1 out of 4 UK passengers suffers at least one flight delay every year Heathrow is Europe’s 3rd most delayed airport
London, 2 September 2014 – Worldwide passenger rights specialist refund.me has gathered Europe-wide statistics showing that British passengers suffer some of the highest flight delay rates in Europe and could claim up to £185 million in compensation from airlines each year. refund.me, which helps airline passengers from more than 110 countries claim compensation under EU legislation for delays, cancellations, missed connections and overbooking, estimates that more than 575,000 UK passengers a year are eligible to claim.
French travellers are even more likely to experience delays than their neighbours across the Channel. Statistics show that 1 in every 3 flights leaving a major French airport is affected by delays of at least 15 minutes, while 1 in every 4 UK travellers experiences similar problems. Germans and Spaniards are less likely to experience such delays, with their chances standing at 1 in 5 and 1 in 6, respectively.
Across Europe, over 2 million passengers are entitled to claim compensation worth more than £660 million from airlines for flight disruptions. Charles de Gaulle in Paris, London Heathrow and Istanbul Ataturk are the continent’s airports that have suffered the most delays over the busy holiday month of August, followed by Frankfurt, Amsterdam and Paris Orly, according to data available on Flightstats.com. The UK’s Manchester airport also figures in the top 10, as do Brussels and Zürich. With regards to cancelled flights, Heathrow tops the list ahead of Frankfurt, Charles de Gaulle and Lisbon. Vienna, Berlin Tegel and Dusseldorf follow closely behind, followed by Rome, Barcelona and Amsterdam.
All flights that leave from an EU airport, regardless of airline or destination, are covered by EU Regulations EC 261/2004 which guarantees eligible passengers compensation of up to £490 (€600) for disruptions. Likewise, passengers entering the EU on flights operated by EU carriers are also covered.
Despite this clear legal framework, airlines continue to create obstacles and make the process as difficult and bureaucratic as possible. Airlines often hide behind a variety of ambiguous excuses to avoid paying out affected passengers, among them ‘severe’ weather conditions and unspecified ‘technical issues.’

Developments over the last few months have given cause for optimism, however. In June the UK courts ruled in favour of a passenger who fought a high-profile 3 year legal battle with Jet2 to prove that the airline was unfounded in claiming that routine technical problems could be considered ‘extraordinary circumstances.’ Though the airline has now applied to appeal the decision in the Supreme Court – a further attempt to stifle passenger rights and to avoid paying out – the precedent established by the ruling is clear and should hopefully encourage more passengers to claim their right.
“The recent ruling of the courts is a positive step that should encourage more passengers to stand up to airlines and assert their rights,” says Eve Buechner, founder and CEO of refund.me. “Nevertheless, on the whole awareness remains relatively low, something that airlines take full advantage of to avoid paying out. We want to change that.”
refund.me, backed by a pan-European network of legal experts, is processing claims from over 110 countries and against more than 250 airlines with a success rate since its birth in 2012.
About refund.me refund.me is an international service provider that helps passengers enforce their claims to compensation for flight delays, cancellations and missed connections quickly and easily. Thanks to its specially developed, high-precision Advanced Business Logic System (ABL) system, claims can be submitted through the website or the free mobile app. refund.me can quickly enforce claims of up to €600 according to EU Regulation 261/2004. refund.me operates on a sector-low “no-win, no-fee” commission starting at 15% (plus VAT). This start-up created in August 2012 has made it its mission to make passenger rights worldwide transparent and attainable. Passenger rights have been enforced for thousands of customers in more than 110 countries and against more than 250 airlines. The operational headquarters of refund.me are located in Potsdam, Germany and the corporate headquarters in Palo Alto