Help with delays, cancellations and refunds

Head to the airport ahead of your original departure time if your flight is delayed.

You can check the status of your flight and the latest travel news before you leave for the airport.

• If your flight is delayed longer than 2 hours, we will aim to provide refreshment vouchers. If we’re unable to, we'll reimburse you for reasonable expenses, excluding alcohol. 
• If your flight is delayed longer than 3 hours, you may also be entitled to claim compensation depending on the reason for the delay.
• If your flight is delayed longer than 5 hours, and you no longer wish to travel, you may claim a refund. 

If your flight is subject to the United States Department of Transportation regulations, you are entitled to a cash refund.

If your flight has been cancelled there are several options available to you: 

• You can rebook to the next available British Airways flight free of charge. Visit Manage My Booking to review your options.
• You can call us to discuss if we can book you onto any other airlines, or discuss alternative transport if we are not able to provide a suitable alternative within 24 hours. 
• You can request a refund.

If the next available flight does not leave until the following day, we'll also offer you overnight accommodation at a hotel.

Review your EU consumer rights.

If your flight is subject to the United States Department of Transportation regulations, you are entitled to a cash refund.

If you booked through a travel agent or a tour operator, please contact them directly to discuss your options or request a refund. If you need further assistance obtaining a refund from your travel agent or tour operator, please contact us directly.

If you need assistance you can use our live chat service to talk to one of our agents or contact us, we are here to help.

If your flight is delayed or cancelled and you incurred additional expenses because of this, you may be able to claim a reimbursement.

We will consider reimbursing reasonable expenses for the following items:

• Hotel accommodation (where necessary).
• Transport between the hotel and the airport (where necessary).
• Alternative transport (such as flight, train or bus) under comparable transport conditions, if we're unable to offer you a suitable alternative within 24 hours of your original flight.
• Reasonable food and drink, excluding alcohol.
• Two telephone calls or internet-related costs to contact people outside the airport.

We won’t cover any consequential losses, such as missed hotel stays or car rental.

How to submit a claim

The quickest way to claim your expenses is online. You will need:

• The names of all passengers that you are claiming for.
• Details of all the delayed or cancelled flights in your journey.
• Details of your expenses.
• Receipts and other documents in support of your claim. You can attach scans or photographs of these to your online application or send us them by post.
• Your bank account details to process the payment. It takes about 10 to 15 minutes to complete the process. Our Customer Relations team will review your claim as soon as possible.

The below applies to delayed or cancelled connecting flights that are booked together under the same booking reference, e.g. Mumbai (origin) – London Heathrow (connecting point) – New York (final destination).

If your flight is delayed

• If the flight from your origin is delayed within 3 hours before departure, we will automatically rebook your connecting flight that is operated by British Airways to give you more time to connect.
• Please be mindful of the minimum connection times for reaching your flight.
• Being part of the oneworld® alliance, we can provide support through the oneworld Global Support teams at key airports. They can help speed you through the airport, provide up-to-date travel information, new boarding passes and, if required, overnight accommodation.

If you miss your connecting flight

• We will automatically rebook you to the next available British Airways flight or a partner airline flight.
• The oneworld Global Support team will be able to help with your journey e.g. provide up-to-date travel information, new boarding passes and, if required, overnight accommodation.
• If you booked your connecting flight separately with another airline, we won't be able to help, even if our flight was delayed. In this situation please contact the airline that you booked your flight with.

Refunds

• If a delay or cancellation of five hours or more disrupts a connecting flight that you booked under the same booking reference (with a planned connection time of 24 hours or less) and you no longer wish to continue to your final destination, the operating carrier will provide you with a return flight to your original point of departure at the earliest opportunity as well as refund the parts of the journey you did not fly.
• You can claim a refund for the parts of your journey which you did fly, provided that you can prove that the journey no longer serves any purpose in relation to your original travel plans. You must then claim this refund at the same time as claiming a refund for the parts of your journey you did not fly.
• To claim a refund, please follow the same steps as for cancelled flights.

If your flight is diverted, we'll do everything possible to get you to your final destination. If required, we will rebook you onto an alternative flight and arrange a hotel if needed. If we’re unable to arrange these for you, you can make your own arrangements and claim back reasonable costs. You may also be eligible to claim compensation.

Like all airlines, we sometimes oversell on flights to help minimise the impact of customers who do not arrive at the airport, miss their connections or due to late aircraft changes. 

If your flight is oversold, we will contact customers to ask them to move voluntarily. If we’re unable to find enough volunteers, customers may be downgraded or denied boarding. 

Your rights if this happens

If you’re downgraded from the travel class you originally booked, you will be eligible to claim for a partial refund on the downgraded sector, excluding taxes and charges. The refund amount will vary depending on the length of your journey. If you have not been contacted about your refund, you can raise a claim.

• Up to 1500kms - 30% reimbursement of fare paid for affected sector.
• 1500kms to 3000kms - 50% reimbursement of fare paid for affected sector.
• 3500kms and above - 75% reimbursement of fare paid for affected sector.

