UK261 claim letter template: the wording for UK flights, the amounts in pounds and the ADR route

Réponse directe

En bref

Cite Regulation 261/2004 "as retained in UK law", state the arrival delay, notice period or involuntary denied boarding, give the band in pounds (£220, £350 or £520) and set an eight-week deadline before the airline's ADR scheme or the CAA is involved.

Montant

£220 – £520per passenger, no intra-UK cap

Pourquoi

UK261 keeps the substantive rules of Regulation 261/2004 with sterling amounts; approved ADR schemes (CEDR, AviationADR) issue decisions that bind the airline, and the six-year limitation period is among the longest in Europe.

Ce qui peut changer la réponse

• The flight departed from the EU: EU261 applies and the amounts are in euros.
• The airline proves an extraordinary circumstance it could not have avoided.
• The cancellation was announced 14 days or more ahead, or the re-routing met the time windows.
• Over 3,500 km and less than 4 hours late: the airline may halve the amount to £260.

Vérifiez votre vol

Vérifier si UK261 s’applique

Source officielle

Regulation (EC) No 261/2004 as retained in UK law (assimilated law) — UK Government — legislation.gov.ukDernière vérification à la source le 23 septembre 2026

[Your full name]
[Your postal address]
[Your e-mail address]

[Airline name]
Customer Relations
[Airline postal address]

[Date]

Subject: Claim under UK261 (Regulation (EC) No 261/2004 as retained in UK law) — flight [flight number] on [date] — booking [booking reference]

Dear Sir or Madam,

I am writing to claim compensation under Regulation (EC) No 261/2004 as retained in UK law ("UK261") for flight [flight number] from [departure airport] to [arrival airport] on [date], operated by [airline], on which I travelled [with (names of other passengers)] under booking reference [booking reference].

[DELAY] The flight arrived at my final destination [X hours Y minutes] after the scheduled arrival time. Under Articles 5, 6 and 7 of the retained Regulation, and the retained case law of Sturgeon (C-402/07) and Nelson (C-581/10), an arrival delay of three hours or more gives rise to fixed compensation.

[CANCELLATION] The flight was cancelled and I was informed [when — e.g. "at the airport on the day of departure"]. [No alternative flight was offered. / The alternative offered departed [X] hours before and arrived [Y] hours after the original schedule, outside the limits of Article 5(1)(c).] Compensation under Article 7 is therefore due.

[DENIED BOARDING] I held a confirmed reservation and presented myself for check-in on time, but I was denied boarding against my will [because the flight was overbooked]. Under Article 4(3), compensation under Article 7 is due immediately; no extraordinary-circumstances defence applies.

[Reason paragraph — delete what does not apply]
[No reason was given for the disruption. / You attributed the disruption to [reason].] Under Article 5(3), as interpreted in the retained judgment in Wallentin-Hermann (C-549/07), the burden of proving that an extraordinary circumstance caused the disruption and that all reasonable measures were taken rests on the operating carrier. [Technical faults, crew problems and strikes by your own staff are not extraordinary circumstances; the Civil Aviation Authority's guidance on delays and cancellations says the same.]

The distance from [departure airport] to [final destination] is [X km], which places the flight in the [first / second / third] band of Article 7(1). The compensation due is therefore [£220 / £350 / £520] per passenger, [£ total] in total for the [N] passengers on the booking. [I note that Article 7(2) permits a 50 % reduction only where a flight over 3,500 km arrived less than four hours late; that is not the case here.]

Please pay the compensation by bank transfer within 14 days of the date of this letter. I do not accept a voucher in place of payment (Article 7(3)). [I also claim reimbursement of the reasonable expenses I incurred because the care required by Article 9 was not provided: [itemised amounts]; receipts are attached.]

If I do not receive a substantive reply within eight weeks, I will refer the matter to [the approved alternative dispute-resolution scheme of which you are a member — CEDR / AviationADR — or the Civil Aviation Authority] and, if necessary, to the county court within the six-year limitation period, without further notice.

Yours faithfully,

[Your full name]

Attachments: booking confirmation, boarding pass, [evidence of the actual arrival time / cancellation notice / statement received at the gate], [receipts].

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