When an airline cancels your flight and moves you onto another one, it's easy to assume that's the end of it: you got there in the end. But being rebooked doesn't cancel your right to compensation. Whether you're owed anything depends on two things: how much notice you had, and how far the new flight's times are from the old one.
CANCELLATIONS
Rebooked onto a later flight: are you still owed?
Airline cancelled and moved you to another flight? When you're still owed compensation, how notice and new times decide it, and when it's halved.
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On this page
- Am I owed compensation if the airline rebooked me?
- What does it look like in practice?
- How much compensation if I was rebooked?
- When can the airline pay half?
- What if my flight wasn't cancelled, just moved?
- What if I was rebooked after a long delay, not a cancellation?
- Did I have to accept the new flight?
- What if the airline says the cancellation was extraordinary?
- What should I keep?
- Frequently asked questions
Am I owed compensation if the airline rebooked me?
Often, yes. If your flight was cancelled and the cause was within the airline's control, compensation is due unless one of these applies:
- you were told 14 days or more before the scheduled departure;
- you were told 7 to 13 days before, and the new flight left no more than two hours earlier and arrived less than four hours later than the original;
- you were told less than 7 days before, and the new flight left no more than one hour earlier and arrived less than two hours later than the original.
These windows come from Article 5(1)(c) of the regulation, which is the same in UK261 and EC261. If the replacement falls outside the window for your notice period, compensation is owed.
Both limits matter. A new flight that arrives only an hour late but leaves three hours earlier than the original is outside the window, and compensation is due.
What does it look like in practice?
Three examples, all for a flight under 1,500 km from a UK airport, where the cancellation was within the airline's control.
Told 20 days before. The airline moves you to a flight the next day. No compensation: you had more than 14 days' notice. You can still choose a refund instead.
Told 10 days before. Your 09:00 flight is cancelled and you're moved to 07:30, arriving 90 minutes earlier than planned. That fits the 7-to-13-day window (no more than two hours earlier, less than four hours later). No compensation.
Told 3 days before. Your 09:00 flight is cancelled and you're moved to 13:00, arriving four hours late. That's outside the under-7-day window (less than two hours later). Compensation is due: £220.
How much compensation if I was rebooked?
The usual amounts by distance.
| Flight distance | UK departures (UK261) | EU departures (EC261) |
|---|---|---|
| Up to 1,500 km | £220 | €250 |
| 1,500 to 3,500 km | £350 | €400 |
| Over 3,500 km | £520 | €600 |
Every passenger on the booking is owed the full amount, including children with their own seat.
When can the airline pay half?
If the airline rerouted you and you arrived not too long after your original arrival time, it can cut the compensation by 50%. This comes from Article 7(2). The limits are:
- up to 1,500 km: you arrived no more than two hours after the original arrival time;
- 1,500 to 3,500 km, or a flight inside the EU over 1,500 km: no more than three hours later;
- over 3,500 km: no more than four hours later.
So, for a short flight cancelled with less than 7 days' notice, where you were moved to a flight leaving 90 minutes earlier and arriving on time, compensation is due (it left more than an hour early), but the airline can pay half: £110 instead of £220.
The half amounts are £110, £175 and £260 under UK261, and €125, €200 and €300 under EC261.
What if my flight wasn't cancelled, just moved?
Airlines often retime a flight and keep the flight number. Whether that counts as a cancellation depends on how big the change is and how it was done. A small shift of a few minutes isn't a cancellation. A major change, such as moving the flight to another day, may be.
The EU Court of Justice held in Azurair (2021) that bringing a flight forward by more than an hour can count as a cancellation. That decision came after Brexit, so it binds courts in the EU but not in the UK, where it can be taken into account. If your flight was moved, send it to us and we'll check how it's treated.
If a retimed flight simply arrives three hours or more late on the day, it's also a long delay, which can give a claim on its own.
What if I was rebooked after a long delay, not a cancellation?
If your flight was delayed and you were moved to another flight that got you there three hours or more late, what counts is how late you reached your final destination. The three-hour rule from Sturgeon (2009) applies.
The same goes for missed connections on one booking: see missed connecting flights.
Did I have to accept the new flight?
No. When a flight is cancelled, you choose between:
- a full refund within seven days, in money, for the parts of the trip you haven't used;
- rerouting at the earliest opportunity, which may mean on another airline;
- rerouting at a later date that suits you.
Taking a refund instead of the new flight doesn't affect your compensation. The notice period still decides whether compensation is due. See refund vs compensation.
While you wait for a replacement flight, the airline must provide meals and refreshments, and a hotel and transfers if you're stuck overnight. See what the airline owes you during a delay.
What if the airline says the cancellation was extraordinary?
Then compensation isn't due, if the airline can prove it: severe weather, an air traffic control restriction, a security problem. A technical fault, a crew shortage or a strike by the airline's own staff generally doesn't count. See extraordinary circumstances explained.
The refund or rerouting choice, and care while you wait, apply either way.
What should I keep?
- The cancellation email or text, with the date and time you received it. The notice period is counted from when you were told.
- The original and new flight times.
- The time you actually arrived.
- Receipts for food, hotels or transport you paid yourself.
Rebooked onto another flight? Enter the original flight number and date and we'll work out the notice window and the new times for you. No win, no fee: 30% including VAT, nothing up front. Check my flight
Frequently asked questions
Do I get compensation if my flight was cancelled and I was put on another one?
Often. It depends on how much notice you had and how far the new flight's departure and arrival times are from the original ones.
My flight was cancelled 10 days before. Am I owed anything?
Compensation is due if the new flight left more than two hours earlier, or arrived four hours or more later, than the original, and the cancellation wasn't extraordinary.
The airline offered a flight the next day, with 3 weeks' notice. Can I claim?
Not compensation, because you were told more than 14 days ahead. You can still choose a full refund instead.
Why did the airline only pay half?
If you were rerouted and arrived within two, three or four hours of the original time (depending on distance), the airline can halve the compensation.
