Airline
Virgin Atlantic: delayed or cancelled flight compensation.
Virgin Atlantic is licensed in the United Kingdom. Its flights leaving the UK or the EU are covered, and so are its flights into the UK. The amount depends on the route, not on what the seat cost.
The check on the home page works for any airline. Open it with Virgin Atlantic already filled in.
Check a Virgin Atlantic flight- Licensed in
- the United Kingdom
- Leaving Europe
- Covered
- Arriving into Europe
- Into the UK: covered under UK261. Into the EU: outside EU261
- Regulator, if it refuses
- the Civil Aviation Authority
- Where to send the letter
- virginatlantic.com
Which of their flights are covered
Any flight departing an airport in the EU, the EEA or Switzerland is covered, whoever operates it. Any flight departing an airport in the United Kingdom is covered by UK261 in the same way, whoever operates it. That includes every Virgin Atlantic departure from those airports, and it does not matter where the flight is going.
Flights into the United Kingdom from outside Europe are covered under UK261, because Virgin Atlantic is licensed in the United Kingdom. Flights into the EU from outside Europe are a different regime: Virgin Atlantic is not a carrier licensed in the EU, so those arrivals fall outside EU261. The same journey in the other direction, departing the UK or the EU, is covered in full.
What you are owed
The amount depends on the straight-line distance between where you departed and your final destination, not on what you paid for the ticket: €250 up to 1,500 km, €400 between 1,500 and 3,500 km, and €600 beyond that. Flights with both ends inside Europe are capped at €400 however far they go, which is why Paris to Réunion pays €400 rather than €600. When the flight leaves the United Kingdom, or flies into it from outside Europe, UK261 applies instead and the amounts are £220, £350 and £520.
Compensation starts at three hours late measured on arrival, and it applies equally to cancellations announced less than fourteen days ahead and to being bumped from an overbooked flight.
If they refuse
The most common refusal is a technical fault, and it is the weakest one available to them. A technical problem inherent in normal operation is not an extraordinary circumstance, and the burden of proving otherwise sits with the airline. Our escalation letter cites the ruling.
If Virgin Atlantic refuses again or stops replying, complain to the Civil Aviation Authority. It is free.
Check your Virgin Atlantic flight and we will write the letter.