Guide

Flight delayed? Here's what to do next.

A delay is easier to handle when you know what to check and what to keep. These are practical steps, not legal advice. What you can ask for depends on where you fly, the airline and the length of the delay, so we point you to the official sources rather than tell you what you are owed.

1. Check the latest airline instructions

Your airline's app, website, emails and text messages, and the screens at the airport, are the official sources for your flight. Delays can get shorter as well as longer, and a new departure time can be brought forward again. Stay close to the gate and keep checking the boarding time unless the airline tells you otherwise.

You can check your flight on DelayAhead to see where the plane is coming from, but plan around the airline's times.

2. Check your onward plans

Think about what happens after you land:

• A connecting flight. If it is on the same booking, ask the airline what happens to it before you buy anything new. If you booked separate tickets, contact each company, as the rules can be different.
• A pickup. Let whoever is meeting you know. They can follow your flight too; our airport pickup guide explains how.
• Accommodation and transport. Tell your hotel, car hire or train company if you will arrive late, so your booking isn't cancelled as a no-show.

3. Ask the airline about assistance

For longer delays, airlines often offer help such as meal or drink vouchers and, for an overnight delay, a hotel and transport to it. What they have to provide depends on the rules that apply to your flight and on the airline's own policy. Ask at the airline's desk or in its app, and ask for any offer or answer in writing if you can.

4. Keep receipts and your flight details

Keep these together, somewhere private:

• Your booking reference, ticket and boarding pass.
• The flight number, date, scheduled times and the times you actually left and arrived.
• Messages from the airline about the delay, including any reason they gave.
• Receipts for costs you paid because of the delay, such as meals, transport or a hotel.

Don't post your booking reference or boarding pass online; they can be used to change your booking.

5. Find the right form

Airlines usually handle different requests separately, so choosing the right one saves time:

• A complaint about how the delay or your care was handled.
• Expenses, to claim back costs you paid during the delay.
• A ticket refund, if you decided not to travel.
• Compensation, where the rules for your flight provide it.

Look for these in the help or contact section of the airline's own website. Our airline support page links to the official pages of major airlines. On a codeshare flight, the airline that operated the flight can be different from the one you booked with. Your booking or boarding pass usually says "operated by", and the operating airline is often the one that handles delay claims.

6. What to do if the airline does not resolve it

If you don't get a reply, or you disagree with the answer, official bodies explain your options and how to take it further. Which one applies depends on where you flew and the airline:

• European Union: Air passenger rights on Your Europe (European Commission).
• United Kingdom: How to make a complaint (UK Civil Aviation Authority).
• United States: File a consumer complaint (US Department of Transportation).

Elsewhere, look for the national civil aviation authority or consumer protection body where you flew. Read the official guidance for your route before making a claim. DelayAhead can't tell you whether you are owed anything.