Your flight was cancelled: refund, rebooking and compensation
You can choose a full refund or a replacement flight, and the airline must feed and house you until you travel. If you were told less than 14 days before departure, you can usually claim compensation as well.
The choice is yours, not the airline’s
When a flight is cancelled you are entitled to choose between a full refund of the unused parts of your ticket, or a replacement flight to the same destination at the earliest opportunity.
An airline that offers only a voucher, or only a seat on its own next flight two days later, is not meeting its obligation. "At the earliest opportunity" can mean a competitor’s flight, and you are entitled to ask for it.
Taking the refund ends the airline’s duty to look after you. Taking the replacement does not.
Care while you wait
Until you fly, the airline must provide food and drink appropriate to the wait, two phone calls or emails, and hotel accommodation with transport if you are kept overnight.
If the airline does not arrange this, book it yourself at a reasonable standard and claim it back. Keep the receipts. A room near the airport is reasonable; a suite in the city is not.
When compensation is due as well
Compensation applies on the same scale as a delay: £220 to £520 under UK261, €250 to €600 under EU261.
It depends on how much warning you had. More than 14 days: nothing. Between 7 and 14 days: due unless the replacement leaves no more than two hours early and lands no more than four hours late. Less than 7 days: due unless the replacement leaves no more than one hour early and lands no more than two hours late.
And as with delays, nothing is due if the cancellation was genuinely outside the airline’s control.
Common questions
Can an airline make me take a voucher instead of a refund?
No. You are entitled to a cash refund of the unused parts of your ticket. A voucher is something you may accept, never something you can be given instead.
My flight was cancelled the day before. Can I claim?
Usually yes. With less than 7 days’ notice, compensation is due unless the replacement flight leaves no more than an hour early and lands no more than two hours late, and unless the cancellation was outside the airline’s control.
Can I book myself onto another airline and claim it back?
The airline must rebook you at the earliest opportunity, which can include a competitor’s flight. Ask them first and keep the refusal in writing, because a claim is far stronger when you can show you asked.
Check your own flight
AirHelp will tell you whether a specific flight qualifies and handle the claim with the airline. TravelTrauma earns a commission if a claim succeeds, at no cost to you.
Check your claimMore guides
Last reviewed 2026-10-07. This explains the rules and is not legal advice; the circumstances of your flight may change what applies.