Compensation for London Heathrow Airport Delays and Flight Cancellations

AirHelpAirports
LHR

Being stuck at the airport is many travelers’ nightmare — and we’re here to help if it happened to you. If you experienced London Heathrow Airport flight delays or cancellations, AirHelp can explain your rights, and tell you whether you're owed any compensation.

You might be entitled to as much as $700 (€600) per person if your airline was responsible for the delay. Enter your flight details into our easy-to-use compensation calculator and find out what you’re owed today.

Departure airport

Final destination airport

Check Compensation

or

Scan your boarding pass barcode
Upload boarding pass

All airlines

All countries

No Win, No Fee


Air Passenger Protections at London Heathrow Airport

Because London Heathrow Airport (LHR) is situated in the EU, travelers from anywhere in the world are very likely to be protected by a law known as EU Regulation No. 261/2004.

This means that if you had a flight delay, cancellation or overbooking at London Heathrow Airport, you do have rights! The law specifies the care airlines must provide. Plus, when the airline is responsible for the delay, EC 261 lays out the amount of compensation passengers are owed — up to $700 (€600) per person. You usually have up to 3 years to claim it too.

It doesn’t matter where you are from, only where you flew and whether it was with an EU airline.

Are you Protected by EC 261?

RouteEU AirlineNon-EU Airline
Departures from London Heathrow Airport to anywhereYesYes
Arrivals at London Heathrow Airport from inside EUYesN/A
Arrivals at London Heathrow Airport from outside EUYesNo

Delayed or canceled flight at London Heathrow Airport? You could be entitled to compensation

All airlines

All countries

No Win, No Fee


Claim Compensation for London Heathrow Airport Delays

Airport delays are stressful, both on your mind and your wallet. The good news is that because of EU Regulation EC 261, you might be able to claim up to $700 (€600) compensation if your flights are delayed by 3 or more hours.

There is one notable exception when it comes to London Heathrow Airport delays. If there are extraordinary circumstances involved, airlines don’t have to pay compensation for a flight delay. Extraordinary circumstances are situations outside of the airline’s control. A good example is something like unsafe weather conditions at London Heathrow Airport, or an air traffic control issue. Because the airline didn’t cause the delay, they can’t be expected to pay out for it.

Another point to note, the law sees a delay as the time you finally arrived at your destination compared to the landing time written on your ticket. This is important for delayed flights from London Heathrow Airport, because it’s not actually how long you were kept waiting in the departures lounge that counts. For compensation at least, it’s the amount of time between when you were supposed to land and when you actually landed at your final destination that matters.

You can learn more about flight delay compensation here


Compensation for London Heathrow Airport Flight Cancellations

EU regulation, EC 261, empowers passengers when there are London Heathrow Airport cancellations. By law, your airline must offer you an alternative flight to your destination — or a refund, if that's what you'd prefer.

In addition, you might be owed up to in compensation if the cancellations were announced less than 2 weeks before you were due to depart.

There are some important exceptions, such as if your airline managed to find you an alternative flight that arrived at a similar time to your original. Or if London Heathrow Airport canceled flights rather than the airline — as that means your airline wasn't actually responsible for the cancellation. These types of examples are termed extraordinary circumstances, and include situations like an air traffic control strike, unsafe flying conditions at London Heathrow Airport, or anything outside of an airline's control.

You can read more about flight cancellation compensation here.

Flight delay or cancellation at London Heathrow? Find out your compensation for free.

All airlines

All countries

No Win, No Fee


How Much Compensation?

DistanceCompensation
Under 1,500 kmUp to €250 per person
Over 1,500 km and within EUUp to €400 per person
Between 1,500 - 3,500 kmUp to €400 per person
Over 3,500 kmUp to $700 (€600) per person

Some exceptions may need to be taken into account. The easiest way to be sure of what you’re owed, is to use our free compensation check.


Delays in London Heathrow Airport - What to Do

Sure, delays or flight cancellations are anything but ideal. But for your peace of mind, here’s what you should do if it happens to you:

  • Collect proof of the delay or flight cancellation (e.g. emails from the airline, photos of the departure board).

  • Keep all your travel documents.

  • Ask your airline why your flight's been affected.

  • Ask the airline to pay for your meals and refreshments.

  • Pay attention to what the airline offers you — don't sign anything that would waive your right to compensation.

  • Keep all receipts that prove the disruption cost you extra money.

Have AirHelp claim your compensation

All airlines

All countries

No Win, No Fee


Recent delays and cancellations

Airline (e.g. Lufthansa)

Departure airport (e.g. Frankfurt or FRA)

Date

Flight number

Airline

Route

Status

10/02/2024

10:00 PM

ME204

Middle East Airlines

LHR (LHR)

Beirut (BEY)

CanceledCheck Compensation

10/02/2024

9:15 PM

BA404

British Airways

LHR (LHR)

Tel Aviv-Yafo (TLV)

CanceledCheck Compensation
Your flight isn't here? Use our full compensation check and we'll look into it. Check your flight
  • ME204

    Middle East Airlines

    Canceled

    London

    Beirut

    LHR

    BEY

    10/02/2024

    10:00 PM

    Check Compensation
  • BA404

    British Airways

    Canceled

    London

    Tel Aviv-Yafo

    LHR

    TLV

    10/02/2024

    9:15 PM

    Check Compensation
Your flight isn't here? Use our full compensation check and we'll look into it. Check your flight

AirHelp has been featured in:

USA Today LogoWSJ LogoWashington Post

AirHelp is a part of the Association of Passenger Rights Advocates (APRA) whose mission is to promote and protect passengers’ rights.

Sign up for our newsletter

Get the latest tips and advice delivered straight to your inbox

Copyright © 2024 AirHelp

Check Compensation

All airlines