UK261 · enforcement
Claiming against an airline in the United Kingdom
You have six years to claim in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, and five in Scotland. Before court, an approved ADR scheme can make a decision that binds the airline.
Checked against its sources
Time limit
6 years (England, Wales, NI) · 5 years (Scotland)
Limitation Act 1980; Prescription and Limitation (Scotland) Act 1973 s.6
Court route
Approved ADR, then small claims
Money Claim Online in England and Wales.
UK261 amounts are in sterling: £220 / £350 / £520. The EU’s 2026 reform does not apply to UK261.
The order to do it in
- Write to the airline, quoting Article 7 of UK261 and the flight. Free.
- Give it a month to answer.
- Use the airline’s approved ADR scheme (AviationADR or CEDR; a few airlines use Schlichtung Reise & Verkehr). The decision binds the airline. If the airline is in no scheme, the CAA’s Passenger Advice and Complaints Team (PACT) can take it up, but cannot bind the airline.
- Go to court if that fails: Money Claim Online in England and Wales, the simple procedure in Scotland, the small claims court in Northern Ireland.
- A claims service only once the free routes are exhausted.
Which regulator: the CAA covers flights departing from UK airports, and flights into the UK from elsewhere on a UK or EU airline, which UK261 also covers (Articles 3 and 16 of UK261). A flight from an EU airport goes to that country’s enforcement body. All enforcement bodies →
The time limit in detail
- Period
- Six years in England, Wales and Northern Ireland; five years in Scotland.
- Statutory basis
- Limitation Act 1980 (six years); in Northern Ireland, the Limitation (Northern Ireland) Order 1989 (six years); in Scotland, Prescription and Limitation (Scotland) Act 1973, section 6 (five-year prescription, which extinguishes the claim).
- Court position
- Court of Appeal, Dawson v Thomson Airways [2014] EWCA Civ 845: the two-year Montreal period does not apply; the six-year period does.
- Safe assumption
- Six years (five in Scotland). The CAA applies the same window to ADR.
- Why national law
- UK261 sets no time limit of its own, so the ordinary limitation statutes apply, as the Court of Appeal held in Dawson.
- EU reform
- Regulation (EU) 2026/2202 amends the EU Regulation only. UK261 is unchanged, including its time limits. What the EU reform changes →
Every country side by side: time limits by country.
Questions
How long do I have to claim flight compensation in the United Kingdom?
Six years in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, five in Scotland. The Court of Appeal confirmed six years in Dawson v Thomson Airways (2014).
Who enforces air passenger rights in the United Kingdom?
The Civil Aviation Authority. If the airline belongs to an approved ADR scheme (AviationADR or CEDR), go there first: its decision binds the airline. The CAA's own complaints team handles airlines outside a scheme but cannot bind them.
Which court hears flight compensation claims in the United Kingdom?
The small claims track: Money Claim Online in England and Wales, the simple procedure in Scotland, and the small claims court in Northern Ireland.
Does the EU’s 2026 reform change UK261?
No. Regulation (EU) 2026/2202 amends the EU Regulation only. UK261, its amounts and its time limits are unchanged.