How to Claim Qantas Flight Compensation

If your Qantas flight departed from a UK airport and arrived 3 or more hours late, you could be owed £220 to £520 (€250 to €600) under UK261. The direction of travel is what decides it.  Qantas is an Australian airline, so a flight into the UK or EU is not covered, but a flight out of one is. So, flying London to Perth and arriving 12 hours late, is eligible for up to £520 per passenger. SkyRefund works on a no-win, no-fee basis and can check your flight in under two minutes.

Below we break down exactly where the line falls, what your Qantas flight number tells you about who actually owes you the money, and how to claim.

Are Qantas flights eligible for compensation for delays?

Yes, but only on flights that depart from a UK or EU airport. Under UK261 and its European equivalent EU261, any airline flying out of a covered airport owes compensation when a passenger arrives 3 or more hours late for a reason within the airline’s control. Nationality of the airline is irrelevant on the departure side. It becomes decisive on the arrival side.

Which Qantas flights are eligible for compensation?

UK261 protects you if your Qantas flight departs from any UK airport. EU261 works the same way for departures from the EU, EEA and Switzerland. In practice that gives you a simple test for flight delay compensation on Qantas:

One trap catches people out on return bookings. Each flight is assessed on its own departure airport, not the journey as a whole. A London–Perth–London return on a single ticket is covered on the way out and not on the way back. Same booking reference, same airline, same aircraft type, two different legal answers.

Qantas has been reshuffling its European schedule through 2026. The westbound Perth–London service was rerouted via Singapore in March 2026 and renumbered QF209, while the Sydney–Paris and Perth–Rome services have changed frequency and routing several times. None of this changes the rule. Alwats, check the departure airport on your ticket.

How long does a Qantas flight have to be delayed?

Three hours or more, measured at arrival. The threshold comes from the Sturgeon ruling (C-402/07 and C-432/07, 2009), which is retained in UK law. What counts is when the aircraft doors open at your final destination, not when you pushed back from the gate. A flight that leaves Heathrow four hours late but makes up two hours in the air will not qualify. A flight that leaves 90 minutes late and then diverts, arriving four hours late, will.

How much compensation for a Qantas flight delay?

The amount depends on the great-circle distance of your flight, not on how long you were delayed beyond the three-hour mark.

Every Qantas-operated route between Europe and Australia sits comfortably in the top band. London Heathrow to Perth is 14,508 km and London Heathrow to Sydney is 17,020 km, so a qualifying delay on either is worth £520 (€600) per passenger. That applies to each person on the booking, including children on their own seat.

You can check your specific flight with the flight compensation calculator rather than working out the distance yourself.

Your right to care during a Qantas delay

Separate from compensation, Qantas must look after you while you wait. The right to care is a distinct entitlement: Article 6 sets when the duty is triggered, Article 9 sets what you are owed. It applies even when the delay is caused by extraordinary circumstances and no compensation is owed.

Care kicks in after 2 to 4 hour delays depending on the distance of the flight. For all Qantas long-haul departures from Europe care starts after 4 hours of waiting at the airport. 

You are owed meals and refreshments proportionate to the wait, two free phone calls or emails, and hotel accommodation plus transfers if you are kept overnight. If Qantas fails to provide these and you pay yourself, keep the receipts. Those costs are recoverable on top of any compensation.

Does Qantas pay compensation for a cancelled flight?

Yes, if you were told less than 14 days before departure and the cancellation was within the Qantas' control. The same distance bands apply as for delays, and you can claim flight cancellation compensation on any Qantas flight departing the UK or EU.

The 14-day rule

Qantas’s own cancellation policy governs refunds, credits and rebooking. It does not override your statutory rights, and the two are not the same thing — the section below sets out what Qantas’s policy actually says and where UK261 gives you more.

Compensation is owed unless one of the following applies:

• You were told 14 days or more before departure. No compensation is due.
• You were told 7 to 14 days before, and were re-routed departing no more than 2 hours early and arriving less than 4 hours late.
• You were told less than 7 days before, and were re-routed departing no more than 1 hour early and arriving less than 2 hours late.

If the replacement flight Qantas puts you on gets you there later than those windows allow, the compensation stands. Where you accept rebooking and still arrive late, the airline may reduce the payment by 50%, but only if your arrival delay stays under 2 hours (short-haul), 3 hours (medium-haul) or 4 hours (long-haul).

