How to Prove a Flight Delay at Arrival for an EU261 Claim
EU261 compensation is triggered by arrival delay — specifically when the aircraft door opens at the destination, compared to the scheduled arrival time. This guide shows you exactly how to find and document that time.
Quick answer
The best free sources are FlightAware.com and FlightStats.com — search by flight number and date to get the actual gate arrival time. Compare against the scheduled arrival on your booking confirmation. If the difference is 3 hours or more, you qualify for EU261 compensation.
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The Arrival Time Rule: What Counts
Many passengers make the mistake of measuring delay from the departure gate. Under EU261, delay is measured at the final destination arrival — specifically, when the first aircraft door is opened so passengers can disembark (confirmed by the CJEU in Germanwings v Pauels, C-452/13).
This means a flight can depart 2 hours late but still arrive within 3 hours of schedule if it made up time in the air — and therefore not qualify. Conversely, a flight that departs on time but circles or sits on the tarmac at arrival may qualify even though it departed on schedule.
Always use gate arrival time at the destination — not landing time, not departure time.
Evidence Sources Ranked by Quality
Free. Look up any flight by number + date. Shows gate departure, wheels-up, wheels-down, gate arrival. Use 'Track Flight' history. Available for most commercial flights for several years.
Free tier available. Historical flight data by flight number and date. Shows 'actual gate arrival' time which is the legally relevant time for EU261.
Free account shows recent flights; older historical data requires premium subscription. Useful for cross-referencing.
If the airline sent you a notification showing the new expected arrival time, save it. This is an admission from the airline itself.
Must show the flight number, expected or actual arrival time, and a timestamp. Screenshot from your phone's camera roll preserves EXIF metadata.
If the delay forced an overnight stay, the hotel check-in date and time is circumstantial evidence of the disruption length.
Request all operational data the airline holds about your booking. They must provide flight operations logs, including actual arrival time. Requires patience (30 days) but is definitive.
Step-by-Step: Using FlightAware
- Go to flightaware.com and click "Track Flight"
- Enter your flight number (e.g., BA123) and the date of travel
- Scroll down to "Flight Log" — this shows the timeline of the flight including gate departure and gate arrival
- Note the "Actual" arrival time — this is the gate arrival time used for EU261 calculations
- Compare it to the "Scheduled" arrival time shown on the same page
- Take a screenshot showing the flight number, date, scheduled arrival, and actual arrival
If the actual gate arrival is 3 or more hours after the scheduled arrival, you have a valid EU261 claim.
GDPR Data Request: The Definitive Method
If you can't find your flight in public tracking databases (e.g., the flight is several years old), you can request the airline's own operational records using a GDPR Data Subject Access Request (DSAR). Under GDPR:
- The airline must provide all personal data they hold about you within 30 days
- This includes booking records, check-in data, and operational logs for your specific flight
- Operational logs typically include actual gate arrival time at the destination
- The request is free and must be fulfilled by any EU/UK-regulated airline
Send your DSAR to the airline's Data Protection Officer (DPO) — the contact details are in their privacy policy.
Frequently Asked Questions
What time counts as 'arrival' under EU261?
The CJEU ruled in Germanwings v Pauels (C-452/13) that 'arrival time' for EU261 purposes is when at least one of the aircraft doors opens — i.e. when passengers are permitted to disembark. This is sometimes called 'gate arrival' or 'on-blocks' time. It is not wheels-down (landing time), which can be significantly earlier. FlightAware shows both — use the gate arrival time.
My flight was 2 hours 58 minutes late — does that qualify?
No. EU261 compensation requires at least 3 hours of arrival delay (not departure delay). A delay of 2:58 does not qualify for the flat-rate compensation under Article 7, though you may still have rights to care (meals, refreshments) during the wait. Check your actual arrival time against the scheduled arrival — if it's 3:00 or more, you qualify.
The airline says the delay was only 2 hours but I arrived 3.5 hours late — what do I do?
The airline may be quoting departure delay rather than arrival delay. Your claim is based on arrival delay. Use FlightAware or FlightStats to retrieve the actual gate arrival time and compare it to the scheduled arrival. If the data shows 3+ hours, submit that evidence with your claim and reject the airline's characterisation.
Can I use the FlightAware screenshot as legal evidence?
Yes. ADR bodies and courts routinely accept FlightAware or FlightStats screenshots as evidence of actual arrival time. Take a clear screenshot showing the flight number, date, scheduled arrival, and actual gate arrival. Label it clearly in your submission.
What if the flight data is no longer available on FlightAware?
FlightAware retains historical flight data for several years for free. For very old flights (5+ years), the data may be archived or unavailable for free users. In that case, use a GDPR data access request to the airline — they are legally required to provide operational records including arrival times.
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