What are your rights if a flight is delayed or cancelled?

In the UK and EU, air passenger rights are set by regulation rather than by airline goodwill, and they are considerably stronger than most travellers realise.

Which rules apply. UK261 and EU261 cover flights departing from a UK or EU airport on any airline, and flights arriving into the UK or EU on a UK or EU carrier. Outside that, the airline's own conditions and the Montreal Convention apply, which are weaker.

The right to care applies regardless of the cause. Once a delay passes a threshold based on flight distance — commonly two hours short-haul, three medium, four long — the airline must provide meals and refreshments proportionate to the wait, communications, and hotel accommodation plus transfers if an overnight stay is needed. This duty applies even during strikes, weather and air traffic control failures, and it is not capped. Airlines frequently fail to volunteer it, so ask. If they do not provide it, arrange something reasonable yourself and claim it back with receipts.

The right to a refund or rerouting arises on cancellation, or on a delay of five hours or more. You choose between a full refund and being rerouted at the earliest opportunity — including, in principle, on another airline. A voucher is not a substitute for a refund unless you accept one.

Compensation is different and is not always payable. Fixed sums apply where you arrive at least three hours late and the cause was within the airline's control — technical faults, crew shortages, overbooking. It is not payable for genuinely extraordinary circumstances: severe weather, security risks, air traffic control restrictions, most strikes by third parties. Airline staff strikes generally do not qualify as extraordinary.

Practical points: claim directly first and free, escalate to the CAA or an ADR scheme if refused, and keep boarding passes and receipts. Claims companies take a substantial percentage for work you can do yourself.