Eastern Airways compensation after the airline's collapse
Eastern Airways was the regional carrier based at Humberside Airport in North Lincolnshire, flying routes such as Aberdeen–Wick and Newquay–London Gatwick and, from 2023, services to Paris from East Midlands and Southampton. It stopped flying on 27 October 2025, and on 6 November 2025 its operating company, Air Kilroe Limited, went into administration. We have handled claims for more than 20 Eastern passengers and we still take them on, so here is a straight answer on what can be recovered and from whom.
Eastern was a UK airline. Until 31 December 2020 every one of its flights fell under Regulation (EC) 261/2004. Since Brexit, the EU rules only bind it on flights departing from an EU airport, for example Paris to East Midlands. Domestic UK flights and departures from the UK come under UK261, the retained British version, which mirrors the EU scheme but pays in pounds.
Late arrival
Your Eastern flight reached its final destination three hours or more behind schedule, measured when the doors opened.
3 hours plusCancellation
You were told less than 14 days before departure, including the flights wiped out when operations stopped in October 2025.
Under 14 days' noticeBumped
You held a confirmed seat and turned up on time, but were kept off the aircraft against your will.
Due straight awayExclusions
Thick fog at Wick, a North Sea gale or a French air traffic control walkout: events beyond the airline's control, which it had to prove.
Extraordinary circumstancesUnsure whether your flight falls under EU or UK rules? Enter your Eastern Airways flight and we will work it out.
How much Eastern Airways owed: €250 or £220
Every Eastern route was under 1,500 km, so the lowest band always applies, whatever you paid for the ticket.
| Routes from our claims | Rules that apply | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Paris–Nottingham East Midlands, Paris–Southampton | EU Regulation (departure from the EU) | €250 |
| Nottingham East Midlands–Paris, Southampton–Paris | UK261 (departure from the UK) | £220 |
| Newquay–London Gatwick, Wick–Aberdeen | UK261 from 2021, EU Regulation up to 2020 | £220 or €250 |
The amount is per passenger, and children with their own seat count in full: a family of four on a Paris–Southampton flight landing three and a half hours late was owed €1,000 between them.
Delayed Eastern Airways flight: what you need for a claim now
More than half of the Eastern claims we handle are about delays, often on the Paris routes and on the Scottish services flown with Jetstream and ATR turboprops:
- Dig out your booking confirmation showing the T3 flight number: the Eastern website no longer works, so this is your main evidence.
- Keep the boarding pass, even as a PDF or photo, to prove you actually flew.
- Save the emails and texts announcing the delay or cancellation, together with the reason given.
- Hold on to receipts for food, taxis or a hotel you paid for yourself.
- Check how you paid: the CAA has pointed out that card payments may let you recover the fare for flights that never operated, for example under Section 75.
Care at the airport while you waited
| Flight distance | Care due after |
|---|---|
| Up to 1,500 km (the whole Eastern network) | 2 hours |
| 1,500 to 3,500 km | 3 hours |
| Over 3,500 km | 4 hours |
| Delay over 5 hours | You could abandon the trip and get your fare back |
Missed connections via Aberdeen or Paris
On a single booking, what counts is the delay at your final destination; with separate tickets each flight is judged on its own. More on our page about the delayed Eastern Airways flight.
Cancelled Eastern Airways flights, including October 2025
The suspension of 27 October 2025 cancelled every remaining flight overnight. Two separate rights are involved:
A flight that never left must be refunded. With the airline in administration, your card issuer or travel agent is usually the quickest route.
Due on top when notice was under 14 days, but it is now a claim against the administration.
| Notice of cancellation | Compensation |
|---|---|
| 14 days or more | No, only refund or rerouting |
| 7 to 13 days | Yes, unless the new flight left no more than 2 hours early and arrived less than 4 hours late |
| Under 7 days | Yes, unless the new flight left no more than 1 hour early and arrived less than 2 hours late |
Retimed flights. A big change to the departure time announced at short notice can count as a cancellation. See our page on the cancelled Eastern Airways flight.
Eastern Airways overbooking
None of the Eastern claims we have received involve denied boarding: on aircraft with a few dozen seats, overbooking was rare. If it did happen to you, compensation was payable on the spot. It is not due when boarding is refused over invalid documents or arriving after the gate closed. Read our guide to Eastern Airways overbooking and denied boarding.
Strikes and Eastern Airways flights
A walkout by Eastern's own pilots or cabin crew normally left compensation payable: the EU Court of Justice treats staff strikes as part of an airline's ordinary business (case C-28/20). French air traffic control strikes, which hit the Paris services more than once, are a different matter: they are outside the airline's control, so only care and a refund or rerouting apply.
Did Eastern Airways turn your claim down?
Weather and technical faults were the usual reasons. The insolvency is now a third:
Keeping an ageing regional fleet airworthy is a normal business risk, not an unforeseeable event.
EU Court of Justice, case C-549/07Weather only rules compensation out if it genuinely grounded that flight at that time. We check the airport reports.
Your right survives but becomes a debt: it is paid only if, and to the extent that, the administrators can pay creditors.
On flights sold as KLM, the claim normally goes to KLM, which is trading as usual.
Eastern flights sold by KLM or Air France
From March 2024 to 5 October 2025 Eastern flew Embraer jets for KLM Cityhopper on a wet-lease basis. KLM carried operational responsibility for those flights, so claims go to KLM rather than to the UK administration. The Paris–East Midlands and Paris–Southampton routes were Eastern's own flights, also sold by Air France, so Eastern remains the debtor there.
How to claim Eastern Airways compensation
There is no longer a complaints form: claims now go to the court-appointed administrators, RSM, as creditor claims.
You lodge a proof of debt with the administrators, then turn to the national enforcement body of the country where the flight departed (in the UK, the CAA) or to the courts, at your own cost.
Send us the flight details; we work out whether Eastern, KLM or someone else owes you, and handle it with our own lawyers. No win, no fee: 25% + VAT. Legal costs are ours, even if a case is lost.
If Eastern had already rejected you
A refusal sent before the collapse does not settle the matter if the reason given did not hold up.
Documents to gather
- Booking and boarding passWith the T3 or KL flight number.
- Passport or IDFor every passenger, children included.
- Messages from EasternDelay or cancellation notices and any reply to a complaint.
Time limits
The Regulation sets no deadline: the limitation rules of the country where you bring the claim apply (EU Court of Justice, case C-139/11). In an insolvency, the administrators may also set their own dates for creditor claims.
How long payment takes with an airline in administration
For KLM-operated flights the usual timescales apply: typically a few weeks if the claim is accepted, a few months if a formal demand or court action is needed. For claims against Eastern itself nobody can promise a date: any payment only arrives when the administrators distribute funds. We keep you updated by email.
Lost or damaged luggage with Eastern Airways
Baggage falls under the Montreal Convention: a Property Irregularity Report at the airport, then a written claim within 7 days for damage or within 21 days of delivery for delayed bags.
Eastern Airways: company details and status
- Company
- Air Kilroe Limited, trading as Eastern Airways, Humberside Airport, Kirmington, United Kingdom
- Status
- Flights suspended since 27 October 2025, in administration since 6 November 2025
- Claims
- No customer service operating: claims via the administrators (RSM)
- Official information
- Statement on the UK Civil Aviation Authority website
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