The Airline Owes You Compensation and Won't Pay. Make Them.

You know the pattern. The flight was delayed five hours or cancelled outright. You claimed the compensation the law fixes for exactly this. Then: a rejection quoting "extraordinary circumstances", or a promise that never turns into money, or simply silence, month after month. Some passengers even win at the Civil Aviation Authority or an arbitration scheme — and the airline still does not pay.

Airlines do this because ignoring claims is profitable: most people give up. This guide is about the step where giving up stops — the county court money claim, which turns "we have reviewed your case" into a judgment with bailiffs behind it.

When Airlines Just Don't Pay

Three real situations from people who came to us in a single fortnight: an airline that a regulator had already sided with, still refusing to pay £520 for a 24-hour delay; an airline that lost a suitcase with £3,000 of belongings and stopped answering messages; an airline whose handling agent told a passenger to buy a replacement bag and claim it back, then never paid. Different airlines, same play: stall until you go away.

The one thing all three had in common: the passenger had a clear, quantified claim and the airline was betting they would never file it.

What You're Owed: The 60-Second Recap

Under UK261 (the UK version of the EU flight compensation rules), the amounts are fixed per passenger:

• £220 — flights under 1,500km, delayed 3 hours or more at arrival
• £350 — flights 1,500 to 3,500km, delayed 3 hours or more
• £520 — flights over 3,500km, delayed 4 hours or more
• Cancellations with less than 14 days' notice and denied boarding qualify too

The airline escapes only for genuinely extraordinary circumstances — think air traffic control strikes or severe weather. Crew shortages and the airline's own technical problems generally do not count, however often rejection emails claim otherwise. For the full eligibility rules, see our flight delay compensation guide. This page is about what to do when you already know you qualify and the airline will not pay.

Won at the CAA or an ADR Scheme and Still Not Paid?

This is the most maddening version, and it is more common than you would think. Here is the honest position:

• A CAA complaint outcome is influential but not enforceable. The CAA can say the airline should pay; it cannot make it pay you.
• An ADR or arbitration decision you accepted is binding on the airline in the scheme's rules — but if the airline drags its feet, you still need a way to enforce it.
• A county court judgment is the thing with teeth. It can be enforced by court bailiffs, and if the airline lets it go unpaid it sits as a CCJ against them.

The practical magic: when your claim arrives with a regulator's or arbitrator's finding already attached, the airline's defence is somewhere between weak and non-existent, and its lawyers know it. That is why these claims overwhelmingly settle fast — often within days of the claim being served.

Why a Court Claim Works When Letters Didn't

• It changes who decides. Until now, the airline has been judge of its own case. A claim moves the decision to an actual judge.
• It creates a deadline with consequences. The airline has 14 days to respond. Silence lets you request judgment in default.
• It costs them more to fight than to pay. Defending a £520 claim means legal time worth multiples of that. For claims they are likely to lose, paying is the rational move — which is why so many pay at the letter-before-action stage, before a claim is even filed.

Step by Step

1. Letter before action. A formal letter to the airline setting out the flight, the legal basis, the amount, and a 14-day deadline. Attach the CAA or ADR outcome if you have one.
2. File the claim. The N1 claim form with particulars: flight number, scheduled and actual times, distance band, the compensation amount, plus 8% interest under section 69 of the County Courts Act 1984 running from the flight date.
3. They respond or they don't. Most airlines settle here. If they defend, small claims hearings are informal and the law is heavily on the passenger's side. If they ignore it, request default judgment.
4. Enforcement if needed. Judgment unpaid after 14 days? County court bailiffs can attend the airline's UK offices. It rarely gets that far.

Lost or Damaged Luggage: Different Rules, Harder Deadlines

Luggage claims run under the Montreal Convention, not UK261, and the deadlines are brutal compared to flight delays:

• Damaged bag: written complaint to the airline within 7 days of receiving it
• Delayed bag: written complaint within 21 days of finally getting it
• Lost bag: treated as lost after 21 days — claim the contents' value, up to roughly £1,300 per passenger
• Court deadline: 2 years from the flight. This one has no flexibility at all. If the airline has been stringing you along for 18 months, file now.

Keep receipts or photos of what was in the bag where you can, and put a value on every item in your written claim. Airlines pay "reasonable, evidenced" far faster than "everything I owned".

Suing a Foreign Airline From England or Wales

"They're based abroad" stops a lot of people. It usually should not. If your flight departed from or arrived in the UK, the claim can generally be brought in the courts of England and Wales, and most international carriers flying UK routes have a UK office, agent, or registered establishment where the claim is served. Check Companies House for a UK establishment of the airline. Where an airline truly has no UK presence at all, service gets more involved — that is worth a conversation before filing rather than a reason to give up.

Time Limits

• Flight compensation (UK261): 6 years in England and Wales. That delayed flight from 2021 may still be claimable.
• Luggage (Montreal Convention): 2 years, hard. No extensions, no exceptions.

What It Costs

The court fee starts at £35 for claims up to £300 (a single passenger's short-haul compensation) and £50 for a typical family's claim in the £520 to £1,000 range. The fee is added to your claim, so the airline pays it back when you win. JustClaim drafts and files everything — the letter, the N1, the particulars with the interest calculation — from £39 plus the court fee.

The Bottom Line

Airlines price on most passengers giving up, and the numbers say most do. The law is unusually clear, the amounts are fixed, and a judge — not the airline's customer relations team — has the final word. If they owe you and they are stalling, stop writing to them and file. It is normally the last letter you will need to send.