Flight Delay Compensation 2026: EU261 and Your Rights

Flight Delay Compensation in 2026: Am I Actually Owed Money?

You are looking at a new departure time and no idea whether the airline owes you EUR 600 or nothing at all. The answer turns on two questions only: how late you actually arrive, and what caused the disruption. Neither is decided by the gate agent.

VoyageHacks last verified the facts and figures on this page on 16 August 2026.

The Words That Decide Your Claim

Every argument with an airline runs through these terms. Each one is defined once here and used the same way for the rest of the page.

• EU261 is Regulation (EC) No 261/2004, the EU law setting fixed compensation and assistance for denied boarding, cancellation and long delay.
• UK261 is the same text kept in UK law after Brexit, enforced by the Civil Aviation Authority, with the amounts fixed in pounds.
• Delay is measured at arrival, and the Court of Justice ruled in Germanwings v Henning (C-452/13, 4 September 2014) that arrival is the moment at least one aircraft door opens.
• Cancellation is a flight that was in the schedule and was not operated. Compensation is due unless you were told at least 14 days ahead.
• Denied boarding is being refused a seat you hold a confirmed reservation for, usually because the flight is oversold.
• Re-routing is the airline flying you to your final destination on another service, at its cost, at the earliest opportunity or on a later date you choose.
• Right to care is the meals, hotel, transfers and two communications the airline must provide while you wait, under Article 9.
• Extraordinary circumstances are events not inherent in the normal exercise of the carrier’s activity and beyond its actual control, the only defence that removes compensation under Article 5(3).
• Great circle distance is the shortest distance over the earth’s surface between departure airport and final destination, and it is what sets your compensation band.
• Refund returns the money you paid for the flight. Compensation is a separate fixed payment for the disruption itself. You can be owed both.
• Voucher is airline credit. Under EU261 you never have to accept one instead of cash, and under 14 CFR 260.10 a US refund must go back in the original form of payment.

How Much Flight Delay Compensation Are You Owed?

The amount comes from Article 7 and depends only on distance and arrival delay. Halve it if the airline re-routes you and you land close enough to the original schedule.

Two details are worth pinning down. The distance is measured for the whole journey, not leg by leg: the Commission’s Interpretative Guidelines state the figure is the great circle distance between the place of departure and the final destination, not the sum of the connecting legs. And the ticket price is irrelevant, so a EUR 29 fare and a EUR 900 fare on the same route are worth the same EUR 400.

Am I Covered by EU261? Route and Airline Matrix

Scope is where most rejected claims are actually lost. Article 3 keys it to where you take off and, for inbound flights, who operates them.

The Your Europe portal confirms the outermost regions count as EU territory, so Guadeloupe, Martinique, the Azores and the Canary Islands are in, while the Faeroe Islands are out. The last row matters more than it looks: in Wegener v Royal Air Maroc (C-537/17, 31 May 2018) the Court held that a single booking from Berlin to Agadir with a stopover in Casablanca is one connecting flight, so the whole journey sits inside the regulation even though the delayed leg was operated outside the EU by a non-EU carrier.

What Counts as Extraordinary Circumstances?

This is the airline’s only escape from compensation, and it has been narrowed repeatedly by the Court of Justice. The right column is where most disputes are won.

Two nuances that airlines lean on. In Wallentin-Hermann the Court held that resolving a technical problem caused by a maintenance failure is inherent in a carrier’s normal activity, which is why “technical issue” on a delay notice is rarely the end of the argument. In LE v TAP the Court accepted that a carrier may rely on an extraordinary circumstance that hit an earlier flight of the same aircraft, but only if it also took reasonable measures to limit the knock-on effect.

Ask for the cause in writing before you file anything. An airline that names a specific technical fault has, in most cases, just written your claim for you.

EU vs UK vs US: Where Your Rights Are Strongest

Three regimes, three very different answers to the same delay. This is the comparison to check before you decide whether a claim is worth your evening.

The US column is the one that surprises Europeans. There is no American EU261. What 14 CFR Part 260 does give you is stronger in its own way: the refund is automatic, you do not have to ask, and 14 CFR 260.10 bars a voucher unless you agree to it. The Department of Transportation separately publishes an Airline Customer Service Dashboard recording what each carrier has voluntarily committed to for controllable cancellations and controllable delays, so check your own airline’s row there rather than assuming.

Right to Care: The Meals and Hotel You Get Regardless

Article 9 care is the right people forget, and it is the one that still applies when the delay is caused by a storm. The Commission’s Interpretative Guidelines state that a carrier must fulfil the obligation of care even when the cancellation is caused by extraordinary circumstances, with no time or money cap written into it.

Care means meals and refreshments in reasonable relation to the waiting time, hotel accommodation plus transfers when an overnight becomes necessary, and two telephone calls, emails or fax messages. If the airline provides nothing, buy what is reasonable, keep every receipt, and claim it back separately from any compensation.

