Passengers have been paid almost £11 million in compensation from airlines
Travellers are receiving millions of pounds in compensation annually over delays or cancellations from airlines. Data from the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) reveals nearly £11 million was paid out in the year to October 2025 to passengers whose claims were first knocked back or left hanging, before being taken to an independent adjudicator.
Consumer watchdogs claim airlines are purposely attempting to put people off pursuing their claims. Flyers told the BBC that carriers “tried to confuse” them to force them into abandoning their cases.
Graeme Bowd, who operates a Facebook group helping consumers with airline claims, explained: “Weddings get missed, holidays get ruined and business meetings get cancelled. People find it extremely frustrating when they can’t get their compensation claims settled.”
The bulk of the payouts originated from British Airways, with Wizz Air, Ryanair and easyJet following behind. BA forked out £6.9 million to passengers whose claims had been first turned down or disregarded.
Out of 10,679 complaints lodged against the carrier, 81% were eventually ruled in customers’ favour. Wizz Air paid £1.7 million, Ryanair £1.68 million, and easyJet £371,000.
BA maintained the “vast majority” of its flights operate smoothly. easyJet said: “We always pay compensation if it is due and have an easy form customers can claim through on our website.”
Wizz Air refused to comment, and Ryanair has been contacted for a response. Mr Bowd pointed out how airlines frequently fall back on “stock excuses” like “adverse weather” or “air traffic control restrictions,” even when these explanations don’t hold water.
He said: “The general principle is that they don’t expect everybody to claim. If passengers can be fobbed off or frustrated long enough, most will give up.”
For Laurie Watson, a scrapped flight back from Athens triggered a lengthy dispute with BA. Initially informed that poor weather was responsible, he examined meteorological reports and contested the airline’s explanation. A CEDR adjudicator subsequently determined there was “no persuasive evidence” of weather disruption and instructed BA to compensate him £700.
In a similar case, Heather Follows, whose BA flight to her sister’s Canadian wedding was axed due to engine problems, received £1,560 after adjudicators ruled the airline had “not sufficiently demonstrated that there were no reasonable measures it could have taken to avoid the cancellation.”
BA responded: “Where customers submit claims that meet the legislative requirements, our teams work hard to process them as quickly as possible. Most delays and cancellations occur due to circumstances beyond our control, but we always do our best to make things right.”
easyJet said: “If a flight is disrupted, we take our responsibilities seriously and always try to ensure customers are well informed and looked after.”
