How much compensation for a delayed UK to South Africa flight?
£520 each, if you land 3 hours or more late
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Flights between the UK and South Africa are worse than most of the 71 countries the UK flies to most for 3-hour delays.
- Flights a year
- 3,960
- Routes tracked
- 3
- Land 3 hrs or more late
- 40a year
Last 12 months, CAA data
What you're owed
£520each if you land 3 hours or more late
Every route the CAA tracks between the UK and South Africa falls in the same distance band (Over 3,500 km), so a delay of 3 hours or more pays a flat £520 each if the flight left the UK (€600 under EU261 if it left South Africa instead and the airline was a UK or EU carrier). Find your route below.
| Route | 3 hours or more pays |
|---|---|
| Heathrow → Johannesburg | £520each |
| Heathrow → Cape Town | £520each |
| Gatwick → Cape Town | £520each |
All 3 tracked UK ↔ South Africa routes, sorted by yearly flight volume. Figures are each; the EU version of the law pays €600 for the same band.
The figure is payable only when the delay was within the airline's control. A technical fault, a crew shortage or a late inbound aircraft all count; genuinely extraordinary circumstances such as severe weather or an air traffic control restriction do not.
How bad is it
Do flights between the UK and South Africa get delayed a lot?
Yes, more than most. They're worse than most of the 71 countries the UK flies to most, with 1.0% of flights landing 3 or more hours late.
That works out at about 40 flights a year crossing the 3-hour line, which is the point the airline has to pay.
When is it worst?
July 2025, when flights between the UK and South Africa ran an average of 34.9 minutes late.
See all the numbers for South Africa
In the last 12 months, 3,960 flights operated between the UK and South Africa: 81.7% ran within 15 minutes of schedule, and 1.0% were 3 or more hours late, roughly 40 flights' worth of eligible passengers in a year. The CAA's figures don't separate arrivals from departures, so this covers the corridor both ways.
Flights are landing on time less often than last year: 81.7% ran on time against 82.3% in the twelve months before, and the average delay rose from 15.2 to 15.3 minutes.
Flights (12mo)
3,960
On time
81.7%
▼ 0.6pts vs last year
Avg delay
15.3 min
▲ 0.1 min vs last year
3 hours or more late
1.0%
Cancelled
1.0%
South Africa, month by month
Worst month: July 2025, averaging 34.9 minutes.
Busiest routes between the UK and South Africa
Where you fly from
UK airports flying to South Africa
Who flies there
Airlines flying between the UK and South Africa
| Airline | 3 hours or more late | Landed on time |
|---|---|---|
| British Airways | 1.3% | 80.0% |
| Virgin Atlantic | 0.3% | 89.9% |
| Norse Atlantic UK | 1.4% | 65.7% |
Your rights
Your rights on this corridor
Every flight leaving the UK for South Africa is covered by UK law, whichever airline operates it. Flights the other way, landing in the UK from South Africa, are covered too if a UK or EU airline operated them; a return flight on a non-UK, non-EU carrier falls outside it, though the Montreal Convention and South Africa's own rules may still give you a claim. See the full breakdown on the 3-hour rule. Cancelled instead of delayed? Broadly the same amounts apply under different conditions. See cancelled flight compensation.
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Airlines flying to South Africa
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Source: UK Civil Aviation Authority punctuality statistics, July 2025 to June 2026. Analysis by CheckFlightCompensation; the CAA is credited as the data source as its publication conditions require. Figures cover the 25 largest UK airports. Methodology and limitations.