QUALIFY IT
The measurement fight, first
Compensation depends on arrival delay at the final destination, and arrival in law means the moment the doors open (Germanwings, C-452/13). Airlines quote wheels-down, or the moment the aircraft reaches the stand. On a delay recorded at 2h 50m, that difference is the entire claim.
If your client’s own timestamps say three hours or more, file and say so. It is a routinely winnable argument, and BA settles it more readily than most.
THE MONEY
What is it worth?
£220
Under 1,500 km
£350
1,500–3,500 km
£520
Over 3,500 km
Per passenger, measured on the journey’s great-circle distance.
Same bands as a cancellation: £220 under 1,500 km, £350 to 3,500 km, £520 beyond. Delays between three and four hours on long-haul can be reduced by 50% where BA re-routes within set limits — check before accepting a halved offer.
THE PUSHBACK
What BA will say
Expect "operational reasons" or a weather reference that belongs to a different hour of the day. Weather excuses only the flight it actually affected, at the time it operated.
Rotation delays — an inbound aircraft arriving late, every leg after it slipping — are airline-controlled, however the airline phrases it.
THE EDGE
What’s specific to British Airways
Heathrow rotation delays are the common BA shape: the aircraft that becomes your client’s flight arrived late from somewhere else. That is not extraordinary.
BA pays complete, well-documented claims and stalls vague ones — send arrival-time evidence in the first message rather than waiting to be asked.
Six-year window in England and Wales; CEDR arbitration free and binding after eight weeks.
Reading this as the passenger, not the agent? The plain-English version for your own trip: flight delayed 3+ hours — what you’re owed. If BA has already refused the claim: British Airways refused compensation? What to do next.
THE PLAY
How do you file it?
Establish arrival delay at the final destination with your own evidence (client timestamps, flight tracking, the arrival email).
File through the Customer Relations form citing UK261 Article 7 and the exact distance band.
Diary eight weeks, then CEDR.
FLYING IT YOURSELF?
Check what British Airways owes you — free, two minutes. $39 only if the airline pays.
Check my flight →TRAVEL AGENTS · Forward the booking and this claim is prepared for you. Start watching client flights →
AGENTS ASK
Questions agents ask
Is it departure delay or arrival delay?
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Arrival, at the final destination. A flight that leaves four hours late but makes up time in the air may owe nothing.
They made their meeting anyway — does that matter?
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No. The delay is the trigger; what happened afterwards is irrelevant to Article 7.
Does bad weather excuse the delay?
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Only at the time and place the flight operated, and BA must show it took all reasonable measures.
The delay was on the first of two legs — which counts?
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The arrival delay at the final destination, on a single booking. See the missed-connection guide.
Client was downgraded instead of delayed — same claim?
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No. Downgrades are reimbursed under Article 10, at 30–75% of the ticket price for the leg.
The law this guide is written against: EC261 full text (EUR-Lex) · UK261 full text (legislation.gov.uk)
General information for travel professionals, not legal advice. Compensation depends on the facts of each disruption and the airline’s evidence. MyAirAdvocate prepares claims; it does not represent passengers and takes no percentage of any compensation.