Can I sue an airline for a delayed flight?

Generally, yes you can sue an airline in small claims court. The U.S. Department of Transportation (“DOT”), which is a federal agency that regulates airlines operating in the U.S, even publishes a Consumer's Guide to Small Claims Court.



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There are no federal laws requiring airlines to provide passengers with money or other compensation when their flights are delayed. Each airline has its own policies about what it will do for delayed passengers. If your flight is experiencing a long delay, ask airline staff if they will pay for meals or a hotel room.

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If there is a flight delay of 2 hours, the airline staff will usually provide you with vouchers that can be redeemed at local airport restaurants and snack bars.

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There are no federal laws requiring airlines to provide passengers with money or other compensation when their flights are delayed. Each airline has its own policies about what it will do for delayed passengers. If your flight is experiencing a long delay, ask airline staff if they will pay for meals or a hotel room.

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According to the Department of Transportation (DOT), there are tarmac delay rules that US airlines must follow: Carriers are not allowed to hold a domestic flight on the tarmac for more than three hours and an international flight for more than four hours, barring a couple of exceptions (like if the pilot deems it's ...

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Delayed flights: you may be able to claim compensation if your flight arrived 3 hours or more late. Canceled flights: you may be eligible for compensation if your flight was canceled less than 14 days before it was due to depart.

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So it can delay the flight for an hour to several hours until the problem is fixed. Technical issues are pretty rare, but airlines are liable to pay compensation to their passengers if the delay is of more than 3 hours. The amount of compensation, however, depends upon the flight distance.

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To receive compensation, you must file a claim with the airline for the delay, and the delay must have been caused by a factor within the airline's control (so a weather delay wouldn't count).

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As indicated in the Regulation, flight delay compensation time limit to submit a claim in the UK or Ireland is up to 6 years after the disruption date. This means that if your flight was delayed, cancelled, or you were denied boarding within the last 6 years, you can still claim your money from the airline.

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Once passengers have boarded the aircraft, the compensation structure is $100 in credit for a delay between three and five hours, $175 in credit for a delay between five and six hours, or a $250 credit for a delay of six hours or more.

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If your flight's arrival was delayed by more than three hours, you may be entitled to compensation. To view more information about your entitlement to compensation, and what to do if you're not happy about the outcome of a claim, please click on your preferred language below: Guidance for Customers – English.

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When a flight delay occurs, you are entitled to assistance and a choice between rerouting, reimbursement, or rebooking. If you arrive at your destination more than 3 hours after your scheduled arrival time, you are entitled to the same reimbursement, rerouting, and rebooking structure as a denied boarding.

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My flight is delayed - am I entitled to money or other compensation from the airline? No. There are no federal laws requiring airlines to provide passengers with money or other compensation when their flights are delayed.

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Once passengers have boarded the aircraft, the compensation structure is $100 in credit for a delay between three and five hours, $175 in credit for a delay between five and six hours, or a $250 credit for a delay of six hours or more.

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All flights that are less than 1,500 km (932 miles): 250 euros ($269) per passenger, if you're delayed by at least two hours. Internal EU flights over 1,500 km: 400 euros ($430) per person, if you're delayed by at least three hours.

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Compensation can be claimed where you are either: 1) Delayed at your final destination by more than three hours and that delay arises from causes within the carrier's control (rather than extraordinary circumstances which could not have been avoided by all reasonable measures).

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Our pick of the best flight compensation companies
  • Flight-Delayed.co.uk: Most user-friendly.
  • AirAdvisor.com: Smoothest interface experience.
  • Refundmore.com: Utmost reliability.
  • ClaimFlights.co.uk: Ideal for regular users.
  • SkyRefund.com: Premium customer service.
  • FlightClaimEU.com: Top-notch usability.


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Our pick of the best flight compensation companies
  • Skycop.com: Top choice overall.
  • AirHelp.com: Most widely recognized.
  • ClaimCompass.eu: Superior value.
  • Flightright.com: Most adaptive.
  • Flight-Delayed.co.uk: Most user-friendly.
  • AirAdvisor.com: Smoothest interface experience.
  • Refundmore.com: Utmost reliability.


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The airline is required to compensate you for a canceled flight if you were notified less than 14 days before your original scheduled departure date. However, compensation is not required if the airline proves that extraordinary circumstances (e.g., weather) caused the cancellation.

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Under UK law, airlines may have to provide compensation if your flight arrives at its destination more than three hours late. This depends on what caused the delay – if it wasn't the airline's fault, don't expect to receive any compensation.

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In the United States, airlines are not required to compensate passengers when flights are delayed or cancelled. Compensation is required by U.S. law only when certain passengers are “bumped” from a flight that is oversold.

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