Flight delay compensation: what you are owed under EU261 and UK261

Two near-identical laws apply: EU261 (Regulation (EC) No 261/2004) and UK261, the version the UK kept after leaving the EU. Which one covers you depends on where the flight departed and which airline operated it, not where you bought the ticket or where you live. Iceland, Norway and Switzerland apply EU261 too, and so do the Canary Islands, the Azores, Madeira and the French overseas departments, because they are part of the EU.

The airline that is liable is the one that operated the flight, not the one that sold it under a code-share. A connecting journey on one booking counts as one journey from the first departure: if it started at an EU airport, the whole journey is covered, even a delay on a leg outside Europe. A return flight is a separate flight, so the way home from outside Europe on a non-European airline is not covered. Flights booked on separate tickets are assessed one by one.

Where both laws cover the same flight, you can claim once, not twice. Claim under the rules of the country you departed from.

The amount is fixed by the great-circle distance between your first departure airport and your final destination, not by the ticket price or the length of the delay. On a connecting journey it is the straight-line distance from start to end, not the sum of the legs (C-559/16, Brussels Airlines). It is paid per passenger, children included, in cash, by bank transfer or by cheque; a voucher is allowed only if you agree to it in writing.

Two details change the figure. Under EU261, flights within the EU over 1,500 km are capped at €400, so Paris to Réunion or Guadeloupe pays €400 even though it is far more than 3,500 km. UK261 has no such cap: any flight over 3,500 km pays £520. And on flights over 3,500 km (outside the intra-EU cap), arriving at least 3 hours but less than 4 hours late, the airline may halve the payment, to €300 or £260; at 4 hours or more you get the full amount.

Delay is measured on arrival at your final destination, at the moment the first aircraft door opens (C-452/13, Germanwings), not when the wheels touch down. A flight that left 2 hours late but reached you 3 hours late still qualifies.

The airline does not pay compensation if it proves the delay or cancellation was caused by extraordinary circumstances: events outside the normal running of an airline and beyond its actual control, which it could not have avoided even with all reasonable measures. The burden of proof is on the airline, not on you, and "operational reasons" is not proof.

What can excuse the airline: weather that makes flying unsafe, air traffic control decisions and air traffic control strikes, airport staff strikes, security risks, a bird strike, even one that does no damage (C-315/15), and the closure of airspace by volcanic ash (C-12/11). A disruptive passenger forcing a diversion can count, unless the airline contributed to it (C-74/19, TAP).

What does not: technical faults found in maintenance or occurring unexpectedly are part of running an airline, so they do not excuse it (C-549/07, and C-257/14 against KLM); meeting the minimum maintenance rules is not enough. A strike by the airline's own staff, called lawfully by a union over pay or conditions, is not extraordinary (C-28/20, AirHelp v SAS), and neither is a sudden mass sick leave by crews after a restructuring announcement (C-195/17, TUIfly).

An airline can rely on an extraordinary event that hit an earlier flight by the same aircraft only if there is a direct causal link to your delay (C-74/19). Reasonable measures include rebooking you on another airline if that would get you there sooner than its own next-day flight. And if extraordinary circumstances caused only part of the delay, that part is taken off the total: if the rest is still 3 hours or more, you are owed the money (C-315/15).

Whatever caused the delay, the airline must look after you at the airport, and this right to care applies even in extraordinary circumstances (C-12/11, a Ryanair case from the 2010 ash cloud). Once the expected departure delay reaches 2 hours on flights up to 1,500 km, 3 hours on flights of 1,500–3,500 km (and intra-EU flights over 1,500 km), or 4 hours on longer flights, it must offer meals and refreshments in proportion to the wait, and two phone calls or emails.

If the new departure is the next day or later, the airline must also provide a hotel and transport between the airport and the hotel. If the delay reaches 5 hours, you can choose not to travel and get a refund of the ticket within seven days, plus a flight back to where you started if your journey no longer serves any purpose.

If the airline does not provide care, buy what you reasonably need and claim it back: the airline must repay expenses that were necessary, appropriate and reasonable. Keep every receipt, and ask staff at the desk for vouchers before you spend your own money.

If your flight is cancelled, you choose between a refund within seven days and a new flight to your destination, either at the earliest opportunity or on a later date that suits you, subject to seats. The airline owes you care while you wait for the new flight, on the same terms as for a delay.

You are also owed compensation unless the airline told you of the cancellation at least 14 days before departure, or offered you a replacement flight close to the original time. With 7 to 13 days' notice, the replacement must leave no more than 2 hours earlier and arrive less than 4 hours later than your original flight; with under 7 days' notice, no more than 1 hour earlier and less than 2 hours later. The airline must prove when it told you; if a travel agent failed to pass the notice on, you are still owed compensation unless you had authorised the agent to receive it. The usual extraordinary-circumstances defence applies.

If you are rebooked and arrive within 2, 3 or 4 hours of your original arrival time (by distance band), the airline may halve the compensation.

Overbooking works differently. The airline must first ask for volunteers. If you are then refused boarding against your will, you are owed the full compensation straight away, regardless of how late you arrive in the end (halved only if your new flight arrives within the same 2, 3 or 4 hours), plus a refund or new flight and care. If you are moved to a lower class, the airline must refund 30%, 50% or 75% of the ticket price for that flight, by distance.

Claiming yourself costs nothing. Start with the operating airline's own claim form, giving your booking reference, flight number, date and what happened, and ask for the cash amount for your distance band. Keep your boarding pass, booking confirmation, the delay reason the airline gave you (a screenshot of the app or departures board helps) and your receipts.

If the airline refuses or does not answer, take it to the free dispute body for the country. National enforcement bodies police the rules and can fine airlines, but most do not chase individual payments; certified dispute (ADR) schemes do, usually within about 90 days. In some countries a dispute scheme is now a required step before court.

If you would rather not do it yourself, AirHelp works on a no win, no fee basis: it takes 35% of the compensation including VAT if it wins, plus 15% including VAT if the claim has to go to court, and charges nothing if it does not win. On a €600 claim settled without court, you keep €390. Do not run a claim yourself and through a claims company at the same time.

Neither EU261 nor UK261 sets a deadline: the limit comes from national law, and the Court of Justice has ruled that the Montreal Convention's two-year limit does not apply to this compensation (C-139/11, against KLM). The limit that counts is the one in the country whose courts would hear your claim, usually where you departed, where you arrived or where the airline is based. Dispute schemes have their own shorter windows, so claim as soon as you can; airlines answer recent claims faster.

If your flight was from the US to Europe on a European airline, or from Europe to the US, claim from the airline and, if it refuses, through the European bodies and courts: US courts have held that EU261 cannot be enforced there directly.

A change is coming. Regulation (EU) 2026/2202 amends EU261 from 23 October 2027. It keeps the €250, €400 and €600 amounts and compensation for arrivals more than 3 hours late, adds a list of extraordinary circumstances and new rules for missed connections, and requires EU261 claims to reach the airline within nine months of departure, with an answer within 30 days. Flights before that date follow the rules on this page, and UK261 is not affected.