New data from Bott and Co reveals a growing trend among airlines delaying compensation payments that passengers are legally entitled to receive, often forcing customers into lengthy legal proceedings before claims are settled.
The findings, based on flight compensation claims submitted to Bott and Co in 2025, show that for many major airlines, compensation is increasingly only being paid after legal proceedings have been issued.
Airlines Requiring Court Action Before Paying Compensation
The table below shows the percentage of claims where airlines only settled after Bott and Co issued court proceedings on behalf of clients. The figures include airlines with more than 110 claims submitted in 2025.
Percentage of claims paid only after court proceedings were issued
| Airline | Percentage Of Claims |
|---|---|
| Air India Limited | 99% |
| Aer Lingus Limited | 92% |
| Wizz Air Hungary Ltd. | 87% |
| Wizz Air UK | 73% |
| Deutsche Lufthansa AG | 66% |
| British Airways | 61% |
| KLM Royal Dutch Airlines | 58% |
| TUI Airways | 20% |
| Qatar Airways (W.L.L.) | 19% |
| Emirates | 18% |
| Turkish Airlines Inc. | 13% |
| Easyjet Airline Company Limited | 12% |
| Jet2.com | 3% |
The data highlights a significant shift in how airlines are handling compensation claims.
Over the past two years, more than half of all claims handled by Bott and Co were only paid after court proceedings had been issued. This marks a substantial change compared to 2016, shortly after landmark Supreme Court rulings clarified passenger rights, when fewer than a quarter of claims required court intervention.
British Airways Among Airlines Seeing Sharp Decline
The figures reveal considerable variation between airlines when it comes to handling valid compensation claims.
British Airways saw one of the sharpest deteriorations, with the proportion of claims settled only after court action increasing from 35% in 2024 to 61% in 2025.
Air India recorded the worst overall settlement rate without court proceedings, with 99% of claims only being paid after legal action was initiated. While this represented a slight improvement from the previous year, it still placed the airline at the bottom of the rankings.
Aer Lingus also remained among the worst performers. Although the airline improved marginally from 100% in 2024 to 92% in 2025, the vast majority of passengers still required legal proceedings before receiving compensation.
Wizz Air Hungary and Wizz Air UK also continued to show high rates of post-court settlements, at 87% and 73% respectively.
Some Airlines Showing Signs of Improvement
Not all airlines moved in the wrong direction.
EasyJet reduced its rate of post-court settlements from 29% in 2024 to 12% in 2025, while TUI halved its figure from 40% to 20%.
Lufthansa also made notable progress, reducing its post-court settlement rate from 97% to 66%, although it still remains among the poorer performers overall.
Turkish Airlines significantly improved from 24% to 13%, and Emirates continued its positive trend, reducing from 29% to 18%.
Jet2 remained the strongest performer overall, with only 3% of claims requiring court proceedings before payment was made, improving slightly from 4% in 2024.
However, some airlines moved in the opposite direction. KLM increased from 55% to 58%, while Qatar Airways rose from 12% to 19%.
Why Legal Support Is Becoming Increasingly Important
The findings reinforce the growing importance of specialist legal representation for passengers pursuing flight compensation claims.
While consumers should, in principle, be able to recover compensation directly from airlines without legal assistance, the data suggests that many airlines are increasingly delaying or refusing to pay valid claims unless formal legal action is taken.
This effectively shifts the burden onto passengers, many of whom may not have the time, confidence or resources to navigate the court process themselves.
Coby Benson, Solicitor at Bott and Co, said:
“Airlines’ growing reliance on litigation as a barrier to payment makes specialist representation essential for many people. Our role is to remove the hassle, complexity and financial risk, ensuring customers receive the compensation they are entitled to.
Without legal intervention, passengers are often left to navigate the court system themselves, which can be time-consuming, complex and costly, or they may simply give up pursuing what they are owed.
No Win, No Fee Flight Compensation Claims
Bott and Co handles flight compensation claims on a no win, no fee basis, meaning passengers face no upfront costs or financial risk when pursuing compensation, even where court proceedings are required.