How much compensation for a Qantas cancellation?

Compensation and a refund are different things and you should not accept one being described as the other. If your flight is cancelled you can choose between a full refund of the unused portion of your ticket or re-routing to your destination. Compensation for the disruption is paid on top. Our guide to flight refunds versus flight compensation explains where the line falls.

Can you claim Qantas denied boarding compensation?

Yes. If you are involuntarily denied boarding on a Qantas flight departing the UK or EU, compensation is immediate and paid at the same £220 / £350 / £520 rates, with no three-hour delay threshold to meet. You are also entitled to a refund or re-routing, and to care while you wait.

Airlines will typically ask for volunteers first and offer vouchers or upgrades in exchange. If you accept that offer, you give up your statutory claim to compensation. If you decline and are offloaded anyway, your full entitlement to denied boarding compensation remains intact. Ask for written confirmation that you were denied boarding and the reason given, before you leave the airport.

Overbooking is the usual cause, but not the only one. Being offloaded because Qantas swapped to a smaller aircraft is still denied boarding. A weight restriction on an ultra-long-haul sector may also count, though airlines sometimes argue that payload limits are a safety matter, which the regulation treats differently. Either way, ask for the reason in writing and have it assessed rather than assuming you have no claim. The guide to overbooked flight compensation covers how overbooked claims are handled.

What happens if you miss a connection in Singapore?

If your whole journey is on a single booking, compensation is calculated on how late you arrive at your final destination, not on the delay to the first leg. This matters enormously on Qantas, because almost every Europe–Australia itinerary now involves a stop.

For example, your flight leaves Heathrow two hours late, you miss the onward service in Singapore, and you land in Sydney the following day, you have a claim worth £520 (€600) even though the first leg alone would not have qualified. The critical condition is the single reservation. Two separately booked tickets are treated as two journeys, and the missed connection between them is your own risk. See our guide to claiming missed connection compensation for the full picture.

The point is settled law in the UK. In Gahan v Emirates and Buckley and Others v Emirates [2017] EWCA Civ 1530, the Court of Appeal held that a non-EU airline flying out of Britain is liable for the total delay across connecting sectors, including a leg flown entirely outside Europe. The Buckley family flew Manchester to Dubai to Sydney on one Emirates booking. Their first leg was only 2 hours 4 minutes late, below the threshold, but they missed the connection and reached Sydney 16 hours 39 minutes late. They were awarded compensation on the whole journey, and the Supreme Court refused Emirates permission to appeal in March 2018.

How do I claim flight compensation from Qantas?

Step 1: Check your eligibility

Confirm three things: that your flight departed a UK or EU airport, that you arrived at your final destination 3 or more hours late (or were cancelled inside 14 days, or denied boarding), and that the cause was within the airline’s control. Then check the flight number to identify the operating carrier. Our flight compensation checker does the distance and band calculation for you.

Step 2: Gather your documents

You will need your boarding pass, your booking confirmation showing the full itinerary and any “operated by” line, any correspondence from the airline about the disruption, receipts for meals, transport or accommodation you paid for yourself, and written proof of involuntary denied boarding if that applies.

Step 3: Submit your claim

Go to SkyRefund and submit your claim as soon as you can. SkyRefund handles the correspondence, the escalation and the legal work from there, including identifying and pursuing the correct operating carrier.

You have 6 years to bring a claim in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, and 5 years in Scotland. That is generous compared with most of Europe, but evidence gets harder to assemble over time, so there is no advantage in waiting. Our guide to the time limit for flight delay compensation covers the position in other countries.

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When can’t you claim Qantas compensation?

Compensation is not owed when the disruption was caused by extraordinary circumstances the airline could not have avoided even after taking all reasonable measures. The test comes from Wallentin-Hermann (C-549/07, 2008). Your right to care survives regardless.

Circumstances that usually block a claim:

• Severe weather
• Air traffic control restrictions or strikes
• Airspace closures
• Bird strikes and other wildlife collisions
• Security alerts, political unrest and medical emergencies on board
• Strikes by airport staff who are not employed by the airline

Circumstances that aren't considered extraordinary:

• Strikes by the airline’s own pilots or cabin crew
• Technical problems arising from routine maintenance or ordinary wear
• Crew shortages, rostering failures and knock-on delays from an earlier flight
• Commercial decisions such as consolidating two thinly booked flights

A very useful piece of information which makes the claiming process simpler is that Qantas' own policy includes a list of disruptions it treats as within its control: engineering issues, its own IT outages, baggage delays caused by resourcing, late catering, and crew or staffing problems. This is published in relation to the disruptions Qantas provides care.  

