TUI Airways flight delay and cancellation compensation

TUI Airways flight delay and cancellation claims pay £220 to £520 per passenger under UK261, or €250 to €600 on departures from EU airports. You qualify if TUI lands you three or more hours late, cancels with under 14 days' notice, or denies you boarding. Long-haul returns from the Caribbean and Mexico count too.

Is a TUI Airways flight delay covered by UK261 or EU261?

TUI Airways is the UK airline of the TUI group, flying holiday charters and a long-haul leisure programme to the Caribbean, Mexico, the Indian Ocean and beyond. It holds a UK operating licence, so it is a UK carrier, and your rights depend on the route:

• UK261 covers every departure from a UK airport and every arrival into the UK on TUI Airways, including long-haul returns from the Caribbean and Mexico
• EU261 covers TUI Airways departures from EU/EEA airports, because the departure limb applies to any operating airline
• An arrival into the EU from a third country on TUI Airways is not covered by EU261, which needs an EU/EEA carrier

Compensation is triggered by arriving three or more hours late at your final destination, a cancellation with less than 14 days' notice, or denied boarding after checking in on time. The amount depends on the distance of the route, not on the price of the flight or the package.

How much you could receive

UK261 pays fixed sterling amounts:

• GBP 220 — routes of 1,500 km or less
• GBP 350 — routes of 1,500 to 3,500 km
• GBP 520 — routes over 3,500 km, which covers TUI's long-haul leisure network

For departures from an EU/EEA airport, the EU261 bands of EUR 250 / EUR 400 / EUR 600 apply on the same tiers. Under Article 7(2) the top band may be halved where a long-haul re-routing lands under four hours late, so the exact arrival time matters. Cabin and fare make no difference, and each passenger on the booking is entitled separately.

When TUI Airways doesn't have to pay

Compensation falls away only where TUI proves extraordinary circumstances that could not have been avoided even with all reasonable measures — severe weather, ATC restrictions, airport closures, security incidents or a bird strike.

The burden of proof rests with the airline; a one-line rejection citing "weather" or "operational reasons" is not a completed defence and should be tested against the day's recorded conditions. A strike by TUI's own crew is generally not extraordinary, whereas an ATC or third-party handler strike usually is. Routine technical faults from ordinary maintenance normally remain the airline's responsibility.

What do you need for a TUI Airways claim?

Keep the booking reference, boarding passes for every sector, the disruption notice, and any receipts, and record the real arrival time at your final destination. TUI wants claims through its own channels and may ask for verification first.

If a claim is refused without proper substantiation, UK flights can go to the CAA-approved alternative dispute resolution scheme or the small claims track, and EU departures to the enforcement body of the departure state.

What it costs

The eligibility check is free. If we recover your compensation we charge a fixed EUR 39 success fee — the same whether you're owed EUR 250 or EUR 600 — and the airline's payment goes to you. No win, no fee.

If TUI says no: AviationADR

TUI Airways is a member of AviationADR, one of the two dispute-resolution schemes approved by the UK Civil Aviation Authority. It costs passengers nothing: if TUI rejects your claim, or eight weeks pass without a final answer, you can escalate there, and a decision you accept binds the airline. On package holidays, remember the flight-compensation claim under UK261 is separate from any package-travel claim against the tour operator.

How do you claim TUI Airways flight delay compensation?

Start with the flight itself. Our free flight check reads the recorded times for your TUI Airways flight and tells you which band it falls in, in about two minutes.

For the law behind the figure, the flight delay compensation guide covers arrival delays and the cancellation compensation guide covers a flight that never operated. If TUI Airways has already refused you, the case law summary sets out what the courts have said about the usual excuses.