How Long Does Flight Compensation Actually Take?

How long flight compensation takes varies sharply depending on which legal framework applies to your claim and how the airline responds. US DOT refunds have the tightest legally mandated timeline in the world: 7 business days for credit card refunds, 20 calendar days for cash and check purchases. EU261 and UK261 claims operate under no fixed statutory deadline for the airline's initial response, which is why timelines stretch. Here is what to realistically expect.

A US DOT refund for a cancelled flight on your credit card must be processed within 7 business days of your request. If it is not, file a complaint immediately at transportation.gov/airconsumer. That complaint triggers a formal response obligation for the airline.

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  Credit card refund: 7 business days from the date you request the refund (not from the date of cancellation).

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  Cash or check refund: 20 calendar days from the date of your refund request.

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  DOT complaint processing: If the airline does not comply, a DOT complaint typically takes 60 to 90 days to generate a formal response from the airline. The DOT does not mediate individual claims but uses complaint data to enforce compliance.

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  Credit card chargeback: If the airline does not refund within the 7-business-day window, you can file a chargeback with your credit card issuer. Most card issuers resolve chargebacks in 30 to 60 days.

For the full DOT refund claim process, see how to get a refund from your airline and dot-refund-rules-2026.

EU261 claims have no fixed deadline for the airline's initial response in the regulation itself. In practice, direct claims to airlines typically resolve in 4 to 12 weeks for straightforward cases. Airlines that regularly face EU261 claims (Ryanair, Wizz Air, easyJet) have built claim-handling infrastructure. Legacy carriers (Lufthansa, Air France, British Airways) sometimes take longer. The timeline stretches when the airline disputes the claim, invokes extraordinary circumstances, or simply does not respond.

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  Simple, uncontested EU261 claim (direct): 4 to 8 weeks.

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  Disputed EU261 claim (direct): 3 to 6 months including national enforcement body escalation.

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  EU261 via claims service: Add 2 to 4 weeks for initial processing; the service handles airline pushback, which typically shortens the total disputed-claim timeline compared to doing it yourself.

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  Court-filed EU261 claim: 6 to 18 months in most EU jurisdictions.

UK261 timelines are similar to EU261. The CAA recommends that airlines respond within 8 weeks. If the airline does not respond or refuses within that period, passengers can escalate to an approved Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) scheme. ADR decisions typically take 90 days. The CAA can also take enforcement action, though that process is measured in months to years. British Airways, Virgin Atlantic, and easyJet UK all participate in ADR schemes.

For UK261 claims, if you have not received a substantive response from the airline within 8 weeks, escalate immediately to the CAA's PACT (Passenger Advice and Complaints Team) or the relevant ADR scheme. Waiting longer without escalating allows airlines to delay indefinitely.

Using a claims service like TravelStacks adds a processing step at the start (typically 2 to 5 business days to file the initial claim on your behalf) but dramatically increases success rates on disputed claims. For straightforward, uncontested claims where the airline pays within 4 weeks, the timeline is similar either way. For disputed claims, claims services have established escalation channels with national enforcement bodies and legal partners that can cut months off the resolution time. See how much is a delayed flight worth for context on whether a service is worth it for your specific claim.

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   Send a follow-up to the airline's customer relations email (not the general customer service line) referencing your original claim date and claim reference number.

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   For EU261: file with the national enforcement body in the country of departure. In the UK, that is the CAA. In France, DGAC. In Germany, Luftfahrt-Bundesamt.

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   For US DOT: file a complaint at transportation.gov/airconsumer. This creates a formal record and obligates the airline to respond.

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   File a credit card chargeback if you paid by card and the refund has not arrived within the statutory window.

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   Consider a claims service if you are handling an EU261 or UK261 dispute that the airline has rejected or ignored for more than 8 weeks.

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   For high-value EU261 claims (EUR 400-600), small claims court is an option in the UK and most EU countries without needing a lawyer.

For specifics on what to do when a claim is rejected, see flight compensation denied: what to do next and file a DOT complaint against an airline.

Claims do not expire immediately. EU261 statutes of limitations depend on the country of departure: France: 5 years, UK: 6 years, Germany: 3 years, Spain: 5 years, Netherlands: 2 years. For US DOT refunds, you can file a claim for any ticket within the ticket's validity period (typically 1 year), but practically speaking, the sooner you file the better. For guidance on historical claims, see how far back can you claim flight compensation.

TravelStacks typically files US DOT refund claims within 1 business day of submission and EU/UK261 claims within 2 to 5 business days. For straightforward US refund claims, resolution averages 3 to 4 weeks. For EU/UK261 claims, our timeline matches or beats direct filing for uncontested cases and significantly outperforms direct filing for disputed cases. For more on how to estimate what you are owed, see how much is a delayed flight worth: calculator. Start your claim now.