Skip to the main contentAccessibility information

Rules and notices

Delay notice

Long delay of passengers departing from airports in the United Kingdom

This notice is required by Regulation (EC) No 261/2004 (as amended by The Air Passenger Rights and Air Travel Organisers’ Licensing (Amendment) (EU Exit) Regulation 2019) and informs you of your rights should your flight be subjected to a long delay.
 
If we reasonably expect your flight to be subject to a long delay you will be entitled to certain Available Assistance and Benefits, provided that you meet the Eligibility Criteria.

Eligibility criteria

You will be entitled to the Available Assistance and Benefits described below if:

  • we reasonably expect your flight to be delayed by two hours or more if it is 1500 km or less; or
  • we reasonably expect your flight to be delayed by three hours or more if it is between 1500 km and 3500 km; or
  • we reasonably expect your flight to be delayed by four hours or more if it is longer than 3500 km; and
  • the delayed flight is scheduled to be operated by us;
  • the delayed flight is scheduled to depart from an airport in the United Kingdom;
  • you hold a confirmed reservation for the delayed flight; 
  • you have met the applicable check-in deadline for the delayed flight (unless we notify you of the delay before such deadline);
  • you are not travelling free of any charge or at a reduced fare not available directly or indirectly to the public; and
  • you are not, or would not have been, precluded from boarding the delayed flight by reason of application of our conditions of carriage or for other reasonable grounds such as, but not limited to, reasons of health, safety or security, or inadequate travel documentation.

Travelling pursuant to a frequent flyer programme or as part of a package holiday will not be treated as travelling free of any charge for the purposes of this notice.

Available assistance and benefits

If you meet the Eligibility Criteria, you will be entitled to the following benefits:

Available assistance

  • Meals and refreshments in reasonable relation to waiting time together with two telephone calls, telexes, faxes or e-mails.
  • Accommodation, if a stay of one or more nights, or a stay additional to that intended by you, becomes necessary when the reasonably expected time of departure of the new flight is one day or more later than the scheduled departure date of your delayed flight, you will be entitled to hotel accommodation and surface transport between the airport and such accommodation (or transportation to your own accommodation if you choose not to stay in hotel accommodation).

The assistance described above will be provided free of charge. You will be entitled to such assistance only to the extent that we reasonably expect its provision would not cause delay.

We will pay particular attention to the needs of people with reduced mobility and any people accompanying them, as well as to the needs of unaccompanied children in accordance with Article 9(3) of Regulation (EC) No 261/2004 (as amended by The Air Passenger Rights and Air Travel Organisers’ Licensing (Amendment) (EU Exit) Regulation 2019).

Reimbursement or re-routing

If the delay lasts five hours or more and you decide not to travel on the delayed flight(s) we will offer you the choice of:

  • Reimbursement: [i] Reimbursing you the fare you paid for your ticket for the part of carriage not used, and for those parts of the carriage used if, as a result of the delay, the delayed flight(s) no longer serves any purpose in relation to your original travel plans; and [ii] when relevant, we will carry you to the first point of departure in your contract of carriage at the earliest opportunity; and
  • Re-Routing:  Carrying you to your final destination, under comparable transport conditions, at the earliest opportunity or at a later date if you choose.

Reimbursement is due within seven days. Payment is subject to completion of all reasonably necessary formalities such as, but not limited to, satisfactory identification of the party entitled to the reimbursement and return of unused tickets/coupons.

The right to reimbursement will also apply if your flight forms part of a package, except where such right arises under the Package Travel and Linked Travel Arrangements Regulations 2018.

Compensation

You may be entitled to compensation where you are delayed at your final destination by more than three hours and that delay arises from causes within our control (rather than extraordinary circumstances which could not have been avoided by all reasonable measures).

The levels of compensation are specified as follows:

  • £220 for flights of 1500 km or less;
  • £350 for flights between 1500 km and 3500 km;
  • £520 for all other flights.

Compensation will be reduced by 50% if any re-routing offered to your final destination results in a scheduled arrival time which does not exceed the scheduled arrival time of the original flight by:

  • Two hours for flights of 1500 km or less; or
  • Three hours for all flights between 1500 km and 3500 km; or
  • Four hours for all other flights.

Compensation will be paid in cash, by electronic transfer, bank orders or bank cheques or, with your signed agreement, in travel vouchers and/or other services.

Downgrading

If, whether as a result of long delay or for any other reason such as, but not limited to, substitution of an aircraft with a smaller passenger cabin, you are placed in a class lower than that for which your ticket was purchased while you are being re-routed, you will be entitled to reimbursement as follows:

  • 30% of the applicable fare for flights less than 1500 km; or
  • 50% of the applicable fare for flights between 1500 km to 3,500 km; or
  • 75% of the applicable fare for flights of more than 3500 km,

for the part or parts of the journey that you were placed in that lower class.

Complaints

You can contact our Customer Affairs department directly through our website www.emirates.com/feedback/ to make a claim.

In the United Kingdom, you can log a complaint with the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) - Passenger Advice and Complaints Team (PACT) by completing the online complaint form, via the CAA website https://www.caa.co.uk/Passengers/Resolving‑travel‑problems/How‑the‑CAA‑can‑help/How‑the‑CAA‑can‑help/.

If you are visually impaired and require assistance with logging a complaint with PACT, please contact them via email on passenger.complaints@caa.co.uk or via phone 0330 022 1916.

This notice does not give you any additional contractual rights.

In order to view PDFs, you will need the Adobe Acrobat Reader.
Get Acrobat Reader