easyJet delayed flight compensation: check the arrival delay and cause
Reviewed on 10 August 2026. An easyJet passenger may claim fixed compensation when a covered flight reaches the relevant destination at least three hours late and the airline cannot prove extraordinary circumstances that remained unavoidable despite reasonable measures. EC261 awards are normally EUR 250, EUR 400 or EUR 600; UK261 uses GBP 220, GBP 350 or GBP 520, with a possible half award for a long flight arriving between three and four hours late.
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:
The most common mistakes are measuring departure delay, naming the wrong easyJet company, or accepting “operational reasons” as a complete explanation. A reliable claim starts with four facts: the operating airline, route, door-opening arrival time and actual cause.
A delayed-flight decision table
| Fact | Likely consequence |
|---|---|
| Arrival under three hours late | No fixed delay payment under the current threshold, but care may have been due during the wait |
| Arrival at least three hours late | Continue to distance, coverage and cause |
| Flight left an EU airport | EC261 normally applies regardless of the easyJet operating entity |
| Flight left a UK airport | UK261 normally applies |
| Severe external event directly affected the flight | Fixed payment may be excluded if easyJet also proves reasonable measures |
| Routine aircraft defect or ordinary crew planning issue | The defence is usually weak and should be examined closely |
The three-hour question is covered in more detail in the easyJet arrival-time guide. Use that page when Flight Tracker, airport data and the airline's message show different times.
Measure the delay at arrival
The departure-board figure is not the legal compensation clock. A flight can leave four hours late and recover enough time to arrive two hours and fifty minutes behind schedule, which normally misses the fixed-payment threshold. Another flight can depart only two hours and forty minutes late, then wait for a stand and open its door more than three hours after scheduled arrival.
Under the Court of Justice's Germanwings judgment, arrival is generally the moment at least one door opens and passengers are allowed to leave. Touchdown, reaching the stand and switching off the seat-belt sign can all occur earlier. Save contemporaneous evidence when the case sits near the boundary: a timestamped message sent after the door opened, a photograph, airport arrival data and a short written note from another passenger can support the record.
easyJet describes itself as a point-to-point carrier and does not issue its own through tickets. For a normal direct booking, the relevant destination is therefore straightforward. If an easyJet flight formed part of a protected package or a third party sold a genuine single journey, preserve the entire itinerary and obtain advice before treating separate segments as one compensation unit.
Identify EC261, UK261 or Swiss coverage
An EU departure is governed by EC261 even if EZY indicates easyJet UK. A UK departure usually falls under UK261. A Swiss departure is covered through Switzerland's adoption of Regulation 261. For an inbound journey from outside these areas, the identity of the operator becomes especially important.
easyJet's terms say that EZY flights are normally operated by easyJet UK Limited, EJU by easyJet Europe Airline GmbH and EZS by easyJet Switzerland S.A. Do not infer the operator only from the website used to book. Take the current “operated by” statement from the booking or Flight Tracker and keep a copy.
The easyJet UK261 and EC261 comparison addresses overlapping UK-EU journeys. A passenger cannot collect two fixed awards for the same disruption, but choosing the correct legal route prevents currency and jurisdiction errors.
Calculate the distance band correctly
Distance is measured by the great-circle method between the relevant airports, not by kilometres flown around weather or restricted airspace. Under EC261, a route up to 1,500 km pays EUR 250 when eligible. An intra-EU route above 1,500 km pays EUR 400, as does another covered route between 1,500 and 3,500 km. EUR 600 is reserved for other covered routes above 3,500 km.
UK261 sets GBP 220 below 1,500 km, GBP 350 from 1,500 to 3,500 km and GBP 520 above 3,500 km. On that longest band, a delay between three and four hours normally gives GBP 260; the full GBP 520 generally requires at least four hours. The EC261 long-distance reduction also requires careful application. Use the easyJet compensation calculator with exact airport codes rather than city-centre distances.
