Guide · Delayed flights

Three hours late is where
the law starts paying.

At three hours late arriving, a delay legally graduates into money: the same fixed compensation as a cancellation. And while you wait, food, calls and if needed a hotel are on them, not you.

1.Care while you wait, from two hours

That's meals and refreshments reasonable for the wait, two phone calls or emails, and accommodation with transfers if you're stranded overnight, regardless of the delay's cause.

Regulation (EC) No 261/2004 (UK261 flight compensation, retained) · art.9 · Right to care
"meals and refreshments in a reasonable relation to the waiting time; (b)hotel accommodation in cases where a stay of one or more nights becomes necessary, or where a stay additional to that intended by the passenger becomes necessary;"…
In plain English: If your flight is significantly delayed, cancelled, or you are denied boarding, the airline must provide you with free meals, refreshments, and accommodation if an overnight stay is needed. They must also cover transport to and from your accommodation and offer free communication options like phone calls or emails.
§ Read the full text on legislation.gov.uk →

2.Compensation at three hours

The regulation's delay article triggers assistance by delay length and distance:

Regulation (EC) No 261/2004 (UK261 flight compensation, retained) · art.6 · Delay
"When an operating air carrier reasonably expects a flight to be delayed beyond its scheduled time of departure: (a)for two hours or more in the case of flights of 1500 kilometres or less; or (b)for three hours or more in the case of all ... flights between 1500 and 3500 kilometres;"…
In plain English: If your flight is delayed by a significant amount of time, the airline must offer you assistance like food and accommodation. If the delay means you arrive at your destination three hours or more late, you may be entitled to financial compensation, unless the delay was due to exceptional circumstances outside the airline's control.
§ Read the full text on legislation.gov.uk →

3.What to do

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UK261 covers flights departing the UK, and flights arriving into the UK on UK or EU carriers. This is guidance to help you understand your rights, not formal legal advice, and we're entirely independent: no affiliation with Citizens Advice, GOV.UK or any law firm. Every quotation above links to the official text so you can check us. Law verified current at July 2026.