UK Regulation 261 (assimilated air passenger rights)

The clocks it starts

• Limitation period — England and WalesFatal if missedVaries by jurisdictionEngland and Wales: 6 years. Limitation Act 1980 s. 9 (action to recover a sum recoverable by virtue of an enactment), six years from accrual. Put beyond doubt by SI 2023/1370, which inserted Art. 3(9) into the assimilated Regulation: "For limitation purposes a claim under this Regulation will be determined in accordance with section 9 of the Limitation Act 1980." Consistent with Dawson v Thomson Airways [2014] EWCA Civ 845. This is the longest period available in the United Kingdom and is the date we treat as decisive.Limitation Act 1980, s. 9Limitation period
• Limitation period — ScotlandVaries by jurisdictionScotland: 5 years. Prescription and Limitation (Scotland) Act 1973, s. 6 and Schedule 1 — the five-year short negative prescription. Note that Scots negative prescription EXTINGUISHES the obligation rather than merely barring the remedy. Shown because it applies if you sue in this jurisdiction rather than in England and Wales.Prescription and Limitation (Scotland) Act 1973, s. 6Limitation period
• Limitation period — Northern IrelandVaries by jurisdictionNorthern Ireland: 6 years. Limitation (Northern Ireland) Order 1989, art. 4 — six years for an action on a simple contract or to recover a sum recoverable by virtue of an enactment. Shown because it applies if you sue in this jurisdiction rather than in England and Wales.Limitation (Northern Ireland) Order 1989, art. 4Limitation period

What it entitles you to, beyond money

• You could have abandoned the journey and demanded a refundAt five hours’ delay you may abandon the journey and take a full refund of the unused portion within seven days, plus a flight back to your first point of departure where the journey no longer serves any purpose. That stands alongside the compensation, not instead of it.Art. 8
• Meals and refreshmentsMeals and refreshments in a reasonable relation to the waiting time, free of charge. If the airline gave you nothing, keep the receipts and claim what you spent.Art. 9
• Two free communicationsTwo telephone calls, telex or fax messages, or emails, free of charge. Rarely offered and rarely worth much, but it is an entitlement and a refusal is a regulatory breach worth recording.Art. 9
• Payment in cash, not vouchersArticle 7(3) requires payment in cash, by bank transfer, bank order or cheque — vouchers only with your signed agreement. A voucher offered by email is not payment, and you are not obliged to take it.Art. 7
• A written statement of your rightsArticle 14 requires the airline to hand affected passengers a written notice of the rules on compensation and assistance and to display one at check-in. Failure to do so is worth reporting to the CAA.Art. 14

What the other side will say

Each of these is a refusal this regime lets a counterparty attempt, paired with the answer to it. Reading them before you write is worth more than any amount of polish on the letter itself.

Where to take it next

1. 01Write to ZZ — the operating carrierLiability attaches to the airline that operated the flight, not to the one whose code is on the ticket. Set out the flight, the delay at the final destination, the distance band and the sterling figure, and give them 14 days. Keep it in writing: the ADR schemes will want to see the correspondence.Claim direct·typically 30 days
2. 02Check whether your airline is in a CAA-approved ADR schemeWe do not hold a verified ADR scheme for ZZ. The CAA publishes which airlines belong to which approved body — AviationADR, CEDR, or a recognised foreign scheme — and applying to the wrong one gets your case returned. Check the list before writing.Alternative dispute resolution·typically 90 days·official page
3. 03Complain to the CAA Passenger Advice and Complaints Team (PACT)Where the airline is NOT in an approved ADR scheme, PACT will review your complaint and put it to the airline. Be clear-eyed about what this achieves: unlike an ADR body, PACT cannot make a decision that binds the airline and cannot order it to pay you. It is pressure and a record of the breach, not a remedy. If the airline IS in an ADR scheme, use that instead — PACT will simply redirect you.Regulator·typically 60 days·official page
4. 04County Court — Money Claim Online (England and Wales)Binding on themA claim of this size goes to the small claims track, where you present it yourself and the losing side does not normally pay the winner’s legal costs. Money Claim Online lets you issue without leaving the house; the issue fee is scaled to the claim value and is recoverable if you win. In Scotland the equivalent is the Simple Procedure in the sheriff court for claims up to GBP 5,000; in Northern Ireland it is the small claims procedure in the county court. Airlines settle a high proportion of these on receipt of the claim form.Small claims·typically 150 days·official page