Travel Question: Can I get money back for delay?

Have a question? Ask our expert Simon Calder

Qatar Airways is bound by European air passengers’ rights rules only for journeys beginning in the European Union (Qatar Airways)

Q Are passengers entitled to compensation on a flight delay of more than five hours outside the EU? Qatar Airways don’t think so, and it was their fault.

Jen S

A It depends on the circumstance of the delay. As a non-EU airline, Qatar Airways is bound by European air passengers’ rights rules only for journeys beginning in the European Union. If a flight from Birmingham, Cardiff, Edinburgh, Gatwick, Heathrow or Manchester arrives in the airline’s hub, Doha, three hours or more late, and Qatar Airways cannot claim “extraordinary circumstances,” then it owes compensation. For delays of between three and four hours, it’s €300 (£262); for longer delays, the payout is twice as much.