Keep 100% of Any Compensation
Why Use Quaerens Instead of a Claims Company?
The Quaerens builder is designed for passengers who want a clear, professional complaint pack without handing over a share of any compensation. It helps you organise the journey, calculate a cautious estimate, gather evidence and find the airline's official complaint route, while you stay in control of what is sent.
Quaerens Free Builder
- Free to use
- No commission or success fee
- You review and send the complaint yourself
- Your complaint details remain under your control
- Creates a structured pack, not only a short letter
Typical Paid Claims Service
- May take a share of compensation
- May submit on your behalf
- You may have less control over wording
- Useful for some passengers, but not always necessary
- Terms and fees should be checked carefully
Compensation Estimate
How Much Flight Compensation Could Apply?
Under UK261 or EU261 style passenger-rights rules, compensation often depends on the final-destination arrival delay, flight distance, route, operating airline and the reason for the disruption. A cancellation may also depend on when you were told about it and what rerouting was offered.
The builder uses the information you enter to show an estimated statutory compensation figure where the route, delay and passenger count support one. It remains an estimate only because airlines may rely on legal defences such as extraordinary circumstances.
| Distance band | Typical UK261 amount | Typical EU261 amount | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Up to 1,500 km | £220 | €250 | Usually short-haul routes where the timing threshold is met. |
| 1,501 to 3,500 km | £350 | €400 | Often medium-haul routes. |
| Over 3,500 km | £520, or £260 in some 3 to 4 hour long-haul delay situations | €600, or €300 in some 3 to 4 hour long-haul delay situations | Long-haul amounts can be affected by the length of the final arrival delay and rerouting facts. |
Expenses and care rights are separate from statutory compensation. Always check the latest official guidance before relying on any figure.
Check My FlightCare and Expenses
Care, Assistance and Extra Costs
Even where a flight does not clearly qualify for statutory compensation, passengers may still need to record care and expense issues. Depending on the disruption and waiting time, this can include meals or refreshments, reasonable communication costs, hotel accommodation, transport between the airport and hotel, rerouting, refund options and other documented expenses.
Meals and refreshments
Record what the airline offered, what you paid for and keep receipts where available.
Hotel and transport
Keep hotel invoices, taxi receipts and messages showing why the stay or transfer was needed.
Refund or rerouting
Save evidence of the options offered, declined, accepted or delayed by the airline.
Documented expenses
The pack separates statutory compensation from expenses so your complaint is clearer.
Free Pack Contents
What Is Included in Your Flight Compensation Pack?
The builder creates a structured Quaerens Consumer Complaint File that you can review, edit, download and send yourself.
Airline, route, dates, times, distance and possible passenger-rights regulation.
Estimated statutory amount per passenger and total passenger estimate where supported.
Structured wording for delay, cancellation, rerouting, denied boarding or expense issues.
A short message for email or airline web-form submission where suitable.
Clear list of documents, screenshots, boarding passes, receipts and airline messages.
Organised chronology of scheduled times, actual times, disruption and airline responses.
Meals, hotels, transport and other recorded expenses, separated by currency.
Official complaint form, page, email or postal route where available in the local directory.
Review steps so passenger names, dates, route and attachments are checked before sending.
Record acknowledgement, reference numbers, airline replies and escalation notes.
Relevant official passenger-rights and complaint-route links for final checking.
Clear reminder that you review, edit and submit the pack yourself.
Download Options
Download and Use It Your Way
Complete PDF
Printable Quaerens Consumer Complaint File with a cover page and document sections.
Editable Word or RTF
Use this where you want to make further edits before sending.
Plain Text Version
Copy into airline complaint forms or emails without formatting.
Copy and Print
Copy a selected document or print the whole complaint pack for your records.
Four Simple Steps
How It Works
Enter Your Journey Details
Passenger, airline, booking, route, airports and travel date.
Record What Happened
Delay, cancellation, rerouting, denied boarding, expenses or previous complaint response.
Review Your Flight Compensation Pack
Check the live preview and correct anything that does not match your journey.
Download and Send It Yourself
Use the airline's official complaint route and keep proof of submission.
Quaerens Consumer Flight Compensation Pack
Flight Disruption
Use this free browser-first builder to prepare a flight compensation pack for a delayed, cancelled, rerouted or disrupted flight. It does not determine entitlement and does not send anything to the airline.
Your answers are processed in your browser and are not submitted to Quaerens unless you deliberately use a feature that sends them.
