British Airways EUR 600 and GBP 520 compensation: long-flight rules
Reviewed on 10 August 2026. British Airways can owe EUR 600 under EC261 or GBP 520 under UK261 for a qualifying journey above 3,500 km. The full amount is not automatic: the route must be covered, delay or cancellation tests must be met, and BA must lack a successful extraordinary-circumstances defence. Arrival between three and four hours late can reduce a long-distance award by half.
Free eligibility check
Check your case in the form
Enter your route, date and type of disruption. We will check whether your case qualifies for a claim under EU 261/2004 or UK261.
What happened to your flight?
Claim up to €600 for a delayed or cancelled flight.
Choose the situation that applies to your flight:
Use the currency of the governing law. EUR 600 and GBP 520 are parallel statutory bands, not amounts a passenger may add together or select according to exchange rate.
When the top band is possible
| Element | Required question |
|---|---|
| Distance | Does the eligible journey exceed 3,500 km by great-circle method? |
| Law | Does UK261 or EC261 cover the route and operator? |
| Event | Was final arrival sufficiently late, cancellation sufficiently late-noticed, or boarding denied? |
| Reduction | Did rerouting or a three-to-four-hour delay halve the award? |
| Defence | Can BA prove extraordinary circumstances and reasonable measures? |
A premium fare, First cabin or high out-of-pocket loss does not increase fixed compensation. Four eligible passengers can each receive the applicable amount, making the passenger count more important than booking value.
EUR 600 examples
A BA-operated Paris-Heathrow-Los Angeles journey booked as one ticket begins in the EU. EC261 can protect the complete itinerary and measure distance from Paris to Los Angeles. If BA causes a qualifying long final delay, the starting band is EUR 600 per passenger.
A London-New York service does not use EUR 600 merely because New York is outside Europe. Its direct UK departure points to UK261 and sterling. A New York-Paris flight operated by BA generally lacks inbound EC261 coverage because BA is not an EU carrier, although UK261 can be relevant to an EU arrival on a UK airline.
An intra-EU journey longer than 1,500 km normally remains at EUR 400. Distance over 3,500 km alone is not enough if the route falls within the regulation's intra-EU category.
GBP 520 examples
A BA-operated Heathrow-Cape Town flight is a UK departure and exceeds 3,500 km. A cancellation three days before departure caused by ordinary operational planning can support GBP 520 where the substitute timings do not trigger a reduction.
A Toronto-Heathrow BA service can fall within UK261 as an arrival on a UK carrier. If arrival is four hours 20 minutes late for a non-extraordinary reason, GBP 520 is the normal maximum. If it arrives three hours 25 minutes late, current CAA guidance points to GBP 260.
A BA-coded Toronto-Heathrow flight operated by a non-UK, non-EU partner needs a new analysis. The marketing code does not turn the partner into British Airways.
Connecting journeys and distance
For flights booked as a directly connecting unit, the relevant distance normally runs in a straight line from the first departure to the final destination. It is not the sum of sector miles. This principle prevents a connection from artificially inflating the band while still recognising the complete transport operation.
Consider Dublin-Heathrow-Singapore on one booking. Dublin is in the EU, and the final destination lies well beyond 3,500 km. A missed Heathrow connection can lead to EUR 600 if EC261 covers the operation and final arrival is at least three hours late, subject to defence and reduction.
If Dublin-Heathrow and Heathrow-Singapore were purchased separately, each reservation has its own final destination for the normal calculation. Travel insurance may assist with the self-transfer, but the tickets should not be combined silently.
Delay reduction from three to four hours
The top band has a common trap. CAA guidance for UK261 states that a route above 3,500 km pays GBP 260 when final arrival is more than three but no more than four hours late; GBP 520 applies beyond four hours. EC261 Article 7 permits a 50% reduction where qualifying rerouting arrives within four hours on long routes.
Record first door opening. Touchdown at three hours 55 minutes followed by 12 minutes with closed doors can move a UK claim from GBP 260 to GBP 520. Conversely, an app rounding "4h" may not prove the threshold.
For cancellation, compare the replacement arrival with the original schedule. A passenger cannot assume full payment simply because BA cancelled: notice timing and rerouting windows must also be tested.
Cause and reasonable measures
The long-distance amount is not payable where BA proves a qualifying external event and adequate mitigation. Examples can include destination-airport closure, a flight-specific ATC restriction, unsafe meteorological conditions or a genuine security risk.
Routine aircraft defects and airline-controlled systems are not automatically outside normal operations. A manufacturer-announced hidden defect can be different. Ordinary crew absence also requires caution: the UK Supreme Court's BA CityFlyer decision held that pilot illness was inherent in the carrier's activity.
Ask for a chronology. On a long rotation, the airline may refer to an event at an earlier airport. It should identify how that event propagated and why spare aircraft, crew or rerouting could not reasonably reduce the impact.
Family and group calculation
Fixed compensation belongs to passengers. If two adults and two children hold eligible tickets on one Heathrow-Tokyo disruption beyond four hours, the arithmetic can be:
4 x GBP 520 = GBP 2,080
One purchaser may submit the case, but BA can request authority from other adults. Different bookings do not remove individual entitlement; they may simply require separate forms.
An Avios reward ticket can qualify because a public loyalty programme is not automatically excluded. The statutory award is cash and should not be converted into Avios merely because the fare was paid with points. Use the BA Avios guide for refund mechanics.
Other remedies are not part of EUR 600 or GBP 520
A refund replaces unused transport. Rerouting provides the journey. Care reimburses reasonable food, accommodation and transfer. Downgrade reimburses a percentage of the affected sector price. None should be subtracted from fixed compensation merely because BA processes them together.
Consequential losses and Montreal Convention damages follow different tests. Presenting them as one top-band request makes the claim harder to decide and can create accidental settlement ambiguity.
Use the BA long-haul itinerary guide for destination-specific examples and the compensation calculator for other bands.
FAQ
Does every BA long-haul delay pay GBP 520?
No. Coverage, final delay, cause and reduction all matter. A three-to-four-hour UK261 arrival normally produces GBP 260 on a route above 3,500 km.
Can an EU departure on British Airways pay EUR 600?
Yes. EC261 covers departures from EU airports regardless of BA's UK nationality, and a qualifying non-EU long journey can reach EUR 600.
Is a New York-London BA flight protected?
It normally falls within UK261 because it arrives in the UK on a UK carrier. Verify the actual operator on a codeshare.
Does Club World receive more fixed compensation than economy?
No. Cabin does not change the UK261 or EC261 band. It matters for a separate downgrade reimbursement if BA carries the passenger in a lower class.
Can BA pay a family claim to the booking holder only?
One person may coordinate, but entitlement remains individual. BA can require authorisation from other adults and should calculate each eligible passenger.