Free to start · no sign-up · no card. Tell Chris what has happened and see whether we can help before you pay anything. One matter · one case folder · a full day of drafting. If the drafts are not up to the standard you expected, email us within 7 days of paying for a full refund. If money is tight, Help with Fees can remove the court fee entirely, and Citizens Advice is free — we will always tell you when you do not need us.
Last reviewed: June 2026 · For use in England & Wales · eLitigant is a Community Interest Company (No. 16566612), not a law firm and does not give legal advice.
Quick answer
If your flight was cancelled, you can choose a full refund (paid within 7 days) or a re-routing to your destination. You may also be owed £220–£520 compensation — unless the airline gave you 14+ days’ notice, or it was beyond their control. You can claim it all yourself and keep 100%.
Last reviewed: 25 June 2026 · England & Wales
When an airline cancels your flight, you have firm legal rights under UK261 — and you don’t have to accept a voucher or a fight. Here’s what you’re entitled to and how to claim it yourself.
Your two choices: a refund or a re-routing
If the airline cancels, you can pick whichever suits you:
- A full refund of the unused parts of your ticket, paid within 7 days (plus a flight back to your first departure point if you were mid-journey).
- Re-routing to your final destination at no extra cost, as soon as possible or on a later date that suits you.
You may also be owed compensation
On top of the refund or re-routing, you’re usually owed fixed compensation of £220, £350 or £520 (by flight distance) — unless the airline gave you 14 days’ notice or more, gave 7–14 days’ notice but re-routed you close to your original times, or the cancellation was caused by genuine “extraordinary circumstances” (severe weather, air-traffic control, etc.). Note that ordinary technical faults do not count as extraordinary.
How to claim it yourself
- Write to the airline stating your flight, the cancellation, which option you choose (refund or re-routing) and the compensation due.
- No resolution after 8 weeks, or rejected? Escalate free to the airline’s ADR scheme (AviationADR or CEDR), or to the CAA’s PACT if the airline isn’t signed up.
- Still stuck? Use Money Claim Online — court fees are recoverable if you win.
Keep 100% of your money
Claims firms take 25–50% of any compensation. You don’t need them — the airline must handle a direct claim free of charge. Claim it yourself and keep every penny.
Official sources
- CAA — Cancellations
- CAA — Alternative Dispute Resolution
- Citizens Advice — Flight delayed or cancelled
Don’t hand a claims company a third of your money.
Chris drafts your claim from your details — you send it, you keep 100%.
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
Would you rather we drafted it for you?
Tell us what has happened and what you need. Every document is quoted case by case, on its size and the time it needs, and the price is agreed with you by email before any work starts. Nothing is charged until you say go.
Once agreed, it comes back to you within one working day (business documents usually within the hour). You read it, check every date and figure, sign it and file it: it stays your document throughout. No need to attach anything now — once we reply, you send your papers by email.
We use your details only to reply to this enquiry. eLitigant CIC is not a law firm and does not give legal advice. You remain the author of your documents.