Evidence
What Evidence Should I Keep?
Journey records
Booking confirmation, flight number, boarding pass, itinerary, ticket number and final-destination arrival time.
Airline messages
Delay, cancellation, rerouting, app, email and gate announcements, plus any written reason given by the airline.
Expense records
Meal, hotel, transport, replacement travel and communication receipts where the expense was necessary and documented.
Complaint history
Complaint reference, airline replies, rejection letters, screenshots and any escalation correspondence.
Guidance
Useful Flight Disruption Guidance
What Qualifies as a Flight Delay?
The timing question usually focuses on arrival at the final destination, not only when the aircraft left the gate. A flight that departs late but arrives less than three hours late may be treated differently from one that reaches the final destination three hours or more after the scheduled arrival time. The builder records scheduled and actual times so the calculation is transparent.
How Compensation Is Calculated
The estimate uses route distance, possible UK261 or EU261 scope, arrival delay and passenger count. It does not decide liability. The airline may still investigate the cause, route, operating carrier and whether any exceptional circumstances apply.
Cancelled Flights and Notice
Cancellation complaints often depend on when the airline notified you, whether rerouting was offered, whether the new arrival time was acceptable and whether expenses were caused by the cancellation. Record the notification method and keep airline messages.
Missed Connections
Missed-connection wording should explain whether the flights were booked together, which flight caused the problem and when you reached the final destination. Separate tickets may require a different explanation from one through-booked journey.
Denied Boarding
Denied boarding can involve overbooking, check-in timing, travel-document checks, voluntary surrender of a seat and rerouting. The builder keeps these facts separate so the complaint does not overstate the position.
Meals, Hotels and Care
Care and assistance can be relevant before a statutory compensation threshold is reached. Keep receipts, hotel confirmations, taxi records and screenshots showing what the airline offered or refused.
Extraordinary Circumstances
If an airline says weather, air traffic control, security, industrial action or another event caused the disruption, ask for a clear explanation and supporting evidence. The builder does not decide whether the defence is valid.
Technical, Crew or Operational Reasons
Short explanations such as “technical issue” or “operational reasons” can be too vague. The pack asks the airline to explain the actual reason and how it affected your flight.
UK261 and EU261 Scope
The possible regulation depends on the departure airport, arrival airport and operating airline. The builder uses airport and airline data where available, but passengers should still check current official guidance before sending or escalating.
Expenses and Reimbursement
Expense claims should be separated from statutory compensation. Record the amount, currency, reason, location, receipt status and evidence reference so the airline can understand what you are asking it to review.
If the Airline Rejects the Complaint
Keep the rejection letter, compare it with the evidence, ask for missing reasoning where needed and check the airline's published complaint and ADR route. Do not delete original records after a rejection.
ADR and Escalation
Escalation routes vary by airline and country. The pack includes official resources and a contact record so you can track references, dates and responses before deciding what to do next.
Related guides
Flight Disruption Guides
These existing Quaerens pages connect the builder with related travel complaint guidance.
Flight Delay Rights
Understand flight-delay routes before preparing a complaint.
Flight Cancellation Letter
Use cancellation-specific wording where the flight did not operate as planned.
Rejected Flight Delay Claim
Evidence and next steps when an airline response is unclear or rejected.
Travel Claims Hub
Browse wider travel, holiday, luggage and transport support routes.
Travel Insurance Disputes
Check where a travel insurer or policy dispute may be relevant.
Lost Luggage Support
Keep baggage evidence separate from the airline disruption complaint where needed.
Official resources
Official and Related Resources
Rules, airline procedures and escalation routes can change. These links help you check the latest official position before sending or escalating a complaint. Last reviewed: July 2026.
- UK Civil Aviation Authority: flight delays and cancellations - official UK passenger guidance on delay, cancellation, rerouting and care.
- UK Civil Aviation Authority: how to make a complaint - official guidance on approaching airlines and complaint routes.
- UK Civil Aviation Authority: alternative dispute resolution - official information about ADR and escalation options.
- Your Europe: air passenger rights - EU passenger-rights overview for air travel problems.
- European Commission: air passenger rights - European Commission passenger-rights information.
- Financial Ombudsman Service: goods and services bought with credit - relevant where payment-card or finance-provider routes may also need review.
- Quaerens Travel Claims Hub - related Quaerens travel, luggage, holiday and transport support routes.
Frequently Asked Questions