Flight delayed by bad weather: can you claim?

"Adverse weather" is one of the most common reasons airlines give for refusing compensation. Sometimes it's the honest answer. Sometimes it isn't, and the weather was fine where and when it mattered. Here's how to tell the difference.

Can I claim compensation if my flight was delayed by bad weather?

Usually not, if the weather was severe, it actually affected your flight, and the airline couldn't have avoided the delay by taking reasonable steps. Weather like that is an "extraordinary circumstance", and it's one of the few defences the law allows.

But the defence is narrower than airlines make it sound. The EU Court of Justice has said since Wallentin-Hermann v Alitalia (2008) that extraordinary circumstances must be outside the normal running of an airline and beyond its control, and the airline has to prove them. A vague mention of weather isn't proof.

You may still have a claim if:

• the weather was somewhere else and didn't affect your aircraft;
• the weather was ordinary for the place and time of year, and the airline should have been ready for it;
• the weather caused a short delay, but most of the delay came from something else;
• the weather had cleared and the airline was slow to recover.

What kind of weather counts as extraordinary?

Weather that genuinely stops flights from operating safely, at the time and place of your flight. For example:

• thunderstorms over the departure or arrival airport, or on the route;
• snow or ice that closes the runway;
• fog thick enough to stop aircraft landing or taking off;
• winds above the limits the aircraft can safely handle;
• volcanic ash that closes airspace, as in 2010.

That last example went to the EU Court of Justice in McDonagh v Ryanair (2013). The court treated the ash cloud as extraordinary, but held that the airline still had to look after its passengers while they were stuck, with no cap on how long.

What kind of weather doesn't count?

Weather somewhere else. A storm in another country is only relevant if it affected the aircraft or crew that were going to operate your flight. If it didn't, it isn't the reason you were late.

Ordinary weather. Rain in Manchester, wind on the coast, a cold morning in Oslo. Airlines plan for normal conditions at the airports they fly from. Light snow at a busy UK airport in January isn't, on its own, beyond the airline's control.

Weather that had cleared. If a storm closed the airport for an hour in the afternoon and your flight left six hours late in the evening, the airline has to explain the gap.

Weather plus something else. If thunderstorms caused a 40-minute hold, but you then waited three hours for a replacement crew, the crew problem is a large part of your delay. We look at how much of the delay the weather actually caused.

What if the weather affected an earlier flight, not mine?

Short-haul aircraft fly several routes a day, so a storm in the morning can make the evening flight late. Airlines often rely on this, and it can be genuine.

But the airline has to show the chain: that weather really delayed the earlier flight, that the delay carried through to yours, and that it couldn't reasonably have recovered, for example with a spare aircraft or crew. If the earlier delay was actually caused by a fault or a crew shortage, it isn't a weather case at all.

Does the airline still have to try, even in bad weather?

Yes. The defence has two parts. The airline must show the weather was extraordinary and that the delay couldn't have been avoided even with all reasonable measures.

So, for example, if a storm forced a cancellation in the evening, but other airlines got passengers out on the same route the next morning and yours didn't rebook you for two days, the length of the delay may be the airline's responsibility, not the weather's.

How can I check whether it really was the weather?

Airports publish routine weather reports, usually every 30 or 60 minutes, called METARs. They record wind, visibility, cloud, and any storms or snow. They're the same reports pilots use.

When a claim is drafted, we pull the reports for both airports around your flight's times. We also check what happened to other flights at the same airport.

• If the reports show clear skies and other flights left normally, we challenge the refusal with the data attached.
• If they show a thunderstorm over the airport at your departure time, we tell you honestly that the airline is probably right.

Useful things to keep:

• any message from the airline giving the reason, with the time you got it;
• photos or notes of what you saw at the airport;
• the time you actually arrived.

What am I owed on the day, even if it was the weather?

A lot, whatever the cause.

Care while you wait. Meals and refreshments once the delay passes two hours on a short flight (longer on longer flights), a hotel and transfers if you're stuck overnight, and two phone calls or emails. This applies even when the weather is extraordinary, as McDonagh made clear.

If the flight is cancelled, a choice between a full refund or a new flight at the earliest opportunity.

If you paid yourself because the airline didn't provide care, keep receipts for reasonable costs and claim them back.

See what the airline owes you during a delay for the details and the limits.

What does the airline usually say?

"Adverse weather conditions." Ask where and when. Weather at the airport at the time of your flight is relevant; weather in general isn't.

"Weather affected the aircraft's previous flight." Ask for the flight and the cause. It should be possible to check.

"Air traffic control restrictions due to weather." This can be genuine: air traffic control often limits the number of flights in storms. See our guide to air traffic control delays.

For other common excuses, see extraordinary circumstances explained. And if the real cause was a fault, see technical fault delays.

Frequently asked questions

Is bad weather an extraordinary circumstance?

Severe weather that actually prevented your flight from operating safely usually is. Ordinary weather, or weather somewhere that didn't affect your aircraft, usually isn't.

Can I claim if the weather was bad at a different airport?

Only if it affected the aircraft or crew operating your flight. If it didn't, it isn't a valid reason for refusing your claim.

Do I get a hotel if my flight is cancelled by snow?

Yes. The airline must provide a hotel and transfers if you're stuck overnight, even when the cause is extraordinary.

How do I prove the weather was fine?

Airport weather reports (METARs) are published and kept. We check them for your airports at your flight's times as part of every claim the airline says was weather.