Middle East country?

Deadlines vary widely, from 30 days in Egypt to four years in Israel. Saudi complaints must reach the airline within 60 days; Jordan and Oman allow two years; Turkey and Bahrain set no deadline in their passenger rules. EU and UK claims follow national court limits, which differ between countries.

Egypt’s limit is the sharpest: ECAR 601-7 pays compensation “in case a claim is made within 30 days from the date of the incident”. Saudi Arabia’s 60 days come from GACA’s complaint guidelines and cover any escalation to the regulator as well. Israel’s four years are a limitation period for court action, set by section 19 of its law.

Where a regulation sets no deadline, as in Turkey and Bahrain, general law applies, and Montreal Convention claims for proven losses must be brought within two years. Do not wait: airline response periods, regulator reviews and payment deadlines all run before money arrives.

For UK and EU claims, see our complete compensation guide and our flight compensation hub. Our DIY claim guide explains evidence and letters, but its templates cite UK and EU law.

How did we check these Middle East passenger rights rules?

We read each regulator’s published text on 16 October 2026, preferring the original-language version where translations differ, and checked AirHelp’s own pages for which regimes it handles. Where we could not confirm a detail officially, such as Jordan’s gazette date or a Kuwaiti regime, we say so rather than fill the gap.

Translations matter here. Saudi Arabia’s English text says inbound Saudi-airline passengers are excluded if “compensated” under the departure country’s rules, while the Arabic excludes them where those rules apply. Bahrain’s English text of Article 49(2)(b) says “fourteen days before” where the Arabic says less than fourteen days. Israel’s law is often dated 28 August 2012; it took effect on 16 August 2012, which is 28 Av in the Hebrew calendar.

AirHelp’s pages also differ from the official texts in places: its Turkey pages still convert euros at the ticket purchase date, which Turkey changed to the payment date in December 2024, and its Saudi page gives the airline 14 days to acknowledge a claim where GACA’s guidelines give seven. The country guides list these differences in context.

Corrections are welcome through our contact page. Include the section, the official source and its date. For the European side of a claim, start with our EU261 rules guide.