In short: Any flight departing from London Luton Airport is covered by UK261 (£220/£350/£520); flights to London from an EU airport are covered by EU261 – the conditions are the same. UK261 applies to every departure. The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) is the enforcement body; many UK airlines belong to a CAA-approved ADR scheme (AviationADR or CEDR). Time limit: 6 years in England and Wales, 5 years in Scotland.
Live at London (LTN) today
About the airport
Luton is one of Wizz Air's largest bases and the home of easyJet's headquarters. It is a major gateway for flights to Central and Eastern Europe – Poland, Romania, Hungary, Bulgaria and the Baltic states – as well as to holiday destinations.
Departures from Luton are covered by UK261 (£220/£350/£520); flights to Luton from an EU airport are covered by EU261 (€250/€400/€600). The content of the two rules is the same.
How punctual is London Luton? (2025)
- Flights operated
- 103,370
- On time (≤ 15 min late)
- 73.4%
- 3 hours or more late
- 0.60%
- Cancelled
- 0.35%
- Average delay
- 15.1 min
2025, at UK airports
close to the UK average (72.7%)
1 in 167 flights · close to the UK average
366 flights · better than the UK average
UK average 15.1 min
Source: UK Civil Aviation Authority punctuality statistics 2025 – departures and arrivals combined, measured against the schedule at the UK airport. How we use this data
Airlines at London Luton
| Airline | Flights | On time | 3 h+ late | Cancelled | Avg delay |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| easyJet | 44,488 | 71.5% | 0.40% | 0.48% | 15 min |
| Wizz Air | 38,873 | 79.1% | 0.82% | 0.34% | 13 min |
| Ryanair | 14,321 | 69.6% | 0.49% | 0.08% | 17 min |
| Jet2 | 2,178 | 62.0% | 0.78% | 0.18% | 21 min |
| El Al | 963 | 63.4% | 0.21% | 0.10% | 16 min |
| TUI Airways | 880 | 49.5% | 0.68% | 0.00% | 31 min |
| Israir | 594 | 38.2% | 2.00% | 1.00% | 34 min |
| SunExpress | 412 | 60.2% | 0.00% | 0.00% | 17 min |
| Fly One | 380 | 68.7% | 1.58% | 0.00% | 23 min |
| Dan Air (Aoc) S.R.L | 240 | 72.1% | 0.83% | 0.00% | 17 min |
Top destinations from London Luton – and what a delay is worth
The 30 busiest destinations in 2025, with the compensation for a 3-hour-plus delay or a late cancellation: UK261 (£) on the way out, and on the way back EU261 (€) from EU airports or UK261 with a UK/EU airline.
| Destination | Flights | 3 h+ late | Cancelled | Distance | From LTN | Return |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Amsterdam | 3,275 | 0.39% | 0.55% | 354 km | £220 | €250 |
| Bucharest | 2,738 | 0.40% | 0.00% | 2,106 km | £350 | €400 |
| Palma de Mallorca | 2,662 | 0.45% | 0.75% | 1,391 km | £220 | €250 |
| Dublin | 2,427 | 0.74% | 0.00% | 434 km | £220 | €250 |
| Paris | 2,395 | 0.46% | 0.42% | 380 km | £220 | €250 |
| Tirana | 2,371 | 1.77% | 0.25% | 1,914 km | £350 | UK/EU airline only |
| Alicante | 2,303 | 0.43% | 0.17% | 1,511 km | £350 | €400 |
| Belfast | 2,289 | 0.30% | 0.43% | 497 km | £220 | £220 |
| Málaga | 2,284 | 0.52% | 0.44% | 1,721 km | £350 | €400 |
| Faro | 2,253 | 0.13% | 0.35% | 1,757 km | £350 | €400 |
| Budapest | 2,160 | 0.23% | 0.00% | 1,491 km | £220 | €250 |
| Geneva | 2,155 | 0.70% | 0.00% | 784 km | £220 | €250 |
| Warsaw | 2,123 | 0.42% | 0.19% | 1,455 km | £220 | €250 |
| Edinburgh | 2,080 | 0.34% | 0.38% | 494 km | £220 | £220 |
| Tel Aviv | 2,030 | 1.06% | 1.55% | 3,601 km | £520 | UK/EU airline only |
| Glasgow | 1,955 | 0.61% | 0.41% | 518 km | £220 | £220 |
| Barcelona | 1,830 | 0.33% | 0.11% | 1,191 km | £220 | €250 |
| Prague | 1,811 | 0.93% | 0.82% | 1,041 km | £220 | €250 |
| Lisbon | 1,749 | 0.17% | 0.51% | 1,607 km | £350 | €400 |
| Kraków | 1,651 | 1.21% | 0.42% | 1,420 km | £220 | €250 |
| Tenerife | 1,495 | 0.13% | 0.13% | 2,973 km | £350 | €400 |
| Chișinău | 1,463 | 0.82% | 0.34% | 2,174 km | £350 | UK/EU airline only |
| Iași | 1,454 | 0.75% | 0.27% | 2,072 km | £350 | €400 |
| Kaunas | 1,438 | 0.21% | 0.07% | 1,647 km | £350 | €400 |