If you’re denied boarding due to oversales (not due to a fault of your own, such as late check in or passport or visa issues), we will assist you with rebooking onto the next available flight or offer you a refund. Our teams will help with accommodation and refreshments required, and also any compensation. If we are unable to offer this to you at the airport, we will pay reasonable costs and you can raise a compensation claim.

Under some circumstances, you are entitled to claim compensation for a delayed or cancelled flight.

When you can claim compensation

1. If you're delayed at your final destination by more than 3 hours and that delay arises from causes within our control (rather than extraordinary circumstances which could not have been avoided by all reasonable measures); or
2. If we inform you of a cancellation less than 14 days before the planned departure date that arises from causes within our control (rather than extraordinary circumstances which could not have been avoided by all reasonable measures), unless:
   • We inform you of the cancellation between 7 and 13 days before the scheduled time of departure and offer an alternative route that allows you to depart no more than two hours before the scheduled time of departure and to reach your final destination less than four hours after the scheduled time of arrival; or
   • We inform you of the cancellation less than 7 days before the scheduled time of departure and offer an alternative route that allows you to depart no more than one hour before the scheduled time of departure and to reach your final destination less than two hours after the scheduled time of arrival.

When you can't claim compensation

• If the delay is less than three hours.
• If we informed you of the cancellation 14 days or more before your planned departure date. We will contact you using the details you, the person who purchased the ticket or your travel agent have provided us with in connection with your booking.
• If you choose to travel from a different departure point or to a different destination than your original booking, you can't claim compensation for any expenses incurred for travel between these or any other consequential expenses, e.g. car hire, parking costs, etc.
• If your journey was affected by extraordinary circumstances such as air traffic control decisions, political instability, adverse weather conditions or security risks you may not be able to claim compensation.

How much compensation you can receive

The levels of compensation are limited by EU regulation as follows:

• EUR 250 / GBP 220 for flights of 1500 km or less
• EUR 400 / GBP 350 for all flights between 1500km and 3500 km
• EUR 600 / GBP 520 for all other flights.

These amounts are reduced by 50% if we can offer you an alternative flight route to your final destination with a new scheduled arrival time that doesn’t exceed the original scheduled arrival time by:

• Two hours for flights of up to 1,500km
• Three hours for all flights between 1,500km and 3,500km
• Four hours for all other flights.

How to claim compensation

Before you make your claim:

• To make a claim on behalf of someone else, please provide a signed letter of authority from all passengers included in the claim.
• You need to supply your name and contact details, the names of other passengers you're claiming for and their contact details, your booking reference and details of the cancelled flight.
• You can claim for as many passengers as are entitled to receive compensation, or are on the same booking. However, if there are different surnames, we will need authorisation to discuss their details and process the payment.

Compensation for British Airways flights

To claim compensation for British Airways operated flights, please contact our Customer Relations team by filling out our online compensation claim form. We will respond as soon as possible.

If you're not able to claim online, you can write to:

British Airways Customer Relations
EU Compensation Claims
PO Box 1126
Uxbridge
UB8 9XS
United Kingdom

Please then allow extra time for us to process your claim.

If you already have a claim in process, you can check its status.

If your booking includes a flight plus hotel, car hire, transfer or experience booked through British Airways Holidays, and your flight has been cancelled, you have the following options:

• Rebook for the same travel date on an alternative British Airways flight (subject to availability) at no additional cost.
• Rebook for different travel dates (subject to availability). If your itinerary and trip duration remain the same, there will be no extra charge.
• Cancel your entire holiday package and request a full refund (including taxes) to your original form of payment.

 If you’ve already started your journey:

• You can rebook onto the next available British Airways flight by visiting Manage My Booking.
• If you need assistance, you can contact the British Airways Holidays 24-hour helpline. The contact number will be sent to you on your departure day.

 If you haven’t started your journey:

You can rebook onto the next available British Airways flight via Manage My Booking.

If you need to speak with us, please contact:

• UK: Call 0344 493 0787 (option 1 followed by option 2). Lines are open 08:00–20:00 local time; calls charged at local rate.
• US: Call 1 877 428 2228 (option 1 followed by option 2). Lines are open 07:00–15:00 EST.
• Other locations: Find the contact details for your local office.

We’ll automatically rearrange any disability and mobility assistance requests if your flight is delayed or rebooked following a cancellation.

We try and serve the meals passengers with dietary requirements have ordered on rebooked flights – although we might not be able to if a rebooked flight departs within 24 hours of your original departure.

We also do our best to transfer seat choices over to rebooked flights. This isn't always possible but we'll provide you with a close alternative where we can.

You can apply for a refund if we’re unable to provide your meal choice or you’re unhappy with an alternative seat selection.

Visit our lost and damaged baggage page to report any missing bags or make a claim.

You can apply for a refund if you paid for Wi-Fi and it didn’t work during your flight. We’re also able to provide you with a receipt if you need one.

Go to our complaints and claims portal to make a Wi-Fi claim or request a receipt.