What You Need To Know When Your Flight Is Delayed

Last Updated on: 28th August 2026, 11:45 pm

Having a flight delayed is actually really annoying. If it is delayed on the way out to your destination, it means you lose some of your time away. But if it is delayed on the way home, you have a language barrier, and you are at an unfamiliar destination. Either way, it can be very inconvenient if your flight is delayed or even cancelled. Having recently been on a trip where my flight was delayed by 22 hours, I wanted to share my advice.

I have been on a flight before where we were on the way home to Stansted Airport, and the plane couldn’t land, so we were rerouted to Cologne for the night. Because of the previous incident, I learnt to be more prepared for things going wrong on a flight.

Download Airline Apps

This is where you will get all of your up-to-date information. If there is going to be a delay, it will come up on the app as you are travelling to the airport. It comes in handy at the airport too, especially for gate details. If your flight is delayed, you need to keep screenshotting the details. If anything changes, you need to screenshot it, because this is your evidence to later claim compensation. Your boarding pass is also on the app, so screenshot that if you can.

When Your Flight Is Delayed Over 2 Hours

After 2 hours, you are entitled to food and drink vouchers at the airport. The airline will provide these, and the amount will vary depending on where you are. Recently in Morocco, I received 15 Euros, which was enough for a sandwich from Starbucks, a bottle of Pepsi and a bottle of fizzy Orange. As well as some biscuits from the Duty Free shop. In some countries, your money might not go so far. And in some countries you might get less money, because things are so cheap.

Some airlines will not give you a voucher as British Airways did. RyanAir pretended they knew nothing of providing meal vouchers. But I bought snacks and later claimed the money back from them. So if you do not get a voucher, you need to know you can do this too.

When Your Flight Is Delayed Over 5 Hours

You will have the option to get a refund for the flight. But if you are already abroad and this is your return flight, you really have no option but to wait for the delayed flight. If you get a refund and take a flight with another airline, you will end up paying last-minute flight prices. You really need to weigh up what is best for you and your family.

You will also have the option to get a payout from your insurance company (depending on your insurance policy). Lastly, you can claim this when you get home, and you need to provide details of the delay. This is why those screenshots from the airline app are important.

If Your Flight Is Delayed Overnight

When your flight is delayed overnight, the airline has an obligation to put you up in a hotel and provide you with meals. If you have a good airline, they will organise the accommodation for you, as well as transfers to get there. But sometimes it all goes a bit wrong. You are stuck in a foreign country, you don’t speak the language, and it’s getting later and later in the night.

If your plane is going to be delayed overnight, you contact the airline or the gate staff at the airport and ask them what the airline is doing to provide a hotel. They might ask you to book and pay for a hotel, and then you will be reimbursed. If you genuinely do not have the money to pay for a hotel, contact your family. Someone in your family will lend you the money. Do not be the person who makes your kids sleep on the airport floor and then complains over social media that the airline refused to provide a hotel. The airline will not care at all, and you are the person who has decided not to book a hotel.

You are also entitled to money for food and drink, as well as transport to and from the hotel. Make sure you keep all of your receipts to be able to claim the money back at a later date.

Keep An Eye On Airline Updates

Once you decide to book a hotel, or you are placed in a hotel by the airline, you need to keep in touch with them. If you have an app, or they have your email address, they will keep in touch that way with updates. Also, pop to your hotel reception, because they normally know the time that the transfer will take you back to the airport. In all-inclusive hotels, they normally pop a sheet of paper on the counter with transfer times.

Before you leave for the hotel, make sure you add some other passengers on WhatsApp. This way, if you find something out about the new departure times, you can share it with the others. Also, if they find something out, they can keep you updated too.

Remember, if you get a notification before you arrive at the airport to say the plane has been delayed, you still need to get there on time. The check-in desk is still likely to close on time, and you do not want to miss dropping your luggage off. Times and delays can constantly change at the airport.

How To Claim Compensation

Airlines will avoid paying compensation if they can. You can claim compensation if your flight is arriving or leaving the UK. It can be any airline leaving the UK, but if your plane is delayed arriving back into the UK, it needs to be a UK or EU airline. Also, if you are arriving from the EU and you’re delayed and flying on a UK or EU airline.

There are different levels of compensation that you are entitled to when your plane is delayed. You need to claim compensation from your airline’s website. You fill out the form with all of the information, and they will let you know if you are entitled. There are times when the airline is not under any obligation to pay compensation. The reasons include severe weather, air traffic control restrictions, security risks, or strikes by airport and air traffic staff. Also, if they give you 14 days’ notice of a delay. This is why it’s important to keep all evidence of staff saying what the delay was, especially if it is different from what the airline claims. Make a video of flight attendants or the pilot saying what the delay was. Do not film the staff; you can do this by directing the phone to the floor.

Keep All Of Your Evidence

You need to keep screenshots of boarding passes, flight delay and cancellation notices. Keep your paper boarding passes and also take photos of the departure board saying the flight is delayed and cancelled. You will need all of this to claim compensation. You will also need this evidence if you also claim through your travel insurance. Did you know you can claim through your insurance as well as get compensation through the airline?