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How much compensation for a delayed Heathrow to Abu Dhabi International flight?

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£520each if you land 3 hours or more late

This route is better than most of Britain's 200 busiest routes for 3-hour delays.

Flights a year
2,986
Distance apart
5,516 km
Land 3 hrs or more late
9a year

Last 12 months, CAA data

What you're owed

Leaving Heathrow

£520each under UK law

Leaving Abu Dhabi International

£520each under UK law

Abu Dhabi International is outside the UK and EU, so coming back this only applies if a UK or EU airline operated the flight.

Either 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.

Heathrow and Abu Dhabi International are 5,516 km apart (Over 3,500 km), and that distance is all that decides the amount. Which figure applies depends only on which end of the route you departed from, not which way you were travelling.

How many were on the booking

£520 each. £2,080 for a family of four.

£520 just you
£1,040 two of you
£2,080 a family of four

Everyone with their own seat is paid, children included.

What it pays

Every way a Heathrow to Abu Dhabi International flight can pay you

Find the line that matches what happened to you. Past 4 hours the amount stops changing, because it is the distance that sets the price, not the wait.

What you get What happened
£520each You landed 4 hours or more late Counted from when the doors opened at Abu Dhabi International, not from when you left Heathrow. About 9 flights a year on this route land 3 hours or more late.
£260each You landed between 3 and 4 hours late On a flight this far the first hour past 3 pays half. Past 4 hours it is the full amount.
£520each plus your money back or a new flight Cancelled, and they told you less than 2 weeks before Count the days from when they told you to the day you were meant to fly. Found out at the airport? That counts. If they put you on another flight, this is still owed unless that flight left and landed close to your original times. About 72 flights a year on this route are cancelled.
£520each £260 if they get you there quickly They bumped you off a full flight This one is owed the moment it happens, before you fly, and the airline cannot make you take a voucher instead. It halves to £260 if the flight they put you on gets you there within 4 hours of your original arrival time.
£520each sometimes more You missed your next flight and got in 3 hours late Judged on when you reached your final stop, not on this leg. One ticket for the whole trip means the money is worked out on the whole trip, so a longer leg can pay more.
£520each You were flying home from Abu Dhabi International Abu Dhabi International is outside the UK and EU, so coming back only counts if a UK or EU airline operated the flight.
Your ticket money back They cancelled and you did not travel at all Paid in money within a week, not vouchers, and you get it whatever notice they gave you.
Food and drinks You waited 4 hours or more at the airport On a flight this far it starts at 4 hours, whatever caused the delay. Keep the receipts.
A hotel and a taxi You were stuck overnight The airline pays for the room and for getting to it. Keep the receipts.
Nothing A big storm or an air traffic hold stopped the flight Airlines blame the weather a lot and are often wrong, so it is still worth putting the flight in.

How close the replacement flight has to be before a cancellation stops paying.

How bad is this route

Does this route get delayed a lot?

No, less than most. It's better than most of Britain's 200 busiest routes, with about 1 flight in 330 landing 3 or more hours late (0.3%).

That works out at about 9 flights a year crossing the 3-hour line, which is the point the airline has to pay.

When is it worst?

May 2026, when flights on this route ran an average of 31.6 minutes late.

From our own tracking

Recent delays on this route

We log every arrival that runs 3 or more hours late or gets cancelled at the airports we sweep, and this route has not had one since we started tracking in August. That is a good sign rather than a gap. Today is not in that log yet, so if you are flying it now, check it live below.

See all the numbers for this route

In the last 12 months, 2,986 flights operated between Heathrow and Abu Dhabi International, and 0.3% were 3 or more hours late, the threshold where £520 each becomes payable under UK261 (€600 under EU261).

Flights are landing on time less often than last year: 73.9% ran on time against 76.8% in the twelve months before, and the average delay rose from 13 to 13.7 minutes.

Heathrow to Abu Dhabi International, last 12 months
Heathrow to Abu Dhabi International, last 12 months Figure vs year before
Flights on this route 2,986 was 3,439
Ran on time (within 15 min) 73.9% ▼ was 76.8%
Average delay 13.7 min ▲ was 13 min
3 hours or more late (the line where they pay) 0.3% -
Cancelled 2.4% -
Flights 3 hours or more late (a year) 9 flights/year -

The CAA's figures don't separate arrivals from departures, so this covers the route both ways.

Heathrow to Abu Dhabi International, month by month

10.7m
6.5m
19m
11.1m
6.4m
12.3m
12.6m
5.6m
24.1m
20.8m
31.6m
14.2m
JulAugSepOctNovDecJanFebMarAprMayJun

Worst month: May 2026, averaging 31.6 minutes.

Airlines on this route

Airlines flying this route

Airline 3 hrs or
more late		 Landed on time
Etihad Airways 0.3% 72.6%
British Airways <0.5% 88.4%

Your rights

Your rights on this route

Every flight leaving Heathrow for Abu Dhabi International is covered by UK law, whichever airline operates it. Flights the other way, leaving Abu Dhabi International for Heathrow, are covered too if a UK or EU airline operated them; a flight that way on a non-UK, non-EU carrier falls outside it, though the Montreal Convention 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. Flying somewhere else in United Arab Emirates? See every route between the UK and United Arab Emirates.

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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.