When the UK left the EU, it copied Regulation 261/2004 into domestic law and edited it. The Air Passenger Rights and Air Travel Organisers’ Licensing (Amendment) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019 (SI 2019/278) changed the scope and turned the euro amounts into pounds.
The structure and article numbers are the same as EU261, so most of what you read about one applies to the other.
Which flights are covered
Article 3 of the retained Regulation covers:
- flights departing from a UK airport, on any airline;
- flights from outside the UK arriving at a UK airport, if operated by a UK or EU airline;
- flights from outside the UK arriving at an EU airport, if operated by a UK airline.
A flight from Madrid to London on a Spanish or British airline falls under both UK261 and EU261. You are compensated once.
A flight from Dubai to London on a Gulf airline is covered by neither.
Compensation amounts (Art. 7)
| Flight distance | Amount | Reduced amount |
|---|---|---|
| 1,500 km or less | £220 | £110 if re-routing arrives within 2 hours of the original time |
| 1,500–3,500 km | £350 | £175 if within 3 hours |
| Over 3,500 km | £520 | £260 if within 4 hours |
These are due for:
- Denied boarding (Art. 4).
- A cancellation notified less than 14 days before departure (Art. 5).
- Arrival three hours or more late.
The delay rule comes from the Court of Justice in Sturgeon (C-402/07). That case law was decided before the end of 2020, so it remains part of UK law, and the Court of Appeal had already applied it in Jet2.com v Huzar [2014] EWCA Civ 791.
The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) publishes the same figures, including £260 for a long-haul flight arriving between three and four hours late.
Care and refunds
The duty of care in Article 9 is unchanged:
- Food and drink.
- Two calls or emails.
- A hotel with transfers when the wait runs overnight.
For a delay it starts (Art. 6) after:
- 2 hours on flights up to 1,500 km.
- 3 hours on flights of 1,500–3,500 km.
- 4 hours on longer ones.
It is owed even when the cause is outside the airline’s control.
After a cancellation you choose between a refund within seven days and re-routing (Art. 8). After a delay of five hours you may give up the trip and take the refund (Art. 6(1)(iii)).
Extraordinary circumstances
The airline escapes compensation only by proving extraordinary circumstances under Article 5(3). UK courts read this narrowly.
- Routine technical faults do not count (Jet2.com v Huzar).
- Nor does crew illness: in Lipton v BA Cityflyer [2024] UKSC 24 the Supreme Court held that a captain falling ill while off duty was inherent in running an airline.
Time limits
| Where you sue | Time limit | Basis |
|---|---|---|
| England and Wales | 6 years | Limitation Act 1980, s. 9; Dawson v Thomson Airways [2014] EWCA Civ 845 |
| Northern Ireland | 6 years | Limitation (Northern Ireland) Order 1989 |
| Scotland | 5 years | Prescription and Limitation (Scotland) Act 1973, s. 6 |
Good to know
A term in the airline’s conditions that shortens these periods does not bind you under Article 15, which forbids waiving or limiting the Regulation’s rights.
The CAA and ADR schemes
The CAA is the enforcement body for UK261. It does not decide individual claims. The route is:
- Complain to the airline in writing. A claim letter is enough.
- If you get a final refusal, or no final answer after eight weeks, go to the airline’s ADR scheme. Two bodies are approved by the CAA: AviationADR and CEDR. The CAA lists which airline uses which. ADR is free for passengers, and the decision binds the airline if you accept it.
- If the airline has joined no scheme, the CAA’s Passenger Advice and Complaints Team (PACT) can take up the complaint, though it cannot make a binding decision.
- The court remains open throughout. See how to claim for Money Claim Online.
Deadline
You have 12 months from the airline’s final reply to refer the case to ADR.
Membership of an ADR scheme is voluntary for airlines today.
Reform through 2026
The amounts and thresholds have not changed since the pound figures took effect at the end of 2020. Two things did move in 2026.
- The ADR provisions of the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024 replaced the 2015 ADR regulations in April 2026. For passengers the route above works the same way.
- The Civil Aviation (Consumer Protection and Regulatory Reform) Bill was introduced in the House of Lords and is still before Parliament. It would let the CAA fine airlines directly for breaching passenger rights rules. It does not change the £220, £350 and £520 figures, and it is not yet law.
Good to know
The EU’s own reform, Regulation (EU) 2026/2202, does not apply in the UK.
Run your flight through the calculator to see which regime fits.