British Airways said no to your compensation claim

Updated 15 October 2026
General information, not legal advice. The outcome depends on the facts of your case.

Your British Airways flight between London and Oslo, Stockholm, Copenhagen, Helsinki or another Nordic airport was hours late or cancelled, and BA said no. First check which direction you flew. Since Brexit, that decides which rules apply.

We are not affiliated with British Airways and do not act for it.

Which BA flights EU261 covers

British Airways Plc is a UK airline, so since the end of the Brexit transition it is not an EU airline. Under Article 3(1) of Regulation 261/2004:

• Nordic airport to London: covered. Every flight departing an EU or EEA airport is covered, whatever the airline. Norway and Iceland apply the same rules.
• London to a Nordic airport: not covered by EU261. A flight into the EU is covered only if an EU airline operates it. The European Commission's Brexit notice says so for flights from the UK. That flight falls under the UK's own version of the rules, UK261, which we do not handle.
• The UK rules overlap on the Nordic-to-London direction. UK261 also covers a flight into the UK on a UK airline. You can still be paid only once for the same flight.

On a covered flight, compensation is €250, €400 or €600 per passenger for an arrival 3 hours or more late, depending on distance. BA's own notice states the amounts in both euros and pounds.

Connections in London. On one booking that starts in the Nordics, for example Oslo–London–New York, the whole journey is covered and the delay counts at the final destination (Air France v Folkerts C-11/11). The way home on BA, New York–London–Oslo, is not covered by EU261, even on the same booking (Emirates C-173/07). See missed connection.

Check who flew the plane

BA says it is the operating airline's responsibility to pay. Finnair and BA are both in oneworld and share flights; Finnair flies Heathrow–Helsinki six times a day. If Finnair operated your flight under a BA number, the claim normally goes to Finnair. See Finnair rejected your claim. A Danish court went further in October 2023: where BA had issued the tickets and flown part of the trip, passengers could sue BA over a leg American Airlines operated.

What BA says, and what the rules say back

BA's own list. BA names air traffic control decisions, political instability, bad weather and security risks as extraordinary circumstances. Even when the event is real, BA must show it did everything reasonable to get you there, including on other airlines (LE v TAP C-74/19). See extraordinary circumstances.

The Heathrow fire. On 21 March 2025 a fire and power cut closed Heathrow, and BA and SAS flights between Norway and London were cancelled (flysmart24). An airport closure can be extraordinary. Ask when BA offered you a new flight.

Strikes and IT failures. A strike by BA's own staff is not extraordinary (Airhelp v SAS C-28/20). BA's pilots struck on 9 and 10 September 2019 and almost every flight was cancelled. BA has also cancelled all Heathrow flights after failures in its own IT systems, on 27 May 2017 and again in February 2022. If BA blames "technical issues", ask whether the fault was in its own systems. See strike cancellation and technical fault.

Knock-on from another airline. BA won one Norwegian case: on Bergen–London–Madrid, a missed connection caused by an American Airlines emergency at Heathrow was accepted (flysmart24, 8 May 2018).

How to claim from British Airways

• Where: BA's feedback and claims portal. Choose "Raise a new case" and use your booking reference. By post: British Airways Customer Relations, EU Compensation Claims, PO Box 1126, Uxbridge UB8 9XS, United Kingdom.
• Answer time: BA says only that it will respond "as soon as possible". No deadline is stated. See EU261 time limits in the Nordics.
• For others: you need a signed letter of authority from every passenger in the claim.
• Language: live chat is English only.
• Separate tickets: BA will not help with a connection you booked separately with another airline.
• Avios or vouchers: in 2016 BA offered a passenger 38,000 Avios instead of €600 (Head for Points). You can insist on money: a voucher needs your signed agreement. See voucher instead of compensation.

Does BA follow the boards?

Not always. BA was among the airlines on Norway's Transportklagenemnda list of decisions not followed in October 2023. In Sweden it was on Råd & Rön's black list in 2016 and 2018, once for removing a booking without notice and then denying boarding. It is not named in the list summaries from August 2025 to August 2026.

Step by step

1. Check the direction. Only flights from the Nordics to the UK, or one-booking journeys that started in the Nordics, are covered by EU261.
2. Claim through the portal. Claim the amount per passenger in money, and ask for the delay code, the timeline and the evidence.
3. Wait for the answer: about 4 weeks in Sweden and Norway, 6 weeks in Denmark. See airline not responding.
4. Go to the board for the country you flew from. In Sweden, ARN may decline a non-resident's complaint about a non-Swedish airline. In Denmark, Trafikstyrelsen with MitID. In Norway, Transportklagenemnda via www.reiselivsforum.no. In Finland, KRIL; BA is a UK airline, so contact ECC Finland first. See the Nordic complaint boards.
5. Court if BA ignores the decision.

When it is worth it, and when not

Strong: a BA staff strike, a failure in BA's own systems, a technical fault, and a missed connection in London on one booking from the Nordics.

Not covered by EU261: a flight from London to the Nordics, or the long-haul return through London. Weaker: a documented airport closure where BA rebooked you quickly. Not sure? Try the rejection checker.

Appeal My Flight writes the reply to BA and the board complaint for €29 per booking, however many passengers. You send it yourself and keep the payout. We cannot promise an outcome.

FAQ

Our BA flight from London to Oslo was 4 hours late. Can you help?

Not under EU261. The flight left the UK on a UK airline, so the UK rules apply instead. We only handle EU261.

Our BA flight from Copenhagen to London was cancelled. Is that EU261?

Yes. It departed the EU, so EU261 covers it, whatever the airline.

BA says Finnair flew our flight. Who pays?

Normally the operating airline, here Finnair. Check "operated by" on your booking.

Got the airline's reply? Paste it into the rejection checker and see what EU court rulings say about their excuse.