The UK261 Regulation (often called UK261) is the United Kingdom’s official air passenger rights law. Its main purpose is to protect air passengers when their flight is delayed, cancelled, overbooked, or otherwise disrupted.

If you fly to, from, or within the United Kingdom, this regulation may protect you — even if Turkish or EU air passenger rights regulations do not apply.

In simple terms, UK261 is the UK’s version of the EU261 regulation, kept in force after Brexit.

What Is UK261 Flight Compensation?

UK261 is the air passenger rights regulation that applies under UK law.

• Thanks to this regulation, you have rights when your flight is disrupted.
• Thanks to this regulation, you can get compensation, care, flight cancellation refunds, or rebooking when there are problems with your flight (this also applies to charter flights).

When people talk about UK flight compensation, UK261 compensation, or UK air passenger rights, they are referring to this regulation.

UK261 is almost identical to EU261. See our guide to Regulation EU261 to learn more in-depth details about the topic. 99% of these details are the same for both regulations, hence this here is only a short overview of UK261 – to talk about the most important details relevant to most.

Read more:

• Can You Get a Free Flight if You Miss a Connecting Flight?
• What to Do if Your Flight Is Overbooked?
• What to Do if Your Flight Is Delayed?
• What to Do if Your Flight Is Cancelled?

When Are You Covered by UK261 Regulation?

You are protected by UK261 if any of the following apply:

• Your flight departs from the United Kingdom, regardless of the airline, or
• Your flight arrives in the United Kingdom and is operated by a UK or EU airline, or
• Your flight is within the UK

If you are flying with a UK airline, you are protected on all of their flights — to, from, and within the UK. Yes, that means a British Airways flight from New York to London is covered by UK261.

If you are flying with a non-UK airline, you are protected only when the flight departs from the UK.

In this regard, UK261 works exactly the same way as the EU261 regulation.

What Flight Problems Does UK261 Cover?

You may have passenger rights under UK261 if you experience any of the following:

• A flight delay of 3 hours or more at arrival
• A flight cancellation
• Denied boarding due to overbooking
• A missed connection (if caused by the airline)
• A flight downgrade

Depending on your situation, you may be entitled to financial compensation, a refund, rebooking, meals, or hotel accommodation.

In many situations, you can get a combination of the above.

For example, if your flight is cancelled at the last minute, you may be entitled to meals, hotel accommodation, a new flight, and flight cancellation compensation.

Importantly, the price of your ticket does not matter. You can receive the same UK261 compensation for a £50 flight as for a £1,000 flight.

Read more:

• UK/EU Flight Delay Compensation
• UK/EU Flight Cancellation Compensation
• UK/EU Denied Boarding Compensation
• Missed Connecting Flight Compensation in Europe

How Much Compensation Can You Get Under UK261?

Under the UK261 Regulation, you can receive up to £520 per passenger (600 euro), depending on the flight distance and the disruption type.

The important thing is that the amount you can receive depends on the flight distance, not the ticket price. Yes, only the flight distance matters.

The longer the flight, the bigger the compensation.

Here are the compensation amounts under UK261:

• £220 for short-haul flights (up to 1,500 km)
• £350 for medium-haul flights (1,500 – 3,500 km)
• £520 for long-haul flights (more than 3,500 km)

Compensation is fixed. That means it does not depend on how much you paid for the ticket — only on the distance and the circumstances of the disruption.

There are some exceptions and special scenarios where the amount may be reduced or not apply, but these cases are relatively rare. The most popular situation, when you will be getting less, is when your flight is more than 3,500 km and is late for 3-4 hours – in this case, you can get only up to £260 per person (50% of the full flight delay compensation).

UK261 vs EU261: What’s the Difference?

UK261 and EU261 are almost identical passenger rights regulations. In practice, they offer the same level of protection and the same compensation amounts. The reason both exist is political and legal, not because passenger rights were reduced.

After Brexit, the UK adopted EU261 into national law. This is why the regulation is now referred to as UK261 in the United Kingdom, while EU261 continues to apply in the European Union.

For most passengers, they are the same.