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Under EU Regulation 261/2004, a covered disruption can give you separate rights to care, a refund or rerouting, and—in qualifying cases—fixed compensation. Which rights apply depends on your route, the operating airline, whether the flight was cancelled or delayed, and how late you reached your final destination.
Does EU Regulation 261/2004 cover my flight?
The rules generally cover a flight departing from an airport in the EU. They also generally cover a flight arriving in the EU from outside the EU if it is operated by an EU-licensed airline. For a code-share or a ticket sold by one airline but flown by another, contact the operating airline—the carrier that actually operated or was due to operate the flight.
Start by checking both the route and the operating carrier. A ticket purchase location, the airline that marketed the flight, or the fact that a journey connects through Europe does not by itself establish coverage for every leg.
What are my rights if my flight is cancelled?
If a covered flight is cancelled, you can choose one of three options. These transport choices are distinct from any claim for fixed compensation.
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- Reimbursement: Get a refund for the part of the journey not made. If the cancellation makes the original travel plan pointless, reimbursement may also include a return flight to your first point of departure, where relevant.
- Rerouting at the earliest opportunity: Ask the airline to get you to your destination as soon as possible under comparable transport conditions, subject to available seats.
- Rerouting later: Travel at a later date that suits you, subject to seat availability.
If you are waiting for rerouting, the operating airline must provide care appropriate to the wait: meals and refreshments, and a way to communicate. If an overnight stay becomes necessary, care can include hotel accommodation and transport between the airport and accommodation. Keep receipts for reasonable expenses if the airline does not arrange the assistance.
My flight was delayed. Which delay matters?
There are different thresholds for care, for the option to abandon the journey and seek reimbursement, and for possible compensation. The delay at departure determines the care thresholds and the five-hour reimbursement option. For compensation after a long delay, the key measure is how late you arrive at your final destination—not simply how late the flight departed.
Care while waiting: departure-delay thresholds
| Flight category | Care is due when departure is delayed at least |
|---|---|
| Flights of 1,500 km or less | 2 hours |
| Intra-EU flights over 1,500 km, and other flights between 1,500 km and 3,500 km | 3 hours |
| Other flights | 4 hours |
Once the relevant threshold is met, care can include meals and refreshments proportionate to the wait and communications. Overnight accommodation and airport-to-accommodation transport may be due if the circumstances require an overnight stay.
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Leaving after a five-hour delay
If departure is delayed at least five hours, you may choose reimbursement for the journey you decide not to make and, where relevant, a return flight to your first point of departure. That refund choice is not itself a fixed-compensation award.
Can I get financial compensation for a delayed flight?
Possibly. The European Commission’s Your Europe FAQ says a passenger who arrives at the final destination three hours or more late “may be entitled to financial compensation,” provided the delay was not caused by extraordinary circumstances. This is conditional: route coverage, the arrival delay, the cause of disruption and other eligibility rules all matter.
Under Regulation 261/2004, the standard compensation amounts depend on flight distance:
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| Flight category | Standard amount |
|---|---|
| Flights of 1,500 km or less | €250 |
| Intra-EU flights over 1,500 km, and other flights between 1,500 km and 3,500 km | €400 |
| Other flights | €600 |
These are the statutory amounts in Regulation (EC) No 261/2004, adopted by the European Parliament and Council in 2004. When an airline reroutes a passenger after a cancellation, the amount may be reduced by 50% if the alternative arrival is within the applicable time window: within two hours for flights up to 1,500 km, three hours for intra-EU flights over 1,500 km and other flights between 1,500 km and 3,500 km, or four hours for other flights.
When does cancellation qualify for compensation?
A cancellation does not automatically mean that compensation is due. Notice timing and the arrival time offered through rerouting can affect eligibility. In broad terms, the notice period is important: notification at least 14 days before departure generally removes the fixed-compensation entitlement; for shorter notice, the result can depend on the rerouting offered and when it arrives. The refund or rerouting choice and any applicable care remain separate rights.
Compensation is also separate from reimbursement, rerouting and care. An airline’s defence against compensation does not, by itself, cancel those other obligations.
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What counts as extraordinary circumstances?
The operating airline does not have to pay fixed compensation if it proves that extraordinary circumstances caused the disruption and could not have been avoided even if all reasonable measures had been taken. The circumstances and their causal connection to the disruption matter; an airline’s label alone does not settle the question.
- Weather incompatible with safe flight operations and some air-traffic-management decisions can qualify.
- Some strikes by external organisations, such as air-traffic-control or airport staff, may qualify depending on the facts. A strike by the airline’s own staff over employment demands is not treated the same way in the Commission FAQ.
- A technical problem is not automatically extraordinary. A defect found during ordinary maintenance or resulting from inadequate maintenance generally does not qualify merely because the aircraft had a technical issue. A hidden manufacturing defect identified by the manufacturer or a competent authority, or damage from sabotage, may be different.
Even when extraordinary circumstances defeat a compensation claim, a cancelled-flight passenger can still have the applicable choice of reimbursement or rerouting and the right to assistance.
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How do I claim, and how long do I have?
- Keep the records: Save your booking confirmation, boarding pass, disruption notice and receipts for necessary expenses.
- Write to the operating airline: Describe the cancellation or delay, include your flight details, say which remedy or compensation you are seeking, and ask the airline to explain the cause. The airline that sold the ticket may not be the operating carrier.
- Check the refund and claim deadlines separately: Under the current rules, a chosen ticket reimbursement is due within seven days. EU law does not set a deadline for payment of fixed compensation.
- Escalate if needed: If the airline’s response is unsatisfactory, contact the relevant national enforcement body. The time limit for bringing a court action depends on national law and differs among EU countries; check with that body or a national consumer centre rather than assuming one EU-wide limit.
Have the revised EU air passenger rules started applying?
The Council of the European Union gave final clearance to revised rules on 13 July 2026. That does not mean the new provisions already apply: the Council said they enter into force 12 months and 20 days after publication in the Official Journal. The application date therefore depends on that publication and should be checked before relying on a future provision.
The European Commission’s explanatory Q&A describes future changes including self-rerouting reimbursement if an airline fails to provide rerouting within three hours, a reimbursement cap of up to 400% of the ticket price, and new information and claims procedures. Do not treat those measures as current rights until the revised rules’ actual application date has arrived. The Commission’s Your Europe FAQ was last checked on 14 September 2026; the Council’s notice is dated 13 July 2026.
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