That list maps almost exactly onto what UK261 refuses to accept as extraordinary circumstances. If your Heathrow departure was cancelled for a technical fault or a crew shortage and the rejection letter calls it extraordinary, Qantas’s own published policy classifies that same cause as within its control.

Qantas cancellation policy explained

Two entirely separate systems decide what you get when a Qantas booking falls apart, and which one applies depends on who did the cancelling.

• You cancel. Qantas’s fare rules apply. What you get back depends on the fare type you bought, and it may be nothing beyond taxes.
• Qantas cancels. Your statutory rights apply, and on a flight departing the UK or EU those rights are worth far more than the policy.

Passengers routinely read the fare rules, conclude they are owed nothing, and never claim. The fare rules are the wrong document for a disruption that Qantas caused.

If you cancel: Flight Credit or refund

Qantas cancellations are handled in Manage Booking, where you request either a Flight Credit or a refund. Which options appear depends on your fare type, so check the fare rules on your ticket before you cancel anything.

Refunds go back to the original form of payment. Keep in mind that,

• Cancelling applies to everyone on the booking. To cancel for one passenger, you must first separate them into their own booking reference.
• Extras are not included. Pre-selected seats, pre-purchased baggage and carbon offset payments are cancelled with the flight but their value is excluded from your credit or refund. They sit under their own terms and have to be pursued separately.
• Points bookings follow reward rules, not fare rules. Cancel a Flight Reward before travel starts and a points cancellation fee applies, with your points and taxes returned.

Booked through a travel agent or an online travel agency? Qantas will direct you back to them.

Additionally, if you book at qantas.com or in the Qantas app and spot an error, Qantas will waive change and service fees on the fix until midnight on the day you booked, in your own timezone. You will have to cover the difference in fare and the change Any fare increase is still yours to pay, and changes depend on availability. 

If Qantas cancels: what the policy gives you

Qantas will rebook you on the next available Qantas flight to your booked destination at no extra cost, or refund you if you no longer want to travel. Where the disruption falls within 72 hours of departure, it commits to rebooking you without charge on the next available flight that works for you.

Its policy sets out five situations creating a refund entitlement: the flight is cancelled and no suitable alternative can be offered; the delay is bad enough that you abandon the trip; a significant schedule change can’t be resolved with an acceptable alternative; Qantas causes you to miss a connecting Qantas flight; or Qantas can’t carry you despite a confirmed reservation. Qantas says it processes 90% of refunds within a week and asks you to make contact if nothing has arrived after four weeks.

Smaller entitlements worth knowing: refunds for seats and extra baggage on a cancelled flight can be claimed online, and a complimentary lounge invitation is reinstated to unused status if your flight is delayed or cancelled up to 24 hours before departure.

Is Qantas a good airline?

Australia's government statistics bureau, BITRE, recorded Qantas at 84.5% on-time domestic arrivals and 87.8% on-time domestic departures for May 2026, with 1.4% of flights cancelled — ahead of the 82.1% industry average.

Qantas is Australia's flag carrier, founded in Winton, Queensland in November 1920 and one of the oldest airlines still flying. It is a founding member of oneworld and runs a dual-brand group: full-service Qantas, low-cost Jetstar, and regional QantasLink — which is why the operating carrier on a QF ticket matters so much.

It has flown the Kangaroo Route to London since the 1940s and launched the first non-stop Perth–London service in March 2018. Its Project Sunrise A350-1000s are intended to fly Sydney–London non-stop; whenever those begin, the London-departing leg will fall under UK261 exactly as today's flights do.

Tips for dealing with a disrupted Qantas flight

• Check who operated the flight before you write to anyone. Look for the “operated by” line on your booking. A QF3000 or QF8000 number means a partner airline is liable, not Qantas.
• Time your arrival, not your departure. Our experts consistently point out that claims are decided on when you reached your final destination.
• Get the reason in writing at the airport. An email or app notification naming the cause is worth a great deal.
• Think before accepting a goodwill voucher as a settlement. Travel credit offered “as compensation” can usually be lower than the amout of compensation you're eligible for.
• Keep every receipt. Right-to-care costs are recoverable separately from compensation, and are frequently forgotten.
• Photograph the departures board. Timestamped evidence of the delay is simple to capture and hard to dispute.