What none of this covers is the rest of your trip: the hotel night you paid for and did not use, the tour that left without you, the connection you booked yourself on a separate ticket. That is an insurance question, not a passenger-rights one, and it is worth pricing before you fly rather than after. Compare EKTA travel insurance plans against what your card already includes, and see our travel insurance comparison for how the delay clauses differ.

How to Claim Flight Delay Compensation, Step by Step

1. Keep the evidence before you leave the airport. Boarding pass, booking reference, and a photo of the departure board showing the actual times.
2. Ask for the cause of the disruption in writing. Airlines are far more careful in writing than at a gate, and the answer decides whether Article 5(3) is even in play.
3. Claim direct with the operating carrier first, using its own online form. This is free and it is the step every enforcement body expects you to have taken.
4. Escalate to the national enforcement body if the airline refuses or goes quiet. The European Commission maintains the official list of National Enforcement Bodies, and the rule is to contact the body in the country where the incident took place. In the UK, that route runs through the CAA or the airline’s alternative dispute resolution scheme.
5. Small claims court is the backstop, and in most member states it is a form and a modest fee rather than a lawyer.

The deadline is the trap, because Regulation 261/2004 does not set one. The Commission’s Interpretative Guidelines confirm, citing Cuadrench Moré (C-139/11), that time limits for bringing actions are governed by the national law of each member state. Three worked examples from the statutes themselves:

• England, Wales and Northern Ireland: six years, under section 5 of the Limitation Act 1980.
• Scotland: five years, under section 6 of the Prescription and Limitation (Scotland) Act 1973.
• Germany: three years, under section 195 of the Civil Code, running from the end of the calendar year in which the flight took place (section 199).

If the airline has cancelled outright and you would rather buy your own way home than wait for its re-routing, price the alternatives before you accept anything. Do not accept a voucher first and shop afterwards: acceptance is the thing that closes the cash door.

Should You Use a Flight Compensation Claims Company?

Only when the alternative is not claiming at all. Filing direct costs nothing, and the airline’s own form is the same form the claims company will use.

The honest split: file it yourself the first time, and consider a claims firm only after a refusal you think is wrong. Check the firm’s own published fee page before signing, because the percentages differ and some add a separate charge once lawyers are involved.

Delayed or Lost Baggage Is a Different Rulebook

EU261 says nothing about your suitcase. Baggage runs on the Montreal Convention 1999, applied to EU carriers by Regulation (EC) No 2027/97 as amended by Regulation (EC) No 889/2002.

• The limit is per passenger, not per bag, and covers destruction, loss, damage and delay together. The Commission’s Your Europe portal currently puts it at compensation of up to around EUR 1,300.
• The figure moves. IATA confirms the Convention’s liability limits are reviewed every five years, with the current set effective 28 December 2024, so quote the current limit rather than an old one.
• Deadlines are short. Your Europe gives 7 days to complain about damaged baggage and 21 days from delivery for delayed baggage.
• Declare high-value items at check-in for a supplementary fee if their value exceeds the limit, which Regulation 2027/97 requires carriers to tell you about.
• In the US, the bag fee itself comes back: 14 CFR 260.5 requires a refund of the checked bag fee once the bag is 12 hours late on a domestic itinerary, 15 hours on an international one with a non-stop segment of 12 hours or less, and 30 hours on longer ones, provided you filed a mishandled baggage report.

For what airlines charge to carry the bag in the first place, see our European baggage fees comparison .

What Can Go Wrong, and What to Do

• Missed connection, first leg only slightly late. Still claimable. In Air France v Folkerts (C-11/11, 26 February 2013) the Court held compensation is payable to a passenger on directly connecting flights delayed at departure below the Article 6 thresholds who arrives at the final destination at least three hours late. What counts is where you end up, not where you started.
• Non-EU airline flying into the EU. Not covered. A third-country carrier landing in Frankfurt from a third country sits outside Article 3, however long the delay.
• Codeshares. The obligation sits with the operating carrier, the airline whose crew and aircraft actually flew you, not the one whose code is on the ticket.
• Separate tickets. Two bookings are two journeys. Miss the second because the first ran late and the second airline owes you nothing, which is why a single booking is worth more than it looks.
• Package holidays. A flight sold inside a package brings the EU Package Travel Directive into play alongside EU261, so the organiser carries obligations too. Claim the compensation from the airline and the package remedies from the organiser.
• Delay under three hours. No compensation, but the Article 9 care thresholds start at two hours, so meals can still be owed.
• Downgrade. Article 10 reimburses 30, 50 or 75 percent of the ticket price by distance band, which is a separate right from delay compensation.
• The airline offers a voucher. Under EU261 you choose. Under US rules, 14 CFR 260.10 requires the original form of payment, and 14 CFR 260.7 makes alternative compensation valid only if you affirmatively accept it.

