Amsterdam to London flight delay and cancellation compensation

Compensation on the Amsterdam to London route

Amsterdam to London is among the busiest short-haul city pairs in Europe, with a dense daily schedule from Schiphol into Heathrow, Gatwick, City, Stansted and Luton. The distance is approximately 370 km, the shortest of the routes covered here, and it sits well inside the entry compensation band. A short sector does not weaken your rights: the same three-hour arrival delay test applies, as does the rule on cancellations notified with less than fourteen days' notice and on involuntary denied boarding. On a flight scheduled at around an hour, a three-hour arrival delay usually means a significant operational failure rather than a slow taxi.

How much you could be owed

Well under 1,500 km, so the entry band applies: €250 per passenger under EU261, or £220 where UK261 governs the flight. The Article 7(2) halving that can apply to three-to-four-hour delays is limited to flights over 3,500 km, so it does not arise here. If Amsterdam or London is a connection point on a single through-booking, the distance band is worked out to your final destination — a Schiphol to Heathrow leg feeding a long-haul flight can therefore support a claim in the €600 band rather than €250.

Which regulation applies

The Netherlands is in the EU, so EU261 covers the Amsterdam departure whichever airline operates it. Because the flight arrives in the UK, UK261 can also be engaged where the operating carrier is a UK or EU/EEA airline — which on this route it almost always is. You bring the claim once under whichever framework applies, and in practice the choice mainly determines whether you are paid €250 or £220. The reverse direction is governed the other way round: a London departure sits under UK261 regardless of the airline, so treat the two legs of a return trip separately.

Airlines flying this route

The corridor is served many times a day and is typically flown by KLM, British Airways and easyJet among others, with the mix depending on which London airport you use. Frequencies are high enough that airlines can often re-accommodate disrupted passengers on a later service the same day — which is good for your journey but does not by itself remove a compensation claim if you still arrived three or more hours late.

How to claim

The eligibility check is free: send the flight number and date and we confirm the governing regulation, the band and the likely strength of the claim. Typical causes on this route are late inbound aircraft, crew duty limits, tight turnarounds and air traffic flow restrictions over the North Sea and southern England. The first three are within the airline's control and normally leave a valid claim. Severe weather, air traffic control restrictions and security incidents can amount to extraordinary circumstances that remove compensation, but the airline bears the burden of proving both the event and the reasonable measures it took. Our charge is one fixed €39 success fee, payable only after compensation reaches you.