Diverted flight compensation

Three kinds of diversion

In all three cases no fixed compensation is due if the diversion was caused by extraordinary circumstances that the airline could not avoid with all reasonable measures (Article 5(3); Article 6(4) of UK261).

Diverted to a nearby airport serving the same area

Article 8(3) deals with this directly. When an airline lands you at an airport other than the one booked but serving the same town, city or region, it must pay for your transfer to the booked airport or to another nearby destination you agree. The Court of Justice explained how this works in WZ v Austrian Airlines (C-826/19, 22 April 2021). A Vienna–Berlin flight due at Tegel landed at Schönefeld, nearly an hour late, and the airline offered no onward transport. The Court held:

• A diversion to an airport serving the same town, city or region is not a cancellation, so it gives no right to cancellation compensation on its own.
• The substitute airport does not have to be in the same administrative area. What matters is that it is close to the city or region of the booked airport. Schönefeld, in the neighbouring state of Brandenburg, qualified.
• You are entitled to fixed compensation if you reach your final destination – the booked airport or a nearby place you agreed with the airline – 3 hours or more after the scheduled arrival. The delay is measured at the end of the transfer, not when the plane lands at the diversion airport.
• The airline must offer to pay for the transfer on its own initiative. You should not have to ask.
• If it does not, you can recover the costs that were necessary, appropriate and reasonable, but the failure alone does not give you the fixed €250/€400/€600.
• The airline can rely on an extraordinary circumstance that affected an earlier flight by the same aircraft, but only with a direct causal link to your delay.

Which airports "serve the same region" is decided case by case. London's airports are the obvious example. For other pairs – say a flight to Edinburgh landing in Glasgow – the deciding factor is proximity, and the airline's re-routing duties apply either way.

Diverted to an airport elsewhere

In the same judgment (C-826/19) the Court noted that, apart from the nearby-airport case, a flight that lands at an airport which is not the booked destination "cannot be regarded as having been operated". As a rule it is a cancelled flight. That brings in the cancellation rules:

• a choice of re-routing to your destination or a refund (Article 8);
• care while you wait – meals, calls and, if needed, a hotel (Article 9);
• compensation if the cancellation was not notified 14 days ahead (it rarely is, mid-flight) and the replacement got you there outside the Article 5 time windows, unless the airline proves extraordinary circumstances.

See cancelled flight compensation for the time windows and the 50% reduction.

Returned to the departure airport

If the aircraft takes off, turns back, and you are moved to another flight, the Court of Justice treated this as a cancellation in Sousa Rodríguez (C-83/10, 13 October 2011). The flight you booked never reached its destination. Where the same flight later continues to its destination, the position is less clear-cut. Either way, the timing of your final arrival and the cause of the problem decide whether anything is due.

Common causes – and whether the airline must pay

Even when the cause is extraordinary, the airline must show it took reasonable measures to limit the delay – for example by arranging transfers quickly rather than leaving passengers at the diversion airport. Ask for the reason for the diversion in writing; a captain's announcement is useful evidence.

What to do after a diversion

1. Ask the crew or ground staff how you will get to your destination and who pays. The airline should offer onward transport without being asked.
2. Ask for care if you are waiting: food, drink and, overnight, a hotel. See flight delay rights.
3. If nothing is offered, choose the most reasonable option – a train or coach rather than a private taxi where practical – and keep receipts.
4. Write down the times: when you landed at the diversion airport and when you actually reached the booked airport or your agreed destination.
5. Keep the evidence: boarding pass, photos of announcements and screens, messages from the airline.
6. Check your baggage. Bags sometimes travel separately after a diversion. If they arrive late, see delayed baggage compensation.

How to claim

Claim from the operating airline, setting out where you landed, how you reached your destination, the arrival delay at the booked airport, and any transfer costs. Cite Article 8(3) and C-826/19. Use our letter generator, and escalate after 8 weeks through an ADR scheme, the CAA or the national enforcement body. Time limits: 6 years in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, 5 in Scotland – see time limits.

Frequently asked questions

Do I get compensation if my flight is diverted?

It depends on where you land and how late you finally reach your destination. Diverted to an airport serving the same city or region: you are compensated like a delay, if you reach the booked airport (or another place you agreed) 3 hours or more late. Diverted to an airport elsewhere: as a rule, the flight counts as cancelled. In both cases the airline can refuse if it proves extraordinary circumstances.

My flight to Gatwick landed at Stansted. Who pays the taxi or coach?

The airline. Where it lands you at another airport serving the same city or region, it must offer, on its own initiative, to pay for your transfer to the airport you booked or to a nearby destination you agree (Article 8(3); CJEU, C-826/19). If it does not, keep receipts for necessary, appropriate and reasonable costs and claim them back.

The airline did not arrange onward transport after a diversion. Do I get €250 for that?

No. The Court of Justice held in C-826/19 that failing to pay for the transfer does not, by itself, give a right to fixed compensation. You get your reasonable transfer costs back. Fixed compensation depends on the arrival delay at your final destination.

Our plane diverted because a passenger was taken ill. Can I claim?

Probably not. A medical emergency on board is generally treated as beyond the airline's control, and an unruly passenger can be an extraordinary circumstance (C-74/19). You keep your right to care and onward transport. See medical emergencies.

We took off, circled and landed back where we started. Is that a delay or a cancellation?

If the flight then did not continue and you were moved to another flight, the Court of Justice treated it as a cancellation (Sousa Rodríguez, C-83/10). Cancellation rules then apply: refund or re-routing, care, and compensation unless the airline proves extraordinary circumstances.

Related guides

• Flight delay compensation
• Cancelled flight compensation
• Extraordinary circumstances
• Case law library

This guide is general information, not legal advice. We are not lawyers and we are not AirHelp; we receive a commission when a claim submitted through our partner links succeeds. See our affiliate disclosure.

Sources

1. Regulation (EC) No 261/2004 (EU261), Articles 2(l), 5, 7, 8(3) and 9 – EUR-Lex
2. UK261, Article 8 (including 8(3), transfer between airports) – legislation.gov.uk
3. UK261, Article 6 (delay, including 6(3) and 6(4)) – legislation.gov.uk
4. Press release 68/21: WZ v Austrian Airlines, C-826/19 – Court of Justice of the EU
5. Sousa Rodríguez, C-83/10, judgment of 13 October 2011 – Court of Justice of the EU
6. LE v Transportes Aéreos Portugueses, C-74/19, judgment of 11 June 2020 – Court of Justice of the EU
7. Flight delays – your rights – UK Civil Aviation Authority
8. Am I entitled to compensation? – UK Civil Aviation Authority
9. Air passenger rights – Your Europe (European Commission)

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