Why SkyRefund?

With a 98% success rate, SkyRefund makes claiming flight compensation hassle-free, which is why it is trusted by over 1.6M passengers.

Since 2017 we have helped passengers worldwide exercise their rights and claim the compensation they are entitled to, in 12 languages and across 6 jurisdictions. SkyRefund works on a no-win, no-fee basis, and our standard fee is 35% of the total compensation amount.

To get started, you can use the flight compensation checker. This makes it easy to see how much you could be entitled to without doing the hard maths, and once you have determined your eligibility, you can easily submit a claim and leave it in the hands of the SkyRefund team.

Frequently asked questions

Can I claim compensation for a Qantas flight from Perth to London?

No. UK261 covers flights departing a UK airport, or flights arriving in the UK operated by a UK or EU airline. Qantas is Australian, so a flight from Perth or Sydney into London falls outside both limbs and no fixed compensation is due. The reverse journey, London to Perth, is covered because it departs a UK airport.

How much compensation can I get for a delayed Qantas flight?

Between £220 and £520 (€250 to €600) per passenger, depending on the great-circle distance of the flight. Every Qantas route between Europe and Australia is over 3,500 km, so a qualifying delay on London to Perth or London to Sydney is worth the full £520 (€600). The flight must have arrived 3 or more hours late for a reason within the airline’s control.

My Qantas flight was operated by British Airways. Who do I claim from?

British Airways. Under UK261 and EU261 the operating carrier is liable, not the airline whose code appears on your ticket. Qantas flight numbers between QF3000 and QF4999 are codeshares flown by international partners, and QF8000 to QF8999 are flown by Emirates, Air New Zealand, LATAM or Cathay Pacific. Check the “operated by” line on your booking confirmation.

Does Qantas have to pay if my flight is cancelled?

Yes, if you were told less than 14 days before departure, the flight departed the UK or EU, and the cause was within the airline’s control. You can also choose between a full refund of the unused ticket and re-routing to your destination, and that choice is separate from the compensation.

Is there flight compensation for Qantas domestic flights in Australia?

No fixed compensation, no. Australia has no equivalent to UK261 or EU261. A package of four Aviation Consumer Protection Bills was introduced to the Australian Parliament on 1 April 2026 and would create an Aviation Consumer Protection Authority, a Consumer Protections Charter and an ombuds scheme. Even as drafted, it does not create EU-style fixed compensation, and the Law Council of Australia noted in its submission that the ombudsperson’s determinations carry no express provision for monetary compensation. Australian Consumer Law remedies and Qantas’s own conditions of carriage still apply.

Is Qantas a safe airline?

Yes, Qantas is considered one of the safest airlines in the world. The Australian carrier ranked 3rd in our ranking of the safest airlines based on factors like incident rate, excellent risk-management systems, international safety audits, and their long-term safety record. 

Can I get a refund if I cancel my own Qantas flight?

It depends entirely on your fare type. If the fare’s cancellation conditions permit a refund, you get the airfare for untravelled flights plus applicable taxes, less cancellation and service fees. If they do not, only the taxes come back and you are usually offered a Flight Credit instead — and redeeming that credit still means paying your original fare type’s change fees plus any fare difference. Qantas’s “same day, no mistake” policy is a fee waiver for correcting booking errors until midnight on the day you booked, not a risk-free cancellation window. None of this applies when Qantas cancels the flight, in which case you can claim under UK261 or EU261.

How long do I have to claim compensation from Qantas?

Six years in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, and five years in Scotland, under UK limitation law rather than the regulation itself. Claims under EU261 are governed by the national law of the relevant member state and the deadlines vary widely, from around two years upward.

Can I claim for delayed or damaged baggage on Qantas?

Yes, but under the Montreal Convention rather than UK261, and for proven losses rather than a flat sum. The liability limit is 1,519 SDR per passenger, roughly £1,580 (€1,850) as an indicative conversion in August 2026. You must complain in writing within 7 days for damaged baggage and 21 days for delayed baggage, and any court action must be brought within 2 years. See our guide to the Montreal Convention.

Reviewed by: Tsvetelina Botseva, Legal Counsel at SkyRefund

Last reviewed: 20 August 2026