| Gdańsk | 1,411 | 0.42% | 0.14% | 1,283 km | £220 | €250 |
| Suceava | 1,293 | 2.38% | 0.69% | – | – | – |
| Katowice | 1,285 | 0.75% | 0.08% | 1,361 km | £220 | €250 |
| Cluj-Napoca | 1,262 | 0.63% | 0.08% | 1,823 km | £350 | €400 |
| Lublin (Port Lotniczy) | 1,249 | 0.40% | 0.24% | – | – | – |
| Antalya | 1,249 | 0.08% | 0.40% | 2,949 km | £350 | UK/EU airline only |
All routes from London Luton: route list · UK delay statistics
Air traffic flow delays at Luton (2025)
EUROCONTROL records the delay imposed on arriving flights when the airport or the airspace around it cannot take more traffic (air traffic flow management, “ATFM”). In 2025, 67,188 flights arrived at LTN; 927 of them were held back this way, 520 by more than 15 minutes – an average of 0.33 minutes per arrival.
What caused the ATFM delay
Average ATFM delay per arrival by month (min)
- J
- F
- M
- A
- M
- J
- J
- A
- S
- O
- N
- D
Worst days: 14 November 2025 – 2,766 minutes, mostly weather; 21 December 2025 – 2,527 minutes, mostly weather; 6 July 2025 – 2,360 minutes, mostly weather.
2026 so far (to 30 September 2026): 52,588 arrivals, 0.30 minutes of ATFM delay per arrival (better than 2025), mainly weather (76%) and aerodrome capacity (11%).
Check what happened at LTN on your travel day →
What this means for a claim: ATFM delays come from weather (84% here), air traffic control capacity and staffing (10%) or airport limits – causes airlines often cite as extraordinary circumstances. They are only part of the story: most long delays come from the airline’s own operation (technical faults, crew, late inbound aircraft), which this data does not show. Source: EUROCONTROL.
Typical delay causes at London Luton Airport
- Rotation delays on low-cost aircraft that fly several sectors a day: an aircraft that leaves late in the morning is often 1–2 hours late by the evening.
- Air traffic control failures such as the NATS system failure of August 2023 – an extraordinary circumstance.
- Fog on winter mornings – an extraordinary circumstance, but only for the hours actually affected.
Airlines you are likely to fly with here
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Local information
- For departures from the UK, compensation is claimed in pounds; claims agencies such as AirHelp handle both UK261 and EU261 claims.
- If the airline rejects your claim, check whether it belongs to an ADR scheme – escalation is then free of charge.
Frequently asked questions
Can I claim compensation for a flight departing from London Luton Airport?
Yes. Since Brexit the United Kingdom applies its own rule with the same content (UK261): any flight departing from London Luton Airport can give £220, £350 or £520 depending on distance, under the same conditions as EU261.
Can I claim compensation for a flight arriving at London Luton Airport?
If the flight departed from an EU airport: yes, under EU261, with any airline. If it departed from outside the EU and the UK: only if a UK or EU airline operated it.
How is the length of the delay measured?
By your arrival time at your final destination – more precisely, the moment the aircraft door opens at the gate. It must be at least 3 hours after the scheduled arrival time.
Related guides
- Flight delay compensation
- Missed connection compensation
- National enforcement bodies and ADR
- All airports
Information only, not legal advice. Passenger figures are approximate and based on the airports' published statistics; punctuality figures are from the UK Civil Aviation Authority. We earn a commission when a claim submitted through our partner links is successful.
Sources
- Eurostat – air passenger transport routes between partner airports and main airports (2024) – Eurostat
- EUROCONTROL – airport arrival ATFM delays (open performance data) – EUROCONTROL
- UK flight punctuality statistics 2025 – UK Civil Aviation Authority
- Delays and cancellations – your rights – UK Civil Aviation Authority
We check every rule against the sources above. Spotted an error? Tell us – see our editorial policy.