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Delay or cancellation: which test applies to you

The two events use different tests, so the same trip can pay in one case and not in the other.

Updated

Delay

Measured at your final destination, from the scheduled arrival to the moment the aircraft door opens. 3 hours or more qualifies under EU261 and UK261, and Canada APPR.

Cancellation

Measured by notice and by the replacement. 14 days or more of notice means no compensation. A replacement that leaves and lands close to the original time can also remove the claim.

Which one do you have?

  • If the original flight number did not operate, it is a cancellation, even if you flew later on the same day.
  • If it operated late, it is a delay.

Pick the event in the calculator. See also cancelled flight: what you are owed.

Check your flight

Where the trip started. For one booking with connections, the first airport.

Where the trip ended: the final destination.

The operating airline, not the one on the ticket. A boarding pass or the flight status page names it.

What happened

At the final destination, when the aircraft door opened.

We read this to explain the result. We never decide whether it counts as extraordinary.

Carried into the claim letter. It does not change the amount.

Results

Enter both airports and the airline to see a result.

Loading the airport list

Choose where the trip started, where it ended, the airline and what happened. The result updates as you type.

Information, not advice

Hours Late is not a law firm and not a claims company. It does not file claims for you. The results are estimates from published rules and the details you enter. They are not legal advice. Airlines and courts decide each case.

Sources