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Weather delays and flight compensation

Weather that makes a flight unsafe is usually accepted as extraordinary. The rest of the rules still apply.

Updated

The rule in short

EU261 and UK261 list weather unsafe for the flight as usually extraordinary. Canada APPR pays only when the cause was within the airline’s control, which excludes most weather.

What you can still ask for

  • Care while you wait. The airline’s duty to look after you does not depend on the cause.
  • A refund or a replacement flight when the flight is cancelled.
  • In the United States, a refund when the airline cancels or significantly changes the flight. See US refunds.

Hurricane season

The Atlantic hurricane season runs from August to October, so weather exemptions are common for flights to and from the Caribbean in those months. The airline still has to show the weather was the cause.

When weather is not the whole story

If an earlier problem within the airline’s control made the aircraft late, and weather came after, ask for a timeline in writing. The airline decides the first answer. See extraordinary circumstances.

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