🧳 Passenger rights — know what you're owed

Your rights under UK261 / EC261, ATOL and the Montreal Convention. These apply to all passengers regardless of where they come from — what matters is the route and the carrier, not your nationality. Read this before you book, and before you accept a voucher instead of cash.

1. Compensation you may be owed

If your flight is cancelled, you're denied boarding, or you arrive 3+ hours late and the cause was within the airline's control, you may be owed fixed cash compensation (on top of your ticket being rebooked or refunded):

Flight distance	Compensation
Up to 1,500 km	€250
1,500 – 3,500 km (and intra-UK/EU over 1,500 km)	€400
Over 3,500 km	€600

These figures are the current UK261/EC261 fixed amounts. Compensation can be reduced by 50% if the airline re-routes you and you arrive close to the original time. Always verify the current amounts on the CAA / European Commission pages before claiming.

2. What you are always owed — even in an emergency

Even when the disruption is not the airline's fault ("extraordinary circumstances" — weather, ATC failure, security, medical emergencies), the airline must still provide "duty of care":

🥪 Meals and refreshments in proportion to the waiting time.
🏨 Hotel accommodation and transport to/from it if you're stuck overnight.
📞 Two free phone calls / emails.
✈️ Re-routing to your destination at the earliest opportunity, or a full refund — your choice.

The airline can never take away your duty-of-care rights by calling the cause "outside our control." You are still owed food, a room and a way home.

3. The biggest money mistake: single tickets vs. one booking

This is where people lose money — and where aggregators like Skyscanner, Kiwi and similar can quietly expose you.

	One booking (single PNR)	Separate tickets ("self-transfer")
Miss a connection due to delay	Airline rebooks you free	You're treated as a no-show — you buy a new ticket yourself
Luggage	Usually checked through	You must collect & re-check it, and clear security/immigration again
Protection	Full, end-to-end	None between the two tickets

Rule of thumb: if a site shows you a cheaper itinerary made of two separate flights on different bookings (often labelled "self-transfer" or "separate tickets"), you are not protected if the first flight runs late. The saving can be wiped out by one missed connection. Only book separate tickets if you leave a large, safe buffer and have travel insurance that covers missed connections.

Before you pay on Skyscanner or any aggregator, check: is this one booking reference, or two? If it's two, the "deal" is riskier than it looks.

4. Package holidays — ATOL and your rights

ATOL (UK) protects you if a UK tour operator goes bust — you get a refund or repatriation. Always check the operator's ATOL number.
Package Travel Regulations give you a refund or alternative if the organiser makes a significant change (e.g. a major change of destination, timing, or price increase above a threshold).
Booking a flight and hotel together as a package is often safer than booking them separately — it brings them under one set of protections.

Check CAA ATOL and ABTA for the current rules.

5. Baggage — what you can recover

Under the Montreal Convention, if your baggage is lost, damaged or delayed, the airline can be liable up to roughly 1,288 SDR (~€1,500 / ~£1,300) per passenger. Report it at the airport immediately and keep receipts. The exact amount is set in SDR and updates, so confirm the current figure.

6. Emergencies & disasters outside your control — the honest picture

You may not get cash compensation for "extraordinary circumstances" — but you always keep duty of care, re-routing/refund (point 2 above).
Travel insurance covers what the airline won't — missed connections, medical, natural disasters, abandonment. Buy it when you book, and read the "catastrophe/curtailment" wording.
Never accept a voucher you didn't ask for. You're entitled to a refund or cash in most cases — a voucher is the airline's choice, not yours, unless you agree.
Keep everything: boarding pass, booking confirmation, receipts for meals/hotel, and a written record of what the airline told you. That paper trail is what wins a claim.

7. How to claim

Complain to the airline first — in writing, with dates, flight number, and receipts. Give them a deadline.
Escalate — in the UK, the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) handles air-passenger complaints; for EU flights, use the national enforcement body of the country concerned.
Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) — many airlines are members of an ADR scheme; check the airline's terms.

This page is general information, not legal advice. Rights change and amounts are updated — always confirm with the CAA / European Commission / ABTA before you rely on a figure.

Part of S·OS — Caring for No 1 · Also see the ✈️ Live Flight Tracker.