--- title: "London Heathrow Flight Delay and Cancellation Compensation" url: https://flightcompensations.com/airports/london-heathrow author: "Jaacov Sonenblick" published: 2026-09-04 updated: 2026-10-06 publisher: FlightCompensations summary: "Delayed or cancelled at London Heathrow? Under UK261 you could be owed £220 to £520. Free eligibility check, and a fixed €39 fee only if we win." --- # London Heathrow flight delay and cancellation compensation Delayed or cancelled at London Heathrow? Under UK261 you could be owed £220 to £520. Free eligibility check, and a fixed €39 fee only if we win. ## London Heathrow flight delay or cancellation: what are your rights? A departure from Heathrow that leaves you arriving at your final destination three or more hours late can carry a fixed cash payment, entirely separate from any refund or re-routing the airline arranges. The amount is set by the distance flown, not by what you paid: £220 for journeys up to 1,500 km, £350 between 1,500 and 3,500 km, and £520 above 3,500 km under UK261. Where EU261 governs the flight instead, the equivalent bands are €250, €400 and €600. Cancellations announced with less than fourteen days' notice, and denied boarding after an involuntary bump, are treated the same way, provided the underlying cause sat within the airline's control. ## Which rules apply at London Heathrow Heathrow is a UK airport, so UK261 — the retained version of Regulation 261/2004 — covers every departure from it, whichever airline you fly and wherever you are heading. In the other direction, a flight arriving into the UK is covered only when the operating carrier is a UK or EU/EEA airline. If your Heathrow departure is bound for the EU/EEA on an EU carrier, EU261 can apply alongside; you claim once, under whichever framework fits, never twice. A non-UK, non-EU airline flying you into Heathrow from outside Europe falls outside both regulations, and that is the single most common reason a return-leg claim fails. ## What should you do at Heathrow while the delay runs? Ask the airline's desk for the reason for the disruption and the expected new arrival time, in writing if you can get it. Arrival time at your final destination is what decides eligibility, so note when the aircraft doors actually opened rather than when it touched down. Once the wait passes two hours on short routes, three on medium ones and four on long-haul, the carrier owes duty of care: meals, refreshments, a means of communication, and a hotel with transfers if you are held overnight. That duty applies even when the cause is outside the airline's control. Keep boarding passes and receipts, and photograph the departure board showing the delay. ## Why do Heathrow flights get delayed or cancelled? Heathrow is a major hub operating with little spare runway capacity, so problems propagate quickly through the day: a late inbound aircraft, a crew running out of hours or a morning slot restriction can still be shaping evening departures. Winter fog and low-visibility procedures, summer thunderstorms across the south-east, and air traffic flow restrictions elsewhere in European airspace are all regular contributors. Technical faults, crew shortages, scheduling decisions and most airline IT failures are treated as within the carrier's control and therefore compensable. ## Claiming for a flight from London Heathrow Start with a free eligibility check: give us the flight and we confirm which regulation governs it and which band applies. If the airline refuses on extraordinary circumstances grounds, the burden of proof rests on them, and a bare assertion of bad weather without supporting evidence is often successfully challenged. Claims can usually be brought long after the flight, though time limits vary by jurisdiction, so old boarding passes are worth digging out. We charge one fixed success fee of €39, payable only once money actually reaches you. No win, no fee. ## How to claim London Heathrow compensation Start with the flight itself. Our [free flight check](/claim) reads the recorded times for your flight from London Heathrow and tells you which band it falls in, in about two minutes. A London Heathrow compensation claim turns on two things: the arrival time, and the reason the airline gives. For a late arrival, read the [flight delay compensation guide](/flight-delay-compensation). For a flight that never flew, read the [cancellation compensation guide](/flight-cancellation-compensation). It covers London Heathrow cancellation compensation too. Has the airline said no? The [case law summary](/passenger-rights/case-law) sets out what the courts make of the usual excuses. ## Frequently asked questions ### Does Heathrow itself pay the compensation? No. The obligation sits with the operating airline, not the airport. Even where congestion or a runway closure caused the delay, your claim is made against the carrier that was due to fly you. ### My Heathrow flight was delayed but I still made my connection — can I claim? Eligibility is judged on arrival at your final destination on a single booking. If you got there under three hours late, there is no compensation, even if the first leg was badly delayed. ### Am I paid in pounds or euros? A flight covered by UK261 is compensated in the sterling bands of £220, £350 or £520. A flight covered by EU261 uses €250, €400 or €600. Which applies depends on the departure point and the airline. ### What does the claim cost me? The eligibility check is free and there is nothing to pay up front. We take a fixed €39 success fee only after compensation has been recovered for you. ## Sources - https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=celex%3A32004R0261 - https://www.caa.co.uk/passengers/resolving-travel-problems/delays-and-cancellations/ - https://curia.europa.eu/juris/liste.jsf?num=C-402/07 - https://curia.europa.eu/juris/liste.jsf?num=C-549/07 - https://curia.europa.eu/juris/liste.jsf?num=C-195/17 - https://curia.europa.eu/juris/liste.jsf?num=C-452/13 Read the full page with the claim check at https://flightcompensations.com/airports/london-heathrow