easyJet cancelled your flight: refund, rebooking and compensation
Reviewed by José Romero Lara
EU261 aviation lawyer — 5+ years as in-house legal counsel at international airlines
When easyJet cancels a flight you are entitled to get your money back or reach your destination, to assistance while you wait and, in many cases, to cash compensation under Regulation (EC) 261/2004. This guide explains which easyJet flights the Regulation covers, what to ask for, how to claim on easyjet.com and what to do if it does not reply.
Did easyJet cancel your flight?
Check for free whether you are owed compensation. Nothing to pay upfront.
Check my flight1Which easyJet flights EU261 covers
easyJet flies under three group airlines: easyJet UK, easyJet Europe (Austrian licence) and easyJet Switzerland. What decides whether the European Regulation applies is not which one operates your flight, but the airport you departed from.
Any flight departing an airport in the EU, Iceland, Norway or Switzerland, whether the British, Austrian or Swiss company operates it.
Flights arriving in the EU from outside it when operated by easyJet Europe, which is an EU airline — a London–Barcelona, for instance.
Flights departing the UK with the British company: those fall under the UK’s own version of EU261, with amounts in pounds and escalation to the CAA rather than AESA.
2What easyJet owes you for the cancellation
Your rights after a cancellation
Refund or alternative flight
Your choice: the ticket price within 7 days, or reaching your destination (Art. 8)
Assistance
Food and drink, communications and a hotel with transfers if you stay overnight (Art. 9)
Compensation
If it told you less than 14 days ahead and cannot prove extraordinary circumstances (Arts. 5 and 7)
easyJet refunds and vouchers
The refund is requested in Manage Bookings on easyjet.com and is paid in money, the way you paid. It can only be a voucher if you accept one in writing: you do not have to.
3How much compensation you are owed
EU261 compensation per passenger
Up to 1,500 km
Barcelona–Geneva, Madrid–London, Palma–Milan
Over 1,500 km within the EU, or 1,500–3,500 km
Barcelona–Tenerife, Madrid–Athens, Malaga–Edinburgh
Over 3,500 km outside the EU
easyJet flies almost only short and medium-haul routes
If you take the alternative flight easyJet offers, compensation is halved when you reach your destination less than 2, 3 or 4 hours late, depending on the distance (Art. 7.2).
Check how much I am owed4When easyJet does not have to pay compensation
It told you 14 days or more in advance
You keep the right to a refund or an alternative flight, but not to compensation.
It told you 7 to 14 days ahead
No compensation if the replacement flight departed no more than 2 hours early and arrived less than 4 hours late.
It told you less than 7 days ahead
No compensation if the replacement departed no more than 1 hour early and arrived less than 2 hours late.
Proven extraordinary circumstances
Weather that makes flying unsafe or air traffic control decisions, if easyJet proves it affected that specific flight. Assistance is still owed.
A technical fault on the aircraft or a strike by easyJet’s own staff are not extraordinary circumstances: compensation is owed in those cases (CJEU, C-549/07, C-257/14 and C-28/20).
5How to claim from easyJet, step by step
- 1
Keep the cancellation notice
With the date it was sent: that is what decides whether you are owed compensation.
- 2
Choose refund or rebooking
The refund is requested in Manage Bookings on easyjet.com. If you take the alternative flight, keep its details: the arrival time decides whether compensation is halved.
- 3
File the claim on easyjet.com
There is a claim form in the help and customer service section. Give your booking reference, flight number and date, when you were told and the amount you are claiming. Keep the case number.
- 4
Wait one month
If it does not reply or rejects the claim, you can complain free of charge to AESA when the flight departed Spain or arrived in Spain from outside the EU. If it departed the UK, the equivalent route is the UK CAA.
- 5
Escalate: AESA or the CAA, court or AviFly
You can sue without a lawyer up to €2,000 or let AviFly handle the claim: 15% + VAT out of court and 30% + VAT in court, only if you get paid.
AviFly claims from easyJet for you
Nothing upfront. We only charge if you get your money.
Claim from easyJetFrequently asked questions
Can easyJet give me a voucher instead of a refund?
Only if you accept one in writing. You can refuse and demand the ticket price back in money within 7 days (Art. 8 of the Regulation).
Where do I ask for the refund and where for the compensation?
The ticket refund is requested in Manage Bookings on easyjet.com. Compensation is claimed separately, through the claim form in the help section.
Does EU261 still apply to easyJet after Brexit?
Yes on every flight departing the EU, because the Regulation applies by departure airport, and also on flights arriving in the EU operated by easyJet Europe. If your flight departed the UK, the UK’s equivalent rules apply.
What if easyJet blames a technical fault on the aircraft?
Faults inherent in maintaining the fleet are not extraordinary circumstances (CJEU, C-549/07 and C-257/14), so compensation is owed.
How long does easyJet take to settle a claim?
There is no fixed legal deadline. If it has not replied within a month, you can go to AESA — or to the CAA if the flight departed the UK — or to court.
How long do I have to claim for a cancellation?
In Spain the generally accepted time limit is 5 years from the flight (Art. 1964 of the Spanish Civil Code).