TUI Airways delayed flight compensation
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Quick answer
If your TUI Airways flight reached its final destination 3 hours or more after the scheduled arrival time, UK261 compensation of £220, £350 or £520 per passenger (by distance) is due unless TUI Airways proves extraordinary circumstances. The departure delay does not matter — the arrival time, measured when the doors open, does. Below 3 hours you still have care rights.
Operating carrier
TUI Airways BY / TOM · United Kingdom
UK-licensed carrier — UK261 applies to its flights departing from the UK and to its flights into the UK. EU261 applies to its flights departing from the EU.
Where to send your claim
- Official claim form / help centre
- https://www.tui.co.uk/destinations/contact-us
- Dispute-resolution scheme
- AviationADR
Delay compensation on typical TUI Airways routes
- London → Palma de Mallorca (1,309 km)£220
- Manchester → Tenerife (3,048 km)£350
- Birmingham → Tenerife (2,978 km)£350
- London → Orlando (6,992 km)£520(£260 3–4 h)
- Manchester → Cancún (7,794 km)£520(£260 3–4 h)
Full amount from 4 hours of arrival delay; on flights over 3,500 km the amount in brackets applies between 3 and 4 hours.
Direct answer
- Short answer
- If your TUI Airways flight arrived at its final destination 3 hours or more late, UK261 compensation is due per passenger unless TUI Airways proves an extraordinary circumstance.
- Amount
- £220–£520per passenger on TUI Airways’s typical routes, by distance
- Why
- The amount is fixed by the distance of the flight, not the fare; the delay is measured when the doors open at the final destination (Sturgeon, Germanwings v Henning). TUI Airways can only refuse by proving the cause was extraordinary and unavoidable.
- What can change it
- TUI Airways proves an extraordinary circumstance for your flight — weather, ATC, a third-party strike — and that it could not avoid the delay
- The arrival delay was under 3 hours: care and expenses may still be due, fixed compensation is not
- Another airline operated the aircraft: the operating carrier owes the compensation, not TUI Airways
- Over 3,500 km outside the intra-EU cap with a 3–4 hour delay: the amount is halved
- Check your flight
- Check my TUI Airways flight
- Official source
- Regulation (EC) No 261/2004 as retained in UK law (assimilated law) — UK Government — legislation.gov.ukLast checked against the source on 23 September 2026
Can TUI Airways passengers claim compensation?
Yes. TUI Airways holds a UK licence, so Regulation 261 covers its flights departing from the EU/EEA, the UK or Switzerland and its flights into them: £220–£520 per passenger for an arrival delay of 3 hours or more, a cancellation announced under 14 days ahead, or denied boarding — unless the airline proves an extraordinary circumstance.
Does this apply to your flight?
TUI Airways flight affected?
A few short questions — no flight number needed yet. You get a preliminary result on the facts you give; the full check confirms it from the itinerary.
Already known from this page
- TUI Airways
- Delayed
How late did you arrive at your final destination?
Count the delay when the doors opened at your final destination, not the departure delay.
TUI Airways delays: what is specific
TUI’s long-haul holiday flights fly out and back with the same aircraft; a delay leaving Cancún or Orlando arrives in the UK with it. That knock-on delay is compensable unless TUI proves the original cause was extraordinary — ask what delayed the outbound sector.
Both directions are covered: departures from the UK under UK261, and the return from an EU airport also under EU261. The amounts are equivalent; long-haul returns from outside Europe on a UK carrier are covered under UK261.
How the 3 hours are measured on TUI Airways 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 TUI Airways 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.
How much TUI Airways 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 TUI Airways 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 TUI Airways’s typical routes.
Care while you wait
From 2 hours of delay (short flights), 3 hours (medium) or 4 hours (long) TUI Airways 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 TUI Airways may argue
Only extraordinary circumstances exempt TUI Airways 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 TUI Airways’s own staff strikes are not extraordinary. The burden of proof is on TUI Airways: 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 TUI Airways
- Note the actual arrival time (arrivals board, flight-tracker screenshot, TUI Airways’s own notification).
- Ask TUI Airways in writing for the reason for the delay.
- Submit the claim through TUI Airways’s official channel (https://www.tui.co.uk/destinations/contact-us), quoting the booking reference, the flight, the date, the arrival delay and the amount per passenger.
- If TUI Airways refuses or does not reply within 8 weeks, escalate to AviationADR; a court claim remains available within the limitation period of the departure country.
Prepare the claim letter
Enter your flight and what happened; get the regulation, the amount, the evidence list and an editable letter — free.
Frequently asked questions
How much does TUI Airways pay for a 3-hour delay?
£220 per passenger on flights up to 1,500 km, £350 between 1,500 and 3,500 km and £520 beyond 3,500 km — the same fixed amounts as any airline under UK261. On long-haul flights TUI Airways may pay £260 when the arrival delay is under 4 hours.
Does TUI Airways pay compensation for a 2-hour delay?
No fixed compensation is due below 3 hours of arrival delay. From 2 hours (short flights) TUI Airways still owes care: meals, refreshments and communication, and a hotel if the wait runs overnight. Keep receipts if it does not provide them.
Is a delay caused by a late inbound aircraft compensable on TUI Airways?
Usually yes. A knock-on delay from an earlier rotation is only exempt if TUI Airways proves the original cause was extraordinary and that it could not have avoided the delay with reasonable measures such as a spare aircraft or crew.
How long do I have to claim a TUI Airways delay?
It depends on the country of departure, not on TUI Airways: typically between 1 and 6 years (for example 6 years in the UK and Ireland, 5 in France and Spain, 3 in Germany, 2 in the Netherlands). Check the country page for your departure airport.
Sources
- Court of Justice of the European UnionCase C-549/07 Wallentin-Hermann v Alitalia — technical problems are not, as such, extraordinary circumstances
- European Parliament and CouncilRegulation (EC) No 261/2004 establishing common rules on compensation and assistance to passengers in the event of denied boarding and of cancellation or long delay of flights
- AviationADR (Consumer Dispute Resolution Ltd)AviationADR — CAA-approved ADR scheme: eligibility (final response or eight weeks without reply)
- UK Civil Aviation AuthorityAlternative dispute resolution (ADR) for aviation complaints
- UK Civil Aviation AuthorityDelays and cancellations — your rights
- UK Government — legislation.gov.ukLimitation Act 1980, section 5 — six years for actions founded on simple contract (England and Wales)
- UK Government — legislation.gov.ukRegulation (EC) No 261/2004 as retained in UK law (assimilated law)
- UK Government — legislation.gov.ukThe Air Passenger Rights and Air Travel Organisers' Licensing (Amendment) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019 (SI 2019/278)
Last legally reviewed: 12 September 2026 · Content updated: 12 September 2026
Was your TUI Airways flight 3 hours late at arrival?
Enter the flight and the arrival delay; the check tells you whether the 3-hour rule is met, the amount by distance, and how to claim from TUI Airways.