How to claim money back

You may be entitled to compensation under EU law if your flight is delayed or cancelled – and in Scotland, you may be able to claim this back for up to five years after the event.

How much you can claim depends on the flight distance, the length of the delay and whether you’re flying to an EU or non-EU destination.

In theory, you can apply for compensation for any delays stretching back as far as February 2005 – but in practice, it’s extremely unlikely you’ll be able to go back further than 2012.

In fact, flight-delay solicitors Bott & Co, which has dealt with more than 200 airlines and more than 290,000 claims, believes any airline will refuse your claim if it is longer than six years ago.

This is because in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, due to the statute of limitations, if you need to take the airline to court to get the cash (not too common, don’t be unduly worried) then you can only go back six years.

In Scotland, it’s five years. So older claims can be tricky.

The amount you can claim depends on the length of the delay you suffered.

Delay of three hours: £218 (flight distance less than-1500km) or £349 (between 1500km and 3500km, or more than 1500km and within the EU).

Delay of three-four hours: £261 (more than 3,500km, between an EU and non-EU airport).

Delays of more than four hours: £523 (more than 3,500km, between an EU and non-EU airport).