More than half a million people could be owed up to £420 for flight delays endured over the past year, research suggests.
Analysis of airline data found 9,000 flights, carrying an estimated 900,000 people, were delayed longer than three hours between June 2014 and May this year.
Passengers who are more than three hours late to their destination can claim £281 (€400) for short-haul or £420 (€600) for long-haul flights, apart from in "extraordinary" circumstances that are out of the airline's control, such as bad weather or strikes.
But research by consumer group Which? found fewer than four in 10 of its members who suffered a delay had claimed.
The survey indicates that as many as 558,000 people may have neglected to submit claims and could be owed money.
Richard Lloyd, executive director of Which?, said: "Flight delays are a disappointing and stressful reality for people travelling abroad this summer.
"The last thing you need is a long wait at the airport, but sadly this is going to be the case for many holidaymakers.
"We are urging people to hold their airline to account and claim the compensation they are rightly owed if they have a lengthy delay."
Under EU rules, passengers are entitled to submit claims for flight delays dating back six years. Airlines have been criticised for exploiting the exceptional circumstances rules. In some cases customers have been told that a technical fault with an aircraft had rendered the claim invalid.
Last year the Supreme Court decided that people could claim for delays caused by technical faults, opening the door to an estimated two million claim worth billions of pounds.
Which? analysed 1.7 million flights over the year to May and found the worst British airport for delays of three hours or more was London Gatwick, with 2,134.
On short haul flights, passengers were most likely to experience delays of over three hours travelling with Vueling, Monarch or Thomas Cook, the Civil Aviation Authority data showed.
Pakistan International Airlines, Air India or American Airlines were named as the long-haul operators with the largest number of delays longer than three hours.
Read news in full 08/08/15 Dan Hyde/Telegraph
Analysis of airline data found 9,000 flights, carrying an estimated 900,000 people, were delayed longer than three hours between June 2014 and May this year.
Passengers who are more than three hours late to their destination can claim £281 (€400) for short-haul or £420 (€600) for long-haul flights, apart from in "extraordinary" circumstances that are out of the airline's control, such as bad weather or strikes.
But research by consumer group Which? found fewer than four in 10 of its members who suffered a delay had claimed.
The survey indicates that as many as 558,000 people may have neglected to submit claims and could be owed money.
Richard Lloyd, executive director of Which?, said: "Flight delays are a disappointing and stressful reality for people travelling abroad this summer.
"The last thing you need is a long wait at the airport, but sadly this is going to be the case for many holidaymakers.
"We are urging people to hold their airline to account and claim the compensation they are rightly owed if they have a lengthy delay."
Under EU rules, passengers are entitled to submit claims for flight delays dating back six years. Airlines have been criticised for exploiting the exceptional circumstances rules. In some cases customers have been told that a technical fault with an aircraft had rendered the claim invalid.
Last year the Supreme Court decided that people could claim for delays caused by technical faults, opening the door to an estimated two million claim worth billions of pounds.
Which? analysed 1.7 million flights over the year to May and found the worst British airport for delays of three hours or more was London Gatwick, with 2,134.
On short haul flights, passengers were most likely to experience delays of over three hours travelling with Vueling, Monarch or Thomas Cook, the Civil Aviation Authority data showed.
Pakistan International Airlines, Air India or American Airlines were named as the long-haul operators with the largest number of delays longer than three hours.
Read news in full 08/08/15 Dan Hyde/Telegraph
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