How to claim compensation from easyJet

Check you have a claim first

easyJet’s help page summarises the triggers: you may claim if your flight arrived more than three hours late, was cancelled within 14 days of departure, or you were involuntarily denied boarding. What counts is the arrival time at your final destination – in practice, when the aircraft doors opened – not the departure delay.

No compensation is due if the cause was an extraordinary circumstance. easyJet’s claim form itself says that weather, industrial action and air traffic control restrictions make you ineligible – but only where they really caused your disruption. For the deadline, UK claims can be brought for up to 6 years (England, Wales and Northern Ireland) or 5 years (Scotland); see time limits. Claim early anyway: records are easier to obtain.

Step by step: easyJet’s EC261 claim form

The Compensation Claims Portal does not need an account. It has six parts:

1. Flight details: booking reference (it starts with E or K), flight number, date, reason (delayed, cancelled, denied boarding or voluntarily offloaded) and the departure and arrival airports of the original flight.
2. Claimant: the claimant must be a passenger on the booking, using the name given when booking. The email and mobile number must match those held on the booking – a common cause of automatic rejection.
3. Payment: bank details for an account in the claimant’s own name. easyJet pays only to the claimant’s account and asks you not to enter card details.
4. Passengers: the lead (first) passenger can add everyone on the booking, with their permission; anyone else can claim only for themselves. Once someone is included, they cannot make a separate claim for the same booking.
5. Documents (optional): booking confirmation, a birth certificate for a child or a marriage certificate if surnames differ – PDF, image or HTML files under 5 MB.
6. Confirmation: you cannot edit the claim afterwards and you will not get a copy, so screenshot the summary page before submitting. If anything is wrong, easyJet sends an automated email saying it could not process the claim and you must start again.

Write down the cause you were told at the airport, the actual arrival time and any messages from easyJet. You do not need a letter for the first claim, but if you prefer one, our complaint letter generator drafts it.

Claiming expenses: the separate easyJet form

Meals, hotels, taxis and replacement transport go on the Expense Claim Form, not the compensation portal. easyJet’s rules:

• Upload one receipt per expense (even if the same document has to be added twice), with the date, place and amount visible. The amount you enter must match the receipt and be in the receipt’s currency.
• Itemised receipts or invoices are required; easyJet’s help page says a credit card receipt on its own is not accepted as proof.
• Either the booker or a passenger can claim. If one receipt covers several people, easyJet splits the amount.
• Reimbursed: standard-class or shared transport, a 3-star or equivalent hotel, and reasonable food and drink without alcohol (up to £25 per person per day where the hotel could not feed you).
• Not reimbursed: costs before or after the journey – hotel nights at your destination, airport parking, transfers from the arrival airport – and car hire or missed activities.

Our guide to your rights to care explains what counts as reasonable.

Common easyJet rejections and how to answer them

easyJet says its team reviews the relevant records to confirm entitlement. If the answer is no, reply in writing and ask for the evidence. Typical replies:

• “Air traffic control restrictions” or “weather”. Ask which restriction or weather event, at which airport and when, and how it delayed your flight by 3 hours or more. Delay caused by an earlier rotation is only covered if easyJet shows the chain and that it took reasonable measures – see knock-on delays.
• “Unexpected flight safety shortcomings”. A routine technical fault is not extraordinary (Court of Justice, Wallentin-Hermann, C-549/07; and in England Jet2.com v Huzar, Court of Appeal, 2014). Ask for the defect and the maintenance record. See technical faults.
• “Industrial action”. A strike by easyJet’s own pilots or cabin crew does not count (C-28/20 Airhelp v SAS); a national ATC strike usually does.
• “Your arrival delay was under 3 hours”. Compare with the door-opening time from a flight tracker; a few minutes matter.
• “We could not process your application”. Usually a name, email or phone mismatch. Resubmit with the booking details exactly as they appear on the confirmation.

Our case-law library gives the judgments in full.

If easyJet refuses: AviationADR, then court

easyJet’s notice of rights names AviationADR as its CAA-approved dispute body and says you may refer a complaint within 12 months of easyJet’s final response. AviationADR also accepts cases where the airline has not given a final answer after 8 weeks. It is free for passengers; if you accept its decision, easyJet is bound by it, and if you do not, you can still go to court.

1. Keep easyJet’s final response (or proof you waited 8 weeks).
2. Apply to AviationADR online with your booking, the rejection and your evidence; our ADR complaint template sets out the arguments.
3. If ADR fails, send a letter before action and then use the small claims court (or Simple Procedure in Scotland).

Prefer not to do it yourself? A claims company such as our partner AirHelp handles it for a fee if it succeeds; compare the options in claim companies compared. More background: easyJet delay compensation and our general how-to-claim guide.

Frequently asked questions

Do I need an easyJet account to claim compensation?

No. The EC261 Compensation Claims Portal works with your booking reference, flight number and date. The email address and mobile number you enter must match the ones on the booking.

Can I claim for my family on one easyJet form?

Yes, if you are the lead (first) passenger on the booking and have their permission. Other passengers on the booking can only claim for themselves. Anyone you include cannot make a separate claim for the same booking.

How long does easyJet take to pay compensation?

easyJet does not publish a fixed response time on its claim pages. Under the CAA’s process you can escalate to AviationADR if you have no final response after 8 weeks.

easyJet rejected my claim – what now?

Ask easyJet in writing for the specific cause and evidence, then refer the case to AviationADR within 12 months of the final response. It costs nothing and easyJet must follow a decision you accept. Court is the last step.

Can I claim expenses and compensation together?

Yes, but on separate forms: compensation on the EC261 portal and receipts on the Expense Claim Form. Expenses are owed even when the cause was extraordinary, such as bad weather.

The easyJet name belongs to its owner; EU261 Flight Delay is an independent information site and is not affiliated with easyJet. Information only, not legal advice.

Sources

1. Compensation Claims Portal (EC261 claim form) – easyJet
2. Expense Claim Form – easyJet
3. Delays and cancellations – easyJet
4. Notice of your rights in case of flight delays, cancellations and denied boarding – easyJet
5. Regulation (EC) No 261/2004 as retained in UK law – Article 7 (compensation) – legislation.gov.uk
6. Alternative dispute resolution (ADR) – UK Civil Aviation Authority
7. AviationADR – complaints process and participating members – AviationADR

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