The CAA expects most directly affected compensation claims to fail
The CAA considers that delays and cancellations caused by the NATS outage, including direct knock-on effects, are likely to have resulted from extraordinary circumstances. This means passengers are unlikely to receive the fixed sums ordinarily available for qualifying delays or short-notice cancellations.
That position is not the end of the analysis. The CAA also reminded airlines that they must look after affected passengers, explain their rights and provide the statutory options following cancellation. It stressed that its view is illustrative and that each case remains fact-specific.
Four rights that must not be merged
- Care while waiting, including appropriate food, drink, communication and overnight accommodation.
- Reimbursement of reasonable care costs when the airline fails to provide them directly.
- A refund or rerouting choice when a covered flight is cancelled.
- Fixed statutory compensation, which has a separate test and can be defeated by extraordinary circumstances.
Care is due regardless of the cause
For a covered cancellation, the airline must provide a reasonable amount of food and drink, a means of communication, accommodation where rerouting requires an overnight wait, and transport between the airport and that accommodation. The duty continues even where the original cause was outside the airline's control.
For delays, care normally begins after two hours for flights under 1,500 kilometres, three hours for flights between 1,500 and 3,500 kilometres, and four hours for longer flights. The care must be proportionate to the waiting time.
What may still be recoverable
| Issue | Possible entitlement | Evidence to keep |
|---|---|---|
| Food and drink | Reasonable refreshments proportionate to the delay | Itemised receipts, airline vouchers and screenshots of the delay |
| Overnight delay | Reasonable accommodation and transport to and from it | Hotel invoice, transport receipts and proof that the airline did not provide suitable care |
| Cancelled flight | Refund of unused ticket or rerouting at the earliest opportunity or later date | Cancellation notice, booking and the options offered |
| Delay of at least five hours | Choice not to travel and obtain a refund for unused flights | Scheduled and actual times plus the refund request |
| Fixed compensation | Potentially payable only if the statutory tests are met and extraordinary circumstances do not defeat the claim | Cause given, arrival delay, notice period and airline response |
Reasonable does not mean the cheapest possible option
If the airline cannot arrange care, passengers may make reasonable arrangements and claim the cost. During severe disruption, a normal nearby hotel or practical replacement transport may cost more than usual. Record what was available and why the chosen expense was necessary. Luxury spending and alcohol are unlikely to be reimbursed.
Cancellation creates a choice
Compensation still requires an individual explanation
An airline should not reject every claim merely by inserting the words 'NATS disruption'. It should identify the operational cause of the passenger's cancellation or delay and explain why that cause amounts to an extraordinary circumstance. A later staffing, aircraft-positioning or scheduling decision may still require analysis of the facts and the reasonable measures taken.
The CAA's current view is that direct knock-on effects are also likely to be extraordinary. It has nevertheless stated that the assessment is context-specific and does not prevent a passenger from challenging the interpretation, including through a court. A credible challenge needs evidence connecting the actual flight disruption to a cause within the airline's control.
Build separate claims for separate rights
A clean evidence trail
Save the booking confirmation, flight number, route and scheduled departure and arrival times.
Keep the cancellation or delay notice and take screenshots as the stated reason changes.
Ask the airline to provide care and rerouting before making your own arrangements where practicable.
Keep itemised receipts and a short note explaining why each expense was necessary and reasonable.
State whether you are claiming expenses, requesting a refund, seeking rerouting or claiming fixed compensation. Do not combine them into an unclear total.
Ask for the precise cause and reasonable-measures explanation if fixed compensation is refused.
Escalate after the airline's final response, or after eight weeks without resolution, to its approved ADR body or the CAA's PACT route where applicable.
A focused expenses claim
My flight [number] on [date] was [cancelled or delayed]. The airline did not provide [meals, accommodation or transport] after I requested assistance. I therefore incurred the attached reasonable costs of [list]. This is a claim for reimbursement of the airline's duty-of-care expenses, not a claim for fixed compensation. Please reimburse £[amount] to [payment method] and explain any item you dispute.
A focused compensation challenge
You have rejected fixed compensation by referring generally to the NATS incident. Please identify the precise cause of the disruption to my flight, explain the causal link to the NATS outage or its direct knock-on effects, and set out the reasonable measures taken to avoid or reduce the delay. My separate claim for care expenses remains payable regardless of the compensation decision.
Why this matters to ConsumerWise readers
Airline responses often use 'compensation' as though it covers every remedy. It does not. The most useful consumer response is to split the case into care, expenses, refund or rerouting, and fixed compensation. A lawful reason for refusing one does not answer the others.
The bottom line
Passengers affected by the September NATS outage should expect fixed compensation to be difficult where the incident directly caused the disruption. They should not allow that issue to erase the airline's continuing duties. Ask for care, choose deliberately between refund and rerouting, retain reasonable receipts and require each part of the claim to be answered separately.
Official sources
- CAA: Statement following the NATS disruption on 8 SeptemberThe regulator's 9 September 2026 view on extraordinary circumstances and continuing airline duties.
- CAA: Flight cancellationsCare, coverage, refund, rerouting and compensation guidance.
- CAA: Flight delaysDelay thresholds, care, five-hour refunds, claims and escalation.
- UKICC: Passenger advice on the air-traffic-control disruptionPractical guidance on checking flights, retaining receipts and preserving disruption evidence.
