UK261 Claim Time Limits by Airline

The UK261 claim time limit is set by the Limitation Act 1980 (England and Wales) and the Prescription and Limitation (Scotland) Act 1973:

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  England and Wales: 6 years from the flight date.

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  Scotland: 5 years from the flight date.

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  Northern Ireland: 6 years.

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  Republic of Ireland (for EU261 on UK departures to Irish destinations, under EU rules): 6 years.

6 years is generous compared to most EU jurisdictions. Poland applies 1 year, Ireland 6 years, Germany 3 years, Spain 1 year. The UK's 6-year window gives ample time to pursue a claim.

Airlines often state shorter deadlines in their own Terms and Conditions. These are not legally binding for UK261 statutory claims but can affect how the airline processes your initial request. Common airline deadlines:

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  British Airways: 45 days from the disruption for Contract of Carriage claims; 6 years for UK261 statutory claims.

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  easyJet: 2 years for internal process; 6 years for UK261 statutory.

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  Ryanair: 2 years for internal process; 6 years for UK261 statutory (Irish limitation).

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  Jet2: 12 months for internal process; 6 years for UK261 statutory.

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  Virgin Atlantic: 12 months for internal process; 6 years for UK261 statutory.

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  TUI Airways: 12 to 24 months for package and flight claims; 6 years for UK261 statutory.

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  Loganair: 12 months internal; 6 years UK261.

If you miss the airline's internal deadline but are still within the UK261 statutory window, you can proceed via:

1. 1

   UK CAA complaint: CAA does not enforce airline-imposed deadlines for UK261 claims.

2. 2

   Small claims (MCOL): court treats the statutory 6-year limit, not airline internal deadlines.

3. 3

   ADR scheme: may accept older claims, varies by scheme and airline.

4. 4

   Direct written claim: airline must still respond to UK261 statutory claims even past their internal deadline.

File early anyway. Older claims are harder to document (boarding passes lost, airline records purged). File within 12 to 24 months of disruption even though the statutory limit is 6 years.

Documents that typically persist years after the flight:

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  Airline booking confirmations in email: unless you have deleted them.

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  Credit card statements: banks retain 7+ years of statements.

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  Government flight data (CAA, EASA): aggregate flight-on-time records.

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  News archive: major disruption events (strikes, storms, collapses) are in published news.

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  Social media and airline PR: tweet threads from official airline accounts during disruption.

Documents that degrade over time:

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  Physical boarding passes: usually discarded.

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  Airline internal records: may be purged after 2 to 3 years.

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  SMS notifications: phone storage limits lose old messages.

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  Replacement travel receipts: often lost after a year.

Scotland applies 5 years, shorter than the 6-year English limit. For flights departing Scottish airports (Edinburgh EDI, Glasgow GLA, Aberdeen ABZ, Inverness INV), file in Scottish courts within 5 years from the flight date. English/Welsh courts typically refuse Scottish-origin cases unless there's a jurisdictional hook.

For seasonal context see UK261 passenger rights winter 2026 edition, Stansted UK261 delay compensation, and UK261 package holiday vs flight-only rights.

1. 1

   Week 1: file airline complaint in writing.

2. 2

   Week 6: follow up if no acknowledgment.

3. 3

   Week 8: escalate to UK CAA or ADR.

4. 4

   Month 6 to 12: if unresolved, file MCOL.

5. 5

   Year 2 to 6: final legal limit; file before the 6-year (5-year in Scotland) limitation runs.

For the pillar see UK261 Passenger Rights. TravelStacks handles UK261 claims within all statutory windows. Start a claim in 30 seconds.

For primary regulatory texts and official guidance cited in this guide, see UK CAA Passenger Rights, Regulation (EC) No 261/2004 as retained.