Reimbursement and Compensation: British Airways

If your flight is affected by the British Airways IT problems, here’s what you need to know:

Passengers departing the UK are protected by the UK’s air passenger rights, sometimes referred to as “UK 261”.
BA passengers facing disruption in Europe may also be covered by the EU version of the law, EC 261.

• Under both laws passengers are entitled to food and drinks and access to communication for flights delayed over 2 hours.
• If your flight is delayed overnight British Airways must provide you with accommodation and transport to and from the airport.
• If your flight is delayed over 5 hours you can decide not to travel, and instead receive a full refund or an alternative flight. 
• If your flight is cancelled you are entitled to a full refund or an alternative flight — whichever you prefer. 

Depending on the source of the problem, passengers may be able to claim up to €600 in additional compensation from British Airways. Submit your flight details to AirHelp and we’ll help you claim any compensation you’re owed.

While airlines like British Airways make every effort to stick to their advertised schedules, flight delays do happen. The good news for travelers is that air passenger rights exist to protect you and your journey when you get caught up in British Airways flight delays.

Under an EU law known as EC 261, if an airline causes passengers to arrive at their destination 3 or more hours late, those passengers could be entitled to up to €600 in compensation.

There are some extraordinary circumstances which may excuse airlines from paying compensation. Those include situations like bad weather or issues at the airport. But if the delay is a result of technical issues or an airline staff strike, you're likely to be owed compensation under EC 261.

What's more, you generally have up to 3 years to make a flight delay compensation British Airways claim. All you have to do is type in your flight details and our easy-to-use flight delay compensation calculator will tell you if you are eligible for cash compensation, and our expert team are on hand to help you get it.

In the event of any British Airways flight cancellation, Europe's air passenger rights laws are clear: British Airways must offer you alternative transport to your destination, or a refund if that's what you'd prefer.

In addition, if you were told about the cancellation less than 14 days before you were due to depart you may also be able to claim up to 600€ per person in compensation.

Generally speaking, when British Airways cancels flights, they'll attempt to rebook passengers straight away onto another flight at no additional charge. You can request further changes if the alternative flight doesn’t work for you, or if you no longer wish to travel that route.

If British Airways can book you onto a new flight that lands at a similar time to your original they won't have to pay you compensation. This is fair, as you'll get to your destination with minimum disruption to your plans. However in a lot of cases, passengers whose flights are canceled at the last minute have valid claims to British Airways canceled flight compensation.

That's unless the cancellation was caused by an event British Airways can't be expected to control — something like bad weather conditions, or an incident at the airport. These events are referred to as extraordinary circumstances.

You can learn more about flight cancellation compensation here.

Because British Airways has its headquarters within the EU, almost all the flights they offer are protected by EC 261, one of the world's most comprehensive air passenger rights laws.

The EC 261 regulation gives passengers the right to claim for compensation when they have suffered delayed, canceled or overbooked flights, which are no fault of their own. Passengers are also entitled to claim for past flights — often you can still claim for flights in the past 3 years.

Which British Airways Flights are Covered by EC 261?

Table shows values in € as specified in EC 261

There are exceptions and special circumstances which may impact how much compensation British Airways owes in your case. The easiest way to find out what you’re owed is to use our free compensation check.