Flight Delayed or Cancelled? Your EU Air Passenger Rights, Explained

A three-hour delay is annoying. What most people do not realise is that it can also be worth up to €600 in cash — not a voucher, not air miles, actual money. European air passenger rights (the rules known as EU261) are some of the strongest in the world, and airlines rarely volunteer them. Here is what you are entitled to and how to claim it.

When you are covered

The rules apply to any flight departing from an airport in the EU — on any airline, anywhere in the world — and to flights arriving in the EU on an EU-based airline. The UK runs a near-identical scheme of its own for flights touching the UK. In short: if your trip started in Europe, you are almost certainly covered, whoever you flew with.

What you can claim

Cash compensation is due when you arrive at your final destination three or more hours late, when your flight is cancelled with less than 14 days' notice, or when you are denied boarding because the flight was overbooked. The amount depends on the distance:

• Under 1,500 km: €250
• 1,500–3,500 km: €400
• Over 3,500 km: €600 (for the longest flights the delay threshold is four hours, not three)

Crucially, it is the delay at arrival that counts, not departure — a plane that leaves two hours late but lands three and a half hours late still qualifies.

When the airline does not have to pay

Compensation is not due when the disruption was caused by an extraordinary circumstance outside the airline's control — severe weather, an air-traffic-control strike, security alerts, political unrest. Note the limit: a strike by the airline's own staff, or a technical fault with the aircraft, generally does not count as extraordinary, so those still pay out. Even when compensation is refused, your right to care below still stands.

Your right to care

Separately from compensation, a long delay triggers a right to care regardless of the cause: food and drink appropriate to the wait, a couple of phone calls, and — if you are delayed overnight — a hotel and transfers to it, all at the airline's expense. If a flight is cancelled you can also choose between a full refund or being rerouted to your destination as soon as possible. Keep every receipt; you can reclaim reasonable costs the airline should have covered but did not.

How to claim

You do not need a lawyer or a claims company. Write to the airline directly, quote EU261, and state your flight number, the length of the delay and the compensation you are owed. Attach your boarding passes and booking reference. If the airline stalls or refuses without a valid reason, escalate to the national enforcement body in the country you flew from — it is free. Claims companies will do it for you but take 25–40% of the payout, so only use one if you would otherwise not bother at all.

A quick note on timing: the EU agreed a reform of these rules in mid-2026, but it is not yet in force, so the amounts and thresholds above are what apply to your flights right now. Whatever you are flying, keep your booking reference and note your actual arrival time — that one detail is what turns a ruined afternoon into a €400 cheque.

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