Flight delayed or cancelled in New Zealand, what the airline owes you

Last updated 4 July 2026, current as at that date. This is general information, not legal advice.

A cancelled flight in New Zealand rarely means the automatic cash payout travellers expect from European headlines. Our airlines run reasonably well, Air New Zealand lands around 85 in every 100 domestic flights on time and cancels well under 2 per cent, but when your flight is one of the delayed or cancelled ones, what you are owed depends on rules most people have never read. This guide sets them out plainly, domestic and international, and how to actually claim.

Which rules apply to your flight

Everything starts with one question, was your flight domestic or international. They run on entirely separate legal tracks, and guides that muddle them give bad advice.

	Domestic flight within NZ	International flight
Main law	Civil Aviation Act 2023 and the Consumer Guarantees Act 1993	Montreal Convention 1999
Airline’s defence	It took all reasonable measures	It took all reasonable measures
Limit on delay damages	The lower of 10 times the fare or your actual proven loss	Up to 6,303 SDR, about NZ$15,000
Time to claim	Ordinary limitation, act promptly	2 years

Three myths New Zealand travellers believe

• “EU rules apply, so I get a fixed payout.” They do not. The EU261 scheme that pays hundreds of euros for a delay is European law and does not cover flights within or from New Zealand. Here you claim proven costs, not a set figure.
• “The airline owes me 10 times my fare.” The 10-times-fare figure is a ceiling on domestic delay liability, and you only recover the lower of that or your actual loss. A $150 fare delayed by two hours does not pay $1,500, it pays what the delay actually cost you, up to that cap.
• “They have to put me in a hotel.” New Zealand has no law forcing an airline to feed or house you during a delay. Many do it as goodwill, and you can claim reasonable proven costs afterwards, but there is no automatic entitlement on the night.

Domestic delays and cancellations

For flights within New Zealand you have two levers, and they are alternatives rather than something you stack for double the money. The first is the Civil Aviation Act 2023, under which the carrier is liable for damage caused by delay unless it proves it took all reasonable measures to avoid it, capped at the lower of ten times what you paid for the carriage or your actual proven loss.

The second is the Consumer Guarantees Act. A flight is a service, and it must be provided with reasonable care and skill and within a reasonable time. A cancellation or a lengthy avoidable delay can breach that guarantee, giving you a right to a remedy, a refund where the service failed substantially, or the reasonable cost of putting it right. You cannot recover the same loss twice under both, but you can choose the stronger route for your situation.

International delays and the Montreal Convention

International flights to and from New Zealand are governed by the Montreal Convention 1999, a global treaty. Under Article 19 the airline is liable for damage caused by delay unless it proves it and its staff took all reasonable measures to avoid the damage, or that it was impossible to take them. The liability is capped, since 28 December 2024, at 6,303 special drawing rights per passenger, a unit that works out to roughly NZ$15,000 depending on exchange rates.

What you claim is your real financial loss from the delay, an extra night’s accommodation, meals, a missed onward booking, replacement transport, within that ceiling. You have two years from the date you arrived, or should have arrived, to bring a claim, and after that the right is gone, so do not sit on it.

Your refund rights when a flight is cancelled

When the airline cancels your flight, as opposed to a delay, the core entitlement is simple, you are owed either a refund or a rebooking onto another flight, and the choice is generally yours. Airlines often steer people toward a credit, but a credit is not the limit of your rights when it was the airline that cancelled, you can insist on your money back or a seat on the next reasonable service.

Watch the difference between the airline’s fare conditions and your legal rights. A cheap non-refundable fare restricts what you can do if you change your mind, but it does not shrink what the airline owes when it cancels or fails to get you there in reasonable time. Do not accept “your fare is non-refundable” as the answer when the airline caused the problem.

What you can and cannot claim

Usually claimable, the direct, reasonable, proven costs the delay or cancellation forced on you, meals while you waited, a night’s accommodation, transport to and from it, and a missed non-refundable onward booking that was a foreseeable consequence. Keep every receipt and a note of the timeline, because you are proving actual loss, not quoting a formula.

Usually not claimable, loss beyond the legal caps, and remote consequential losses like a lost business deal or the emotional disappointment of a shortened holiday. This is exactly where travel insurance earns its place, a good policy covers disruption costs and consequential losses the airline rules will not, often faster and with less argument. Check your policy and your credit card’s travel cover before you assume the airline is your only route.

How to claim step by step

1. Document it at the time. Photograph the departure board, note the times, and ask the airline for the reason for the disruption in writing. Whether it took all reasonable measures is the whole ball game.
2. Keep every receipt. Meals, taxis, the hotel, the replacement ticket. Your claim is the sum of your proven costs.
3. Claim to the airline in writing first. Set out what happened, attach the receipts, and state what you are claiming and under which rules, the Civil Aviation Act and Consumer Guarantees Act for domestic, the Montreal Convention for international.
4. Escalate if they stall or refuse. For a domestic or Consumer Guarantees Act claim, the Disputes Tribunal hears claims up to $60,000 cheaply and without lawyers. Montreal Convention claims are treaty claims that generally go to the District Court rather than the Tribunal, so get advice on the forum for an international claim.
5. Mind the clock. Two years for a Montreal claim, and promptly for domestic, memories and records fade and so does goodwill.

Common questions

Am I entitled to compensation for a delayed flight in NZ

You can claim your proven out-of-pocket costs from the delay, but not a fixed automatic payout, and not if the airline shows it took all reasonable measures to avoid the delay. New Zealand has no EU-style set-sum compensation.

Can I get a refund if my flight is cancelled

Yes. When the airline cancels, you are entitled to a refund or a rebooking, and the choice is generally yours regardless of whether your original fare was a non-refundable type. A credit is not your only option.

Does New Zealand have EU261-style flight compensation

No. The European scheme that pays fixed compensation for delays and cancellations does not apply to flights within or from New Zealand. Here you recover actual proven costs under the Civil Aviation Act, the Consumer Guarantees Act, or the Montreal Convention, depending on the flight.

What can I claim for a cancelled flight

A refund or rebooking, plus reasonable proven extra costs the cancellation caused, meals, accommodation, transport and a missed onward booking. Remote or consequential losses, and anything above the legal caps, are generally not recoverable from the airline, which is what travel insurance is for.

How long do I have to claim

Two years for an international flight under the Montreal Convention, measured from when you arrived or should have arrived. For domestic claims, act promptly under the ordinary limitation rules and while records and goodwill are fresh.

Is the airline liable if it was the weather

Usually not for the delay itself. If the disruption was genuinely outside the airline’s control and it took all reasonable measures, weather being the classic example, it can avoid delay liability. You are still owed a refund or rebooking for a cancellation, but not your extra costs.

Where to get free help

For the wider consumer toolkit, our guides to the Consumer Guarantees Act and the Disputes Tribunal cover the machinery a flight claim plugs into.

Have you claimed after a delayed or cancelled flight in New Zealand? What did the airline pay, and how hard did you have to push? Share your experience in the comments, it helps the next stranded traveller.