easyJet delayed flight compensation

easyJet delays: what is specific

easyJet sells single flights only, so each flight is assessed on its own arrival delay — a missed onward flight on a separate booking is not a “final destination” delay. easyJet operates three entities: easyJet UK (UK licence) for flights touching the UK, easyJet Europe (Austrian licence) for most intra-EU flights and easyJet Switzerland for Swiss departures. Departures from the UK are assessed under UK261 in pounds; departures from the EU under EU261 in euros; the licence only matters for flights into the UK or EU from outside them.

easyJet’s largest bases — Gatwick, Luton, Geneva, Paris — are capacity-constrained airports where air-traffic-control flow restrictions are a real and often extraordinary cause. Crew shortages, late inbound aircraft and technical faults are not. Ask easyJet for the specific cause of your flight’s delay and, for a knock-on delay, the cause of the first delay in the rotation.

How the 3 hours are measured on easyJet flights

The delay that counts is the arrival delay at your final destination, measured when at least one aircraft door opens — not the departure delay, the touchdown time or the block-on time. Compare it with the scheduled arrival on your booking. A easyJet flight that leaves 3 hours 30 late but makes up time to arrive 2 hours 50 late is not compensable; one that leaves on time and arrives 3 hours late is.

easyJet UK Limited (UK AOC). Intra-EU flights are usually operated by easyJet Europe (EC, Austrian AOC); Swiss flights by easyJet Switzerland (DS). Check the operating carrier on your boarding pass: the rules follow the airline that flew the aircraft, not the one that sold the ticket.

How much easyJet owes for a delay

Under UK261 the amount depends only on the great-circle distance of the flight (or of the whole journey on a single booking), never on the ticket price: £220, £350 or £520 per passenger. On flights over 3,500 km easyJet may halve the amount (£260 instead of £520) when the arrival delay is between 3 and 4 hours; from 4 hours the full amount applies. The table above shows the amounts on easyJet’s typical routes.

Care while you wait

From 2 hours of delay (short flights), 3 hours (medium) or 4 hours (long) easyJet must offer meals and refreshments in proportion to the wait, two phone calls or e-mails, and a hotel with transport if you are kept overnight. If it does not, keep receipts for reasonable expenses and claim them separately — they come on top of the fixed compensation. After 5 hours you may also abandon the trip and claim a full refund of the unused ticket.

What easyJet may argue

Only extraordinary circumstances exempt easyJet from paying: severe weather, air-traffic-control restrictions or strikes, security incidents, bird strikes, external strikes. Technical faults, crew shortages, late inbound aircraft from an earlier rotation and easyJet’s own staff strikes are not extraordinary. The burden of proof is on easyJet: ask for the precise cause of your flight’s delay and the measures it took, and treat a bare “operational reasons” as no answer.

How to claim a delay from easyJet

1. Note the actual arrival time (arrivals board, flight-tracker screenshot, easyJet’s own notification).
2. Ask easyJet in writing for the reason for the delay.
3. Submit the claim through easyJet’s official channel (https://www.easyjet.com/en/help/delays-and-cancellations), or by post to easyJet Airline Company Limited, Customer Services, Hangar 89, London Luton Airport, Luton, Bedfordshire, LU2 9PF, United Kingdom, quoting the booking reference, the flight, the date, the arrival delay and the amount per passenger.
4. If easyJet refuses or does not reply within 8 weeks, escalate to AviationADR; a court claim remains available within the limitation period of the departure country.