Flight Cancelled With Less Than 14 Days' Notice? What You're Owed
The amount of notice an airline gives before cancelling your flight changes what you're entitled to. Here is the 14-day and 7-day notice rule explained.
Not every cancellation is treated the same under UK261 and EU261. How much advance notice the airline gave you before cancelling can be the difference between owing you compensation and owing you nothing beyond a refund or reroute. Here's the rule most passengers have never heard of.
The notice-period rule
If an airline cancels your flight, you're generally entitled to compensation unless the airline gave you enough advance warning:
- 14 days or more notice: no compensation is owed, regardless of the reason for cancelling, provided you were actually informed.
- 7 to 13 days' notice: compensation is owed unless the airline rebooked you on a flight departing no more than 2 hours before, and arriving no more than 4 hours after, your original scheduled times.
- Less than 7 days' notice: compensation is owed unless the airline rebooked you on a flight departing no more than 1 hour before, and arriving no more than 2 hours after, your original scheduled times.
In other words, late notice plus a genuinely close replacement flight can still let an airline avoid paying, but late notice plus a poor rebooking (a flight hours later, or the next day) does not.
Why airlines get this wrong, or hope you won't check
Airlines sometimes cite "we cancelled your flight" as if that settles the matter, without addressing when they told you or how close the replacement flight actually was to your original schedule. Both of those details decide whether compensation is owed, not just the fact of the cancellation itself.
How to check where you stand
- Find the date you were actually notified of the cancellation, not the date of the flight itself. Check your email for the cancellation notice's timestamp.
- Compare your original scheduled departure and arrival times against the replacement flight's times.
- If the airline claims you were notified more than 14 days out but you have no record of it, ask them to prove it, the burden is on the airline.
What you're owed regardless of the notice period
Even when the notice period rule means no cash compensation is owed, you are always entitled to a choice between a full refund or rerouting to your destination, plus duty of care (meals, communication, and accommodation if needed) if the rebooked flight leaves you waiting.
How much is compensation worth if it is owed?
- £220 for flights under 1,500km
- £350 for flights between 1,500km and 3,500km
- £520 for flights over 3,500km
Not sure which bracket applies to your cancellation?
Working out the exact notice period and comparing it against your replacement flight's timing is exactly the kind of detail that's easy to get wrong, and exactly the kind of detail airlines rely on you not checking. Klaimly checks your notification date and rebooking details automatically against the rules, for a flat 5% fee, only if we win.