What caused the easyJet delay?
easyJet carries the burden of establishing an extraordinary-circumstances defence. A useful response should identify the event rather than merely state “circumstances beyond our control.” It should also connect that event to your flight and explain what reasonable measures were available.
Potentially extraordinary causes include an air-traffic-control flow restriction, an airport closure, weather genuinely incompatible with safe operation, security risks or an external event that could not be controlled. Even then, ask whether the restriction applied at the relevant time, whether the affected rotation was your aircraft, and whether reasonable rerouting or reserve resources could have reduced the delay.
Routine wear, an ordinary component failure and maintenance discoveries are generally inherent in airline operations. The Wallentin-Hermann ruling leaves room for a truly external event such as a hidden manufacturing defect disclosed by the manufacturer or authority, but “technical fault” on its own is not enough. Internal industrial action also has a different legal profile from an external controller strike.
Care during the airport wait
Care begins before the three-hour compensation threshold in many cases. The trigger depends on route distance: broadly two hours for the shortest category, three hours for the middle category and four hours for other long routes. The airline should provide refreshments proportionate to the wait and communication; an overnight delay can require accommodation and transport between the airport and hotel.
These obligations usually remain even if the delay came from weather or ATC. If easyJet cannot arrange care, purchase modest alternatives, retain itemised receipts and record why self-funding was necessary. The airline's current policy refers to reasonable food and non-alcoholic drink, standard or shared transport and three-star or equivalent accommodation where available. Luxury choices and unrelated losses are more difficult to recover through the expense form.
After five hours of departure delay, a passenger may decide not to travel and request reimbursement under the applicable rules. That choice is distinct from the later three-hour arrival test. Read easyJet delay over five hours before cancelling in the app, because abandoning the journey generally ends ongoing transport and care rights.
Build a precise claim
Collect the booking reference, e-ticket or confirmation, boarding pass, scheduled and actual times, passenger names and the operating-carrier notation. Save every easyJet message and take screenshots while the disruption is still visible. If staff announce a reason, note the wording, location and time without embellishment.
Submit fixed compensation through easyJet's official portal. State the arrival delay, route distance, applicable regime and requested amount. Put hotel, meal or transfer costs through the expense route with itemised proof. Keeping those two requests distinct helps prevent an expense decision from being mistaken for settlement of the fixed-payment claim.
If the response is vague or inconsistent with the evidence, ask for the exact event and causal link. For a UK-connected dispute, easyJet's terms currently point eligible unresolved complaints to AviationADR within 12 months of the final response. Other journeys may involve the enforcement body or court connected with the departure and applicable law.
The EU reform adopted in July 2026 preserves the three-hour delay threshold but has not yet entered into application. Its future nine-month submission period and 30-day airline response period are not the rules governing a claim on this page's review date.
FAQ
Is easyJet delay compensation based on departure or arrival?
Fixed delay compensation is based on lateness at the relevant destination. Departure delay matters for care and the five-hour refund option, but it does not replace the arrival calculation.
What if easyJet says the aircraft landed two hours and 58 minutes late?
Landing is not normally the decisive moment. Check when at least one door opened and passengers could disembark. A wait for a stand or stairs can move the legal arrival beyond three hours.
Can weather remove an easyJet delay claim automatically?
No. easyJet should identify weather incompatible with the operation, show that it caused this flight's delay and establish reasonable measures. Ordinary seasonal conditions or a bare weather label do not finish the analysis.
Do I need the boarding pass to claim?
It is valuable evidence, but other documents may establish a confirmed reservation and presence for travel. Preserve the booking, check-in record, app pass, baggage tag and communications rather than abandoning a valid case because one document is missing.
Can every person on one booking claim separately?
Yes, each eligible passenger normally has an individual fixed-payment right. Infants travelling free without their own ticket require separate analysis, while a child with a paid or publicly available fare is not excluded merely because of age.