Airline operators, licences and UK ADR schemes

Why the operating carrier matters

EU261 and UK261 place the duty to pay compensation, refund or re-route you and provide meals and hotels on the operating air carrier: the airline that performs, or intends to perform, the flight (Art. 2(b) and 3(5)). That is often not the airline whose name is on your booking:

• Codeshares: an ‘AA’ flight number can be flown by British Airways, a ‘DL’ flight by Virgin Atlantic, a ‘LH’ flight by Air Dolomiti or Discover Airlines. Claim from the airline that flew it.
• Group airlines: large groups use several licensed companies – easyJet UK, easyJet Europe and easyJet Switzerland; Ryanair DAC, Ryanair UK, Buzz, Malta Air and Lauda Europe; British Airways, BA CityFlyer and BA Euroflyer; Aer Lingus and Aer Lingus Regional, flown by Emerald Airlines. The company on your boarding pass is the one you claim from, even if the flight number starts with the parent’s code.
• Wet leases: when an airline hires in another airline’s aircraft and crew but keeps operational responsibility for the flight, the hiring airline is the operating carrier (CJEU C-532/17 Wirth v Thomson Airways).

Getting this right avoids the most common delay in a claim: the airline you wrote to replying, weeks later, that it did not operate the flight.

Why the licence country matters

Every flight departing an EU airport is covered by EU261, and every flight departing a UK airport by UK261, whatever the airline’s nationality. For flights into Europe it depends on the operating carrier’s licence: a flight from a non-EU country into the EU is covered by EU261 only if the operating airline is licensed in the EU (Art. 3(1)(b)), and UK261 covers a flight into the UK from abroad only on a UK- or EU-licensed airline. That is why a Heathrow–New York flight is protected on any airline, but the return only on an airline such as British Airways or Virgin Atlantic – and why the Channel Islands carriers Aurigny and Blue Islands, which held Channel Islands licences rather than UK operating licences, were outside UK261 on flights into the UK.

Iceland and Norway (EEA) and Switzerland apply EU261, so their airlines are treated like EU airlines in this table.

What ADR is – and which schemes UK passengers can use

Alternative dispute resolution (ADR) is an independent, out-of-court review of a complaint that the airline has rejected or not answered. In the UK, the Civil Aviation Authority approves ADR bodies for aviation. According to the CAA, you must complain to the airline first; you can go to ADR once the airline has given its final answer or has not replied within 8 weeks; the incident must be within the last 6 years (5 in Scotland); you must apply within 12 months of the airline’s final response; and ADR is free for passengers. If you accept a decision the airline must follow it; if you do not, you can still go to court.

• AviationADR (run by Consumer Dispute Resolution Ltd): Air Canada, Air France, Delta Air Lines, easyJet, EgyptAir, KLM, Ryanair, TAP Air Portugal, TUI Airways, Turkish Airlines, Virgin Atlantic, Wizz Air.
• CEDR (Centre for Effective Dispute Resolution): British Airways, Cathay Pacific. CEDR also lists BA CityFlyer and BA Euroflyer separately.
• Schlichtung Reise & Verkehr (söp, Germany), which the CAA lists for Austrian Airlines, Brussels Airlines, Lufthansa, SWISS. Some other airlines in this table (Condor, Discover Airlines, Air Dolomiti) say they take part in it for passengers from Germany and elsewhere, although the CAA does not list them.

Where the lists disagree we say so: the CAA puts SAS and airBaltic under AviationADR, but AviationADR’s own member list does not include them (and CEDR lists SAS). An airline that is in no CAA-listed scheme is marked ‘None – CAA PACT’: for flights covered by UK261 you then complain to the CAA’s Passenger Advice and Complaints Team, which can review the case but cannot make a binding decision. New ADR rules in the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024 took effect on 6 April 2026, and the CAA says it is reviewing its ADR policy, so memberships may change. More detail: airline ADR schemes explained.

Directory: 90 airlines, their operators and ADR schemes

Built from our airline and claim-channel data (ADR membership checked against the CAA, AviationADR and CEDR lists on 10 November 2026). ‘Operating companies’ lists only the separate companies and sister airlines we have verified; an empty cell means the brand flies under one company. Click an airline for its claim channel, tips and UK punctuality figures.

‘None – CAA PACT’ means the airline is not in a scheme on the CAA’s list; for flights covered by UK261 the CAA’s Passenger Advice and Complaints Team takes unresolved complaints. Airlines that have stopped flying (Eastern Airways, Blue Islands, PLAY) are kept for passengers with older claims.

Frequently asked questions

How do I find out which airline operated my flight?

Look for ‘operated by’ on your booking confirmation, e-ticket or boarding pass, or in the airline’s ‘manage booking’ page. The flight number alone is not proof: codeshare flights carry the selling airline’s code, and some group airlines (Ryanair’s Buzz, Malta Air and Lauda Europe, for example) fly under the parent’s code.

Does it matter which company in a group operated my flight?

It matters in two ways. The claim belongs against the operating airline, and its licence decides whether EU261 or UK261 covers a flight into the EU or the UK. Within easyJet, for example, easyJet Europe is Austrian-licensed and easyJet UK is British, so a flight from the UK into the EU is covered by EU261 on easyJet Europe but not on easyJet UK – where UK261 applies because the flight departs the UK.

My airline is not in any ADR scheme. What can I do?

For a flight covered by UK261, complain to the CAA’s Passenger Advice and Complaints Team (PACT) once the airline has rejected your claim or not replied within 8 weeks. PACT cannot make a binding decision, so court (small claims) remains the final step. For flights from an EU country, use that country’s national enforcement body.

Can I use AviationADR or CEDR for a flight from the EU?

Only if the airline is a member of that scheme and the scheme’s own eligibility rules accept your case – check them before applying. If the airline is not a member, the scheme cannot take the case. For a flight departing an EU country you can also use that country’s national enforcement body.

Sources

1. Alternative dispute resolution (ADR) – airlines and airports in approved schemes – UK Civil Aviation Authority
2. Airline and airport members of AviationADR – AviationADR
3. Aviation – companies covered – CEDR
4. Schlichtung Reise & Verkehr (söp) – Schlichtung Reise & Verkehr e.V.
5. Regulation (EC) No 261/2004 (Art. 2 and 3) – EUR-Lex
6. Regulation (EC) No 261/2004 as retained in UK law (UK261) – legislation.gov.uk
7. Case C-532/17 Wirth v Thomson Airways (wet lease and the operating air carrier) – Court of Justice of the European Union

We check every rule against the sources above. Spotted an error? Tell us – see our editorial policy.