This kit follows the real sequence of a delayed, cancelled or overbooked flight: file the initial compensation claim with the airline, track every expense and every piece of correspondence while you wait, and escalate to the civil aviation authority, an approved ADR scheme or the national enforcement body if the airline rejects the claim or never pays. Every generator, template and checklist below is completely free to use — no account, no payment, no catch.
The sequence
Send the claim first, keep the records running while the airline responds, and only escalate once it has said no or gone quiet.
Step 1 · File the claim
Send the compensation claim to the airline
One formal letter for a delay, cancellation, denied boarding or missed connection — tailored to EU261, UK261, US or Australian rules — with any meals, hotel or transport you paid for yourself claimed on top of the statutory compensation.
Step 2 · Track everything
Log every expense and every contact
Total up the meals, hotel and transport the disruption cost you, with receipts, and keep a dated record of every call, chat and email with the airline — including reference numbers and anything it promised.
Step 3 · If the airline won't pay
Escalate to the regulator or ADR scheme
If the airline rejects the claim, makes an offer you don't accept, or never replies, escalate it — to an approved ADR scheme or the CAA in the UK, the Department of Transportation in the US, or the national enforcement body in the EU.
Use alongside
A ready-made claim pack if you'd rather work from templates, the evidence every disruption claim needs, and a UK-specific check for flights covered by UK261.
Air Passenger Rights Compensation Claim Pack
Claim letters for flight delays, cancellations and lost baggage, plus an Excel tracker to total your reimbursable expenses.
ChecklistFlight Disruption Evidence Checklist
The evidence a delay, cancellation, or overbooking claim needs, and the claim deadlines that genuinely vary by jurisdiction — there's no single worldwide deadline.
Checklist · UK flightsUK261 Claim Checklist
Only if your flight left the UK, or arrived in the UK on a UK or EU airline: check UK261 applies, confirm the right airline to claim from, and escalate for free via CEDR or AviationADR.