Qatar Airways · compensation guide
What you’re owed on a Qatar Airways flight that arrived three hours late or was cancelled, and how the claim goes.
We deal with the airline for you
Qatar Airways is based in Qatar. Flights it operates from a UK or EU airport are covered by UK261/EC261; flights into the UK or EU from elsewhere are not. If your flight arrived three or more hours late, was cancelled within 14 days of departure, or you were denied boarding, and the cause was within the airline’s control, you are owed fixed compensation: £220, £350 or £520 per passenger by distance (€250 / €400 / €600 for EU departures).
The Qatar Airways routes we see most often at UK and EU airports, and what a qualifying delay on each is worth.
| Route | Distance | Law | Owed per passenger |
|---|---|---|---|
| London → DohaLHR–DOH | 5,241 km | UK261 | £520 |
| Manchester → DohaMAN–DOH | 5,410 km | UK261 | £520 |
| Barcelona → DohaBCN–DOH | 4,862 km | EC261 | €600 |
| Madrid → DohaMAD–DOH | 5,331 km | EC261 | €600 |
For an arrival three hours or more late, a cancellation inside 14 days, or denied boarding, when the cause was within the airline’s control. Each passenger on the booking claims the same amount, children included.
A refusal is not the end of it. We answer it in writing with the arrival data and the case law, and a final refusal goes to CEDR, whose decision binds the airline — free to you, at our cost.
The amount is fixed by law. It depends on how far the flight goes, not on what the ticket cost.
| Flight distance | UK261 (UK flights) | EC261 (EU flights) |
|---|---|---|
| Up to 1,500 kme.g. London–Dublin, Paris–Barcelona | £220 | €250 |
| 1,500 to 3,500 kmand every flight within the EU over 1,500 km | £350 | €400 |
| Over 3,500 kme.g. London–New York, Frankfurt–Dubai | £520 | €600 |
The amount can be halved when the airline re-routed you and you still arrived within two hours (short flights), three hours (medium) or four hours (long flights) of the original arrival time.
An airline does not have to pay when the delay or cancellation was caused by extraordinary circumstances it could not have avoided with all reasonable measures. That is narrower than airlines often say.
When Qatar Airways cites weather or air traffic control, we check the airport weather reports and the flight’s history before accepting it.
Denied boarding because the flight was overbooked is owed straight away, at the same amounts, on top of a refund or a new flight.
These are owed whatever caused the delay, even in extraordinary circumstances, and they are separate from compensation:
If you paid for these yourself, keep the receipts: the airline owes them back.
If your flights were on one booking, what counts is how late you reached your final destination. A 1-hour delay that makes you miss a connection and arrive 4 hours late is a 4-hour delay. The distance is measured from where you started to where you finished.
That’s all. Our fee is 30% including VAT, taken only from compensation we win. Nothing up front, and nothing if the claim fails.
Yes, for flights that departed from a UK or EU airport. Qatar Airways is not a UK or EU airline, so flights into the UK or EU from elsewhere are not covered.
Qatar Airways typically responds within about 28 days of a properly documented claim. We chase the day that window closes. Where it accepts, payment usually follows within about 65 days.
No. We send the claim directly on your behalf with your signed authority.
We answer the refusal with the flight data and the case law. If Qatar Airways maintains it, the claim goes to CEDR, whose decisions bind the airline, free to you, at our cost.
Six years for flights departing the UK (five in Scotland). 6 years under the law of Qatar.
Usually, yes. Technical faults that come up in the normal running of an airline are not extraordinary circumstances, so a delay or cancellation caused by one is owed. Only a hidden manufacturing defect or damage caused by someone else, such as a bird strike, can excuse it.
The claim goes to the airline that actually operated the flight, which is not always the one on your booking. We check who operated it from the flight data and claim against the right airline.
Airline names belong to their owners and are used only to identify the airline. Skyfare Ltd is independent of Qatar Airways.
