01
Start with care, not compensation
Under UK261 and EU261, the airline's duty to provide reasonable meals, refreshments and—where necessary—hotel accommodation can begin before a passenger qualifies for fixed compensation. The waiting threshold depends on flight distance.
If the airline does not provide care, buy only what is reasonably necessary, keep itemised receipts and avoid assuming every cost will be reimbursed.
02
Measure the delay at the final destination
Fixed delay compensation normally turns on arrival three hours or more late at the final destination, not the departure delay shown on the airport board. For a protected through-booking, the final destination can be the last airport on the same reservation.
Separate tickets or a self-transfer are different. A delay on the first booking does not normally give a statutory right to transport or compensation for the separately booked onward flight.
03
Check the cause as well as the clock
A long delay does not automatically produce fixed compensation. The airline can rely on extraordinary circumstances only where the event falls outside the normal exercise of its activity and the disruption could not have been avoided even if reasonable measures had been taken.
Ask for the precise cause in writing. Weather, air-traffic-management decisions and security risks may qualify; many ordinary technical faults do not. The facts still need individual assessment.
04
Know the five-hour choice
At a departure delay of at least five hours, a passenger covered by UK261 or EU261 can generally choose not to travel and seek reimbursement for the unused journey, with a return to the original departure point where relevant. Do not choose a refund if you still want the airline to carry you to the destination.
Claim from the operating airline first. BagBack cannot view airline operational records, decide the cause or guarantee compensation.