How Long Do You Have to Claim Flight Compensation?

That delayed flight from two years ago? The money may still be yours. Unlike most consumer rights, flight compensation deadlines are measured in years, not weeks — but they vary wildly by country, and once the clock runs out, the airline owes you nothing. Here's the full picture.

The short answer

There is no single global deadline. Under EU261, the time limit is set by the national law of the country where you file — which means the same delayed flight could give you 6 years in one country and 1 year in another. The UK gives you the longest window in Europe: 6 years (5 in Scotland). Most EU countries give you 2–5 years.

In the US, there's no federal cash-compensation deadline for delays at all (because there's no federal delay compensation) — but refund claims and DOT complaints should be filed promptly, and airlines' own policies typically expect claims within 1–2 years.

Claim deadlines by country

These are the limitation periods courts apply to EU261/UK261 compensation claims. File in the country of departure (or the airline's home country) — the deadline follows the forum, not the flight.

Deadlines are limitation periods under national law and can change; verify against current law before relying on them for an old claim. Last verified October 2026.

Why the deadline matters more than you think

Here's what actually kills old claims — it's rarely the calendar. It's the evidence. To win a two-year-old claim you need your booking reference, the flight number, the date, and ideally proof of the delay length and its cause. Airlines know this. Their claims departments are noticeably less cooperative when you can't produce the basics, because they know you can't escalate effectively without them.

Practical rule: if the flight was more than a year ago, gather everything before you write the claim letter — booking confirmation emails, boarding passes (check old phone photos), any delay notifications. Our claim letter guide covers exactly what to include.

Can you claim for a flight from years ago?

Yes — if you're inside the limitation period for the country where you'd file. A London–New York delay from 2022 is still claimable in 2026 under the UK's 6-year rule. The airline will still owe the full €600 (or £520) if the delay qualifies. Interest may even accrue in some jurisdictions.

But be realistic about the friction: the older the claim, the more likely the airline's first reply is a shrug. They count on you giving up. That's exactly when the escalation ladder in our claim-rejected guide matters — National Enforcement Body referrals and ADR don't care how old the flight was, only whether the law was breached.

The US is different

For US domestic flights, there's no EU-style cash compensation for delays, so there's no compensation deadline to miss. What you can lose by waiting: your refund rights (airlines must refund cancelled or significantly changed flights — claim promptly, don't accept a voucher by default) and your DOT complaint leverage, which is strongest when filed close to the incident. See our US refunds guide.

For baggage issues on any itinerary, the Montreal Convention sets hard deadlines: 7 days to complain about damaged baggage, 21 days for delayed baggage, and 2 years to bring a court action. Those are strict — miss them and the claim dies.

Coming change: the EU261 reform

EU lawmakers agreed a passenger-rights reform in June 2026 that enters force in October 2027. The 3-hour threshold and the €250/€400/€600 amounts stay the same. What changes: the legal definition of "arrival time" shifts from doors-open to on-block time (parking brakes engaged), and hotel duty-of-care during extraordinary circumstances gets capped at 3 nights. Limitation periods themselves aren't part of the reform — but if you're sitting on an old claim, file it under the current rules rather than betting on the new ones.

When does the clock start — and what counts as "filing"?

Two details that trip people up:

• The clock starts on the flight date — the day of the disruption, not the day you discovered your rights. Finding out about EU261 three years later doesn't reset anything.
• "Filing" usually means starting formal proceedings (court or ADR), not just emailing the airline. An ignored complaint letter doesn't pause the limitation period in most countries. This is why the escalation ladder matters: if you're anywhere near the deadline, file the ADR or court claim first and negotiate later — a filed claim stops the clock; a sent email doesn't.

One more trap: some airlines' claim forms ask you to "confirm" the flight was more than X months ago and then auto-reject as "out of time" — using their policy window, not the legal limitation period. Their internal policy doesn't override national law. If the limitation period hasn't expired, their form's opinion is irrelevant.

What if the airline says the deadline has passed?

Ask for the specific statute they're relying on — the country, the law, the article number. Then check it against the table above. Airlines routinely cite the shortest plausible deadline (or their own terms and conditions) hoping you won't verify. Common bluffs:

• "Our terms require claims within 3 months." Contract terms can't shorten statutory limitation periods. Ignore it.
• "EU261 has a 2-year limit." EU261 itself sets no limitation period at all — it's entirely national law. There is no EU-wide 2-year rule for compensation claims (the 2-year figure comes from the Montreal Convention, which covers baggage and injury, not EU261 cash compensation).
• "Too much time has passed for us to investigate." Their record-keeping problems are not your legal problem. The limitation period is the limitation period.

If they persist, that's what the escalation ladder is for — NEBs and ADR adjudicators apply the actual law, not the airline's preferred version of it.

What to do right now

1. Find the flight date. Check old emails for the booking confirmation.
2. Check the deadline for the departure country (or the UK, if it applies — 6 years is generous).
3. Gather evidence — booking ref, flight number, any delay proof.
4. File the claim. Our free eligibility checker tells you in 60 seconds whether the flight qualifies and what you're owed. The $29 AirClaimKit writes the letter with the correct regulation cited and walks you through escalation if the airline stonewalls — so you keep 100% instead of handing 35% to AirHelp.

Limitation periods per national civil codes as applied to Regulation (EC) No 261/2004 and UK261 claims. US guidance per DOT consumer protection rules. EU261 reform (agreed June 2026, in force October 2027) per EU legislative process. Last verified October 2026.