Since the UK left the EU, many questions have arisen about the air passenger rights, namely about flight delay or cancellation compensation. The brief answer is that there are no real change to your flight compensation.
Until the end of 2020, travellers will continue to benefit from the European Union’s Air Passenger Rights.
Air Passenger Rights, provided for in EC 261/2004, were created to protect EU countries and the UK is no longer in the EU. But the good news is that current EU laws will continue to apply throughout the Brexit transitional period. Under the european regulation EC 261/2004, air passengers are entitled to claim compensation for flight disruptions, such as delays of 3 or more hours, flight cancellations or denied boarding, care and assistance and information.
The EU Regulation applies to flights within the EU, and flights from an EU country to a non-EU country. It also covers flights from a non-EU country, to an EU country, so long as an EU airline is operating the flight. With a no-deal Brexit, certain flights departing from, and arriving in the UK and flights by UK carriers would fall into a gap left by the UK leaving the EU
Brexit will not affect your flight compensation claim. Everything will stay exactly the same until the end of 2020 and travellers from the UK who have experienced flight delays or cancellations will be able to continue to claim financial compensation from airlines.
Your air passenger rights stay the same under the Withdrawal Agreement. The Brexit transitional period could be extended for another 2 years – although the government has already said it will make every effort to prevent this from happening – but, for now, the official information is that it will only last until the end of 2020. The claims will still be valid! This means that passengers are still eligible for compensation of up to €600 for flight delays and cancellations.
It is not yet known what kind of law will be in effect to protect air passengers from flight delays, cancellations and denied boarding after the transitional period. It may even happen that the UK government will maintain the current EC 261/2004 regulation and everything will remain the same. Or the UK government may come up with a modified version of the regulation and passengers would still be able to claim financial compensation for delays, cancellations or denied boarding.
Whether through European regulation or through UK legislation, passengers will always be entitled to claim their financial compensation. Only the compensation amounts will be slightly different due to the conversion rates.