Flight delay compensation: How long does it take to get it?
How long does it take to receive flight delay compensation?
Your flight is heavily delayed due to the airline’s fault. You are entitled to compensation, and you are making a claim to receive it. But how long should you wait until taking further steps? In this article we will explore how long it typically takes to receive compensation after a delayed flight, what steps can be taken to ensure timely payment, and under which conditions compensation may not be eligible at all.
On average, it takes around 2-3 months until you get the money.
Check your compensation online.
Understanding UK/EU flight delay compensation
First, a quick intro about UK/EU flight delay compensation.
According to European regulation EC 261/2004, if your flight is over three hours late, and the delay is due to the airline’s fault, you are eligible for up to €600 per person in EU compensation. With EU airlines the same rules apply to all flights departing from and arriving to Europe. With non-EU airlines, these rules apply only to flights departing from European airports.
As long as the delay is not caused by extraordinary circumstances.
Keep in mind that the delay must be due to the airline’s fault.
If it is something out of the airline’s control, such as bad weather, natural disaster, pandemic, you can’t get compensation for a delayed flight. Because no airline has a control over things like this. Accordingly you can’t blame them if things like this affect a flight.
Read more:
How long does it take to get the compensation?
How long does it take until you receive flight delay compensation?
If you are entitled to compensation, the airline should provide you with a payment as soon as possible, but mostly this is not how it works. Depending on the airline and the specific circumstances of the delay, it can take anything from several weeks to months until you receive UK/EU flight delay compensation from airline. You won’t get it tomorrow or the next week, most likely it will take at least a month or two, often three.
Why does it take so long?
This is due to the lack of clear regulations governing payment timelines.
While there are guidelines recommending a response within 60 days, airlines are free to act at their own pace –- meaning some may take longer than others. If involvement of National Enforcement Bodies is required, this could add up to an additional two to three months onto the waiting period.
Furthermore, if the airline refuses cooperation and a legal solution is sought after, it can also take over a year or even two before you get compensation from the airline.
How to make it faster?
One of the options is to work with legal professionals.
We offer such services. If you are working with us, we will make sure you receive your UK/EU compensation as soon as possible. To guarantee the best outcomes for Refundor's customers, we have built our own computer system that automates many of the processes. As a result, your claim can be sent to airlines much more quickly than if it was processed by hand.
Our team has been working with claims like yours daily since 2018.
How long does it take if you are claiming UK/EU flight compensation on your own?
If you are claiming UK/EU flight compensation on your own and you have successful prior experience in dealing with compensation claims, you may get a result also relatively fast. By that we mean — in 1 or, most likely, 2 months.
It can also take 6 or 12+ months, or more.
In this case it depends on your experience.
So, if you don’t have such an experience, and you aren’t professional negotiator, it may also take you much longer than if you enlist our help. As we have already mentioned, Refundor uses a computer system that allows us to automate a part of the process. Apart from that, our team works with flight compensation claims daily. We have a procedure that we follow, and we have a network of legal partners all around the world.
When claiming compensation on your own, be aware that you'll need to take multiple steps: find the right contact information for your airline or locate applicable claim forms; compose an email accurately citing relevant EU regulations; attach all appropriate documents. If the airline doesn’t reply, you’ll need to remind them about your case.
Navigating the process of obtaining compensation for a flight delay can be tricky, especially if it’s the first time for you doing this.
- You are flying with a EU airline
- You are flying with a UK airline
- You are flying with a non-European airline
Read more: How to claim compensation on your own?
How to claim UK/EU compensation?
You either contact the airline yourself, or work with professionals.
The easiest way is to work with us (flight compensation company).
Submitting your claim with us is easy. It hardly takes 5 minutes, and all that is needed are your passport or ID alongside one of the following — boarding pass, flight ticket or flight confirmation.
When working with us, here is all you will have to do:
- Go to this page;
- Fill in the details about yourself and your flight delay;
- Upload your boarding pass and passport copy;
- Sign the claim online.
And that’s it. We’ll take it from there.
Initially, we won't request your bank account information. We will only ask for this when the process is nearly complete and the airline has approved payment of flight compensation. If further details are needed from you, our flight delay specialists will get in touch via email. Once everything is wrapped up, you'll receive the money promptly!
Why do people choose legal representation? Learn here.
By Europe and EU here on this page we mean all EU Member States, the United Kingdom (UK), Guadeloupe, French Guiana, Martinique, Reunion, Mayotte, Saint Martin (French Antilles), the Azores, Madeira, the Canary Islands, Iceland, Norway, and Switzerland.
Featured photo by Joe Ambrogio