London LHR to Toronto YYZ delay compensation

London Heathrow Airport to Toronto Pearson International Airport is 5,707 km by great circle, United Kingdom to Canada. Under UK261 that is £520 per passenger when you arrive 3+ hours late.

1London LHR
2Toronto YYZ
3Great circle 5,707 km
4UK261 band £520

LHR–YYZ on the distance scale used by EU261 and UK261, to scale: bands end at 1,500 and 3,500 km.

Great-circle distance

5,707 km

UK261 band

£520

APPR, large airline

$400–$1,000

Which rules cover LHR–YYZ

London → Toronto

Whatever the airline, this direction is covered by UK261 (the flight departs from the UK (Article 3(1)(a)), whatever the airline) and APPR (the flight arrives in Canada (Canada Transportation Act s. 86.11(1))).

Toronto → London

Whatever the airline, this direction is covered by APPR (the flight departs from Canada (Canada Transportation Act s. 86.11(1))). On an EU airline or a UK airline it is also under UK261.

What you could be owed by hours late

Arrival delay at YYZ (or LHR on the return), for a delay caused by the airline, per passenger, where each rule applies:

Hours late	UK261	APPR large	APPR small
2 hours	£0	$0	$0
3 h 30 min	£260	$400	$125
4 h 30 min	£520	$400	$125
6 h 30 min	£520	$700	$250
9 h 30 min	£520	$1,000	$500

At 5,707 km this is a long-haul flight, so the first hour of compensation is reduced: arriving 3 to 4 hours late pays £260, and the full £520 starts at 4 hours. Canada's amounts rise with the delay instead, at 6 and 9 hours.

The distance and the band

EU261 and UK261 measure distance "by the great circle route method" between the departure airport and the final destination. From the published coordinates of London Heathrow Airport (51.470748, -0.459909) and Toronto Pearson International Airport (43.675935, -79.629421) that is 5,707 km. The nearest band boundary is 3,500 km, 2,207 km below this route, so the band is not in doubt. Among the 18 routes on this site in the over 3,500 km band, it is number 10 by length.

Other routes from London Heathrow Airport (EGLL) on this site: New York (5,540 km), Los Angeles (8,760 km), Dubai (5,498 km), Boston (5,240 km), Dublin (449 km), Paris (347 km), Frankfurt (654 km), Amsterdam (370 km), Athens (2,427 km), Helsinki (1,848 km), Edinburgh (534 km), Glasgow (555 km).

Other routes from Toronto Pearson International Airport (CYYZ) on this site: Munich (6,641 km), Vancouver (3,346 km), Montréal (507 km), New York (588 km), Cancún (2,605 km).

If LHR–YYZ is only one leg of your booking, measure to the final destination instead: a connection that makes you late at the end is compensated over the whole journey's distance.

Help at the airport while you wait

On a flight of this length, meals and refreshments are owed once the departure is 4 hours late under UK261, and a hotel with transport if you have to stay overnight — whatever caused the delay. Canada's rules add standards of treatment — food, drink and, overnight, a hotel — when the delay is within the airline's control, including safety-related delays (ss. 11–12). Keep receipts for anything you buy: it is claimed back separately from any compensation.

Claiming on this route

Claim from the operating airline directly — it costs nothing.

UK261: If the airline's final answer is unsatisfactory, or it has not answered within eight weeks, go to the alternative dispute resolution (ADR) body the airline belongs to, or to the CAA's Passenger Advice and Complaints Team if it belongs to none.

APPR: If the airline refuses or does not answer, file a complaint with the Canadian Transportation Agency.

Claim pages of airlines based in United Kingdom or Canada (whether they fly this exact route varies by season):

Airport coordinates: OurAirports country file (GB); OurAirports country file (CA). Rules: UK Regulation (EC) No 261/2004, Article 7 (legislation.gov.uk); Air Passenger Protection Regulations, SOR/2019-150 (Justice Laws). Checked 2026-10-20. General information, not legal advice.