Cancelled flight refund and compensation
Check what a cancelled flight may entitle you to
Check cancelled-flight refund, rerouting, care and EU261 or UK261 compensation questions. Record notice timing, replacement flight and operating carrier.
Short answer
A cancellation can create separate rights: refund or rerouting, care while waiting, reasonable expenses and sometimes fixed compensation. Do not combine them into one number. The answer depends on route coverage, when the airline notified you, the replacement offered and the recorded cause.
Facts that change the result
Refund or rerouting
When a covered flight is cancelled, the practical starting choice is often reimbursement of the unused ticket or replacement transport to the destination.
Notice timing
For EU261 and UK261 compensation, record exactly when cancellation notice arrived and compare any replacement flight with the original schedule.
Care and expenses
Meals, communication, accommodation and local transport can be separate from fixed compensation. Keep itemised reasonable receipts.
Cause and evidence
Ask the operating airline for its recorded reason in writing. Weather, air-traffic control, security and airline-controlled problems are not treated identically.
How to check your journey
- 1
Save the original booking
Keep the complete itinerary, booking reference, ticket receipt and operating-flight details.
- 2
Record the cancellation notice
Save the email, app alert or airport message with its date and time.
- 3
Compare the replacement
Write down its proposed departure and arrival and whether you accepted it.
- 4
Choose the remedy clearly
Tell the airline whether you seek refund, rerouting, expenses, compensation, or a written decision on several separate questions.
Check the route and disruption facts
The calculator is free, needs no signup and keeps compensation, care, refund and rerouting questions separate.
Common questions
Does every cancelled flight pay compensation?+
No. Route coverage, notice, rerouting and extraordinary circumstances can remove a fixed compensation path even where refund or replacement transport remains available.
Can I get both a refund and compensation?+
They are legally distinct questions and can sometimes coexist, but the result depends on the facts. Record whether you travelled on a replacement and what part of the ticket was unused.
What if the airline cancelled because of weather?+
Severe weather can be an extraordinary circumstance affecting compensation. Care and refund or rerouting duties may still remain, so keep notices and reasonable receipts.
Which airline should receive the request?+
Start with the airline that operated or was due to operate the cancelled flight, not automatically the travel agent or marketing carrier.
Official sources
Content reviewed 3 September 2026. Check the authority's current wording and the airline's current official channel before acting.