Delayed or cancelled flight from LAX: what you are owed

LAX is not among the five US airports the FAA lists as worst for weather delays (2022: Newark, LaGuardia, Las Vegas, Chicago and Boston), so the delay on a flight to Europe usually starts somewhere else: the aircraft arriving late from Europe, a technical fault, crew hours, or weather and air traffic limits on the other side of the Atlantic. On the ground the slowest part is the road: taxis and ride apps do not stop at the terminals, and the airport warns of construction detours, so leave time. Missing a flight because of traffic pays nothing.

Under EU261 and UK261 the cause decides whether money is due. Weather that makes flying unsafe and air traffic control restrictions, including the FAA's ground stops and flow limits, can be extraordinary circumstances, so no compensation, though meals, a hotel and rebooking are still owed. A technical fault, crew shortages, a strike by the airline's own staff and knock-on delays from the airline's own earlier problems are not, so compensation is due. On a long-haul route the aircraft has often just flown in, so a late departure is often down to a late inbound flight: if that was the airline's doing, you are owed; if an extraordinary event hit the earlier flight, the airline must show a direct link to yours. The burden is on the airline, so ask for the reason in writing before you leave the airport.

Care comes from the airline that operates your flight, not from the airport. Most European airlines fly from the Tom Bradley International Terminal; Delta uses Terminals 2 and 3, American Terminal 4 and United Terminals 7 and 8. Most terminals are connected after security, so you can walk to another for food or a lounge while you wait.

If a European airline cancels your flight to Europe, you choose between a refund within seven days and a new flight at the earliest opportunity, and you keep the right to compensation unless you were told at least 14 days ahead or offered a close alternative. If a US airline cancels, the refund is automatic if you decline the new flight, and anything more is what its customer service plan promises.

Under US federal law there is no cash compensation for a delayed or cancelled flight. What the law does give you is a refund. If your flight from LAX is cancelled, or significantly delayed or changed (on an international trip, arriving 6 hours or more late or leaving 6 hours or more early, a different airport, an extra connection or a lower class of travel), and you turn down the alternative the airline offers, or it offers none, the airline must refund the fare, including taxes and fees, automatically and without being asked: within 7 business days to a credit card, 20 days for other payments. A travel credit is only an option you can choose. The rule covers US and foreign airlines alike on flights to or from the US.

Meals and hotels on US airlines are promises, not law. Each airline's customer service plan says what it gives when a delay or cancellation is within its control, and while a promise is in the plan the Department of Transportation enforces it; the DOT's Airline Customer Service Dashboard shows what your airline commits to. Being bumped from an oversold flight is the exception that pays cash: on an international flight from a US airport, any airline must pay 200% of the one-way fare, up to $1,075, if the replacement gets you there between 1 and 4 hours late, and 400%, up to $2,150, if later or if it offers none. Nothing is due if the new flight arrives within an hour.

Europe's rules reach across the Atlantic. A flight from here to an EU, Icelandic, Norwegian or Swiss airport is covered by EU261 if the airline is European, and a flight into the UK is covered by UK261 on a UK or EU airline. A US airline from here to Europe is covered by neither. American and United to London Heathrow and Delta to Paris are examples: a delay on the way out pays nothing, while British Airways, Virgin Atlantic or Air France on the same route would be covered. Every flight leaving an EU, UK, Icelandic, Norwegian or Swiss airport is covered whatever the airline, so a delayed American, Delta or United flight home from London or Paris pays the same €600 or £520.

On any international flight the Montreal Convention also makes the airline liable for proven losses caused by delay, such as a prepaid hotel night you could not use, up to 6,303 SDR per passenger, unless it shows it took all reasonable measures to avoid them. That is a refund of real costs, not fixed compensation, and a court claim must be brought within two years.

Claim yourself, free. Use the operating 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. For a flight into the UK, 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, AviationADR for Virgin Atlantic; apply within 12 months of the airline's final answer. If the airline belongs to no scheme, the CAA's Passenger Advice and Complaints Team can take up the complaint. For a flight into the EU, Iceland, Norway or Switzerland, the next step is the national enforcement body of the country you landed in, which is responsible for flights arriving there from outside Europe: the Irish Aviation Authority for Dublin, the DGAC for Paris, the ILT for Amsterdam, ANAC for Lisbon or the Luftfahrt-Bundesamt for Frankfurt and Munich. It can act against the airline, though it does not always win you the money; a court in that country can. EU261 cannot be enforced in a US court: a US federal appeals court ruled in 2015 that a claim under the regulation belongs before the bodies and courts of Europe, so a claim goes through the airline, a European enforcement body or court, or a service like AirHelp.

The regulation sets no time limit; the country where the claim is brought does: six years in England and Wales (five if you live in Scotland), three years from the end of the year of the flight in Germany, two years in the Netherlands. Claim within weeks, not years.

If you would rather not chase it, AirHelp runs EU261 and UK261 claims 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 delay the airline gave you, ideally in writing or as a screenshot of the app.