London Stansted flight compensation
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Quick answer
All flights departing London Stansted are covered by UK261, whatever the airline: £220 for routes up to 1,500 km, £350 up to 3,500 km and £520 beyond. Inbound flights from the EU are covered on UK and EU airlines — which at Stansted means almost everyone, since Ryanair, easyJet and Jet2 dominate. Stansted–Dublin and Stansted–Milan pay £220; Stansted–Málaga and Stansted–Faro pay £350; Stansted–Tel Aviv just crosses 3,500 km and pays £520.
Rules for flights departing London Stansted Airport
Every flight departing from London Stansted Airport is covered by UK261, regardless of the airline. Amounts are in pounds sterling.
Flights into London Stansted Airport from outside the UK are covered only when operated by a UK- or EU-licensed airline.
Location: STN / EGSS · 51.8850, 0.2350 · United Kingdom
Care and re-routing when leaving London
Delayed at the gate: meals, refreshments and two calls or e-mails from 2 h of delay on flights up to 1,500 km, 3 h up to 3,500 km (and on every intra-EU flight over 1,500 km), 4 h beyond — plus a hotel and transport when the departure moves to the next day. Owed whatever the cause.
Cancelled or denied boarding: the choice between a refund of the unused ticket within 7 days and re-routing to your destination at the earliest opportunity or on a later date of your choosing, with care while you wait.
Delayed 5 h or more: you may give up the journey and take a full refund of the unused ticket, with a return flight to your departure point if the trip has lost its purpose.
Stansted is Ryanair's largest base, with several rotations per aircraft per day and no schedule slack, so a delay early in the morning is still being paid for at night. Ryanair typically cites ATC restrictions — ask which restriction, and whether other flights on the route operated normally that day.
Enforcement body
UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA)
Approved ADR schemes: AviationADR (https://www.aviationadr.org.uk — Ryanair, easyJet, TUI Airways, Virgin Atlantic, Wizz Air and others) and CEDR (https://www.cedr-assist.com/consumer/aviation/ — British Airways, BA CityFlyer, Cathay Pacific, SAS). Airlines not in a scheme, including Jet2: CAA Passenger Advice and Complaints Team (PACT).
Example routes from London
- Dublin (DUB) · 470 km£220
- Milan (BGY) · 978 km£220
- Málaga (AGP) · 1,732 km£350
- Faro (FAO) · 1,774 km£350
- Tel Aviv (TLV) · 3,564 km£520
- Palma de Mallorca (PMI) · 1,385 km£220
- Alicante (ALC) · 1,514 km£350
- Kraków (KRK) · 1,379 km£220
Can I claim compensation for a flight from London?
UK261 applies to every airline on this route: £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. Refund, re-routing and care are due whatever the cause.
Does this apply to your flight?
Flying from London?
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
- From London (STN)
What happened to your flight?
Stansted-specific issues
Stansted is Ryanair’s largest base and a single-runway airport with a night-flight quota, so late-evening delays turn into cancellations when the aircraft cannot depart before the curfew. Ryanair’s high aircraft utilisation means a morning delay cascades through the day’s rotations; a “late inbound aircraft” is compensable unless the original cause was extraordinary — ask Ryanair for the root cause.
UK and French ATC restrictions are the most frequent defence on departure; they can be extraordinary but only for the specific flight. Ryanair, Jet2 and easyJet crew or technical issues are not.
Since Brexit, Stansted–EU flights are covered by UK261 on departure from Stansted and by EU261 on departure from the EU airport; Ryanair and easyJet Europe are EU carriers and Jet2 and easyJet UK are UK carriers, so the return leg is covered either way.
Airlines at Stansted
Ryanair (and Ryanair UK, Malta Air, Buzz under FR numbers), Jet2, easyJet, TUI Airways, Emirates, Pegasus (a Turkish carrier: inbound flights not covered).
Escalation
- Claim from the airline (Ryanair’s EU261/UK261 form; Jet2’s contact form; easyJet’s delays-and-cancellations page).
- ADR: Ryanair, easyJet and TUI Airways are members of AviationADR, which is free and whose decisions bind the airline; Jet2 belongs to no scheme, so its refusals go to the CAA’s PACT team. Refer after the airline’s final response or 8 weeks of silence.
- UK CAA — for airlines outside an ADR scheme.
- County Court small-claims track — within 6 years.
Sources
- 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
- CEDR (Centre for Effective Dispute Resolution)CEDR Aviation — CAA-approved ADR scheme
- UK Government — legislation.gov.ukRegulation (EC) No 261/2004 as retained in UK law (assimilated law)
Last legally reviewed: 12 September 2026 · Content updated: 12 September 2026
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