"How long will it take?" is the question we hear most. The honest answer is that it depends on the airline's first reaction, and it splits into three very different timelines.
PROCESS
How long does flight compensation take? Real timelines
From two weeks to a year: what decides how long a flight compensation claim takes, the airlines' own deadlines, and what happens at each stage.
We deal with the airline for you
- Flights from the last 6 years
- Every UK and EU airline
- No win, no fee
On this page
If the airline pays on the letter: 3 to 8 weeks
Some airlines process a properly documented claim without argument. British Airways, easyJet, Virgin Atlantic, Jet2, KLM and the Lufthansa group generally do when the claim is clear-cut. The airline's own target is usually 28 days to respond; payment follows within a couple of weeks after acceptance.
If the airline refuses or stalls: 3 to 6 months
A refusal triggers a rebuttal citing the case law with a 14-day deadline. Silence triggers a chase at their deadline and another two weeks later. If neither works after 56 days from the first letter, the claim is referred to the airline's dispute scheme (CEDR for British Airways, AviationADR for Ryanair, Wizz Air, TUI and others; airlines in neither scheme go to the national enforcement body or court) or the national enforcement body of the country the flight departed from. The schemes take up to 90 days to decide and the airline has 20 working days to pay after that.
If it goes to court: 6 to 12 months
For airlines in no scheme, or where the scheme decision isn't binding and the airline ignores it, the remaining route is the small claims court. In England and Wales that is a simple online process; the airline almost always settles before a hearing.
What slows things down
- Missing documents: no boarding pass, no ID. The airline's clock doesn't start until it has them.
- Airlines that insist the passenger claims first (Ryanair, easyJet, Wizz Air, British Airways, Norwegian all have this in their terms). We handle it, but it adds their window before we take over.
- Post-only airlines. Some carriers don't publish a claims email; the claim goes by recorded post and their reply comes back the same way.
What you'll see
Your claim page shows every step with a date and, for what's next, an expected date: sent, chased, replied, agreed, paid to us, paid to you. We pay you within 14 days of the airline's money reaching us.
Check my flight and you'll have the first answer in two minutes.
