Delayed or cancelled flight from London City: what you are owed

At London City the risk is a cancellation more than a long delay. In 2025, according to the UK Civil Aviation Authority, only 33 departures (0.14%) left more than three hours late, the fewest of the London airports, but 373 were cancelled, 1.5% of those planned and the highest cancellation rate of the five. A cancellation at short notice pays the same compensation as a three-hour delay, so check what you are owed.

Causes that usually pay compensation: a technical fault with the aircraft, crew shortages, a strike by the airline's own staff, and knock-on problems from the airline's own earlier flights. Causes that usually do not: weather that makes flying unsafe, air traffic control restrictions and strikes, security alerts, bird strikes and failures at the airport.

The burden is on the airline: it must prove the extraordinary circumstance and that it could not have avoided the cancellation or delay with all reasonable measures. Ask for the reason in writing before you leave the airport.

Care comes from the airline that operates your flight, not from the airport. British Airways, flying as BA CityFlyer, is the largest airline here, with KLM, Lufthansa, SWISS, ITA Airways and Luxair among the others, so ask at the airline's desk or in its app. There is no paid lounge until the new one opens, expected by early 2027, so the cafés after security are where you wait.

If the flight is cancelled, you choose between a refund within seven days and a new flight at the earliest opportunity, and the airline should look at other airlines too if they would get you there sooner. You keep the right to compensation as well, unless you were told at least 14 days ahead or offered a close alternative. London City has no flights on Saturday afternoons, so a flight cancelled on a Saturday may not be replaced until Sunday; if you cannot leave until the next day, the airline owes you a hotel and transport to it.

The airport has no transfer area, so a connection here means passport control, collecting bags and security again.

Claim yourself, free. Use the airline's own claim form with your booking reference and flight number, and ask to be paid in money: you do not have to accept vouchers. If the airline says no, or has not replied after 8 weeks, take it to the airline's CAA-approved dispute scheme, which is also free: CEDR for British Airways and BA CityFlyer; AviationADR for KLM; Schlichtung Reise & Verkehr for Lufthansa and SWISS. Apply within 12 months of the airline's final answer. If your airline belongs to no scheme, the CAA's Passenger Advice and Complaints Team can take up the complaint. A court claim in England and Wales can be brought up to six years after the flight (five years if you live in Scotland).

If you would rather not chase it, AirHelp runs the claim on a no win, no fee basis: it keeps 35% of the compensation, including VAT, if it wins, plus 15% if court action is needed, and charges nothing if it does not win.

Whichever you choose, keep your boarding pass or booking confirmation, your booking reference, receipts for anything you bought while waiting, and the reason for the cancellation or delay the airline gave you.