Sources

• European Union, Regulation (EC) No 261/2004 , EUR-Lex consolidated text, checked August 2026.
• European Commission, Air passenger rights , Your Europe portal, checked August 2026.
• European Commission, Interpretative Guidelines on Regulation (EC) No 261/2004 (2016/C 214/04) , checked August 2026.
• European Commission, National enforcement bodies (NEB) , checked August 2026.
• European Commission, Air passenger rights policy page , checked August 2026.
• Court of Justice of the European Union, Sturgeon and Others, C-402/07 and C-432/07 , 19 November 2009, checked August 2026.
• Court of Justice of the European Union, Wallentin-Hermann v Alitalia, C-549/07 , 22 December 2008, checked August 2026.
• Court of Justice of the European Union, Germanwings v Henning, C-452/13 , 4 September 2014, checked August 2026.
• Court of Justice of the European Union, Krüsemann and Others v TUIfly, C-195/17 , 17 April 2018, checked August 2026.
• Court of Justice of the European Union, Airhelp v Scandinavian Airlines System, C-28/20 , 23 March 2021, checked August 2026.
• Court of Justice of the European Union, LE v Transportes Aéreos Portugueses, C-74/19 , 11 June 2020, checked August 2026.
• Court of Justice of the European Union, Air France v Folkerts, C-11/11 , 26 February 2013, checked August 2026.
• Court of Justice of the European Union, Wegener v Royal Air Maroc, C-537/17 , 31 May 2018, checked August 2026.
• UK Civil Aviation Authority, Flight delays and Flight cancellations , checked August 2026.
• United States, 14 CFR Part 260 , including 260.2 , 260.5 , 260.6 and 260.10 , checked August 2026.
• IATA, Montreal Convention 1999 (MC99) , checked August 2026.
• European Union, Regulation (EC) No 2027/97 as amended by Regulation (EC) No 889/2002 , checked August 2026.
• United Kingdom, Limitation Act 1980, section 5 and Prescription and Limitation (Scotland) Act 1973, section 6 , checked August 2026.
• Germany, Civil Code (BGB), sections 195 and 199 , official English translation, checked August 2026.
• AirHelp, published service fee , 35 percent including VAT on a no win, no fee basis, checked 16 August 2026.

What Changed

• 2026-08-16: first published, with all amounts, thresholds and case law checked against EUR-Lex, curia.europa.eu, the UK CAA and 14 CFR Part 260.
• Pending: the European Commission has proposed revising Regulation 261/2004 and Regulation 2027/97, and its own air passenger rights page records updated Interpretative Guidelines dated 25 September 2024. No application date for a new regulation is confirmed on the Commission pages checked, so Regulation 261/2004 as interpreted by the Court of Justice governs flights until it is replaced.

Frequently Asked Questions

How much compensation do you get for a delayed flight?

Under EU Regulation 261/2004 the amounts are EUR 250 for flights of 1,500 km or less, EUR 400 for intra-EU flights over 1,500 km and other flights of 1,500 to 3,500 km, and EUR 600 for flights over 3,500 km. VoyageHacks checked these against the EUR-Lex text on 16 August 2026. The trigger is an arrival delay of three hours or more.

Does EU261 apply to non-EU airlines?

On departure, yes. Regulation 261/2004 covers every flight leaving an airport in the EU, Iceland, Norway or Switzerland, whatever the airline’s nationality. Flights into the EU from a third country are covered only when an EU carrier operates them, so a US airline flying Atlanta to Paris falls outside the regulation while Air France on the same route does not.

Are strikes extraordinary circumstances under EU261?

It depends whose strike. In Airhelp v SAS (C-28/20, 23 March 2021) the Court of Justice held that a strike by an airline’s own staff seeking pay increases is inherent in the normal exercise of the employer’s activity, so compensation is still due. Strikes external to the airline, such as air traffic controllers or airport staff, can qualify as extraordinary.

How long do you have to claim flight delay compensation?

Regulation 261/2004 sets no deadline, so national law decides. In England, Wales and Northern Ireland the Limitation Act 1980 allows six years for a contract claim, Scotland’s prescriptive period under the 1973 Act is five years, and Germany’s Civil Code gives three years counted from the end of the year in which the flight took place.

Do US airlines have to pay compensation for delays?

No. US rules require refunds, not compensation. Under 14 CFR Part 260 a carrier must automatically refund the fare in the original form of payment when it cancels a flight, or changes it by three hours on a domestic itinerary or six hours on an international one. Any cash or voucher beyond that comes from the airline’s own commitments.

File the Claim, Then Fly Smarter Next Time

Compensation is worth chasing, but the better outcome is not needing it. Reliability differs sharply between carriers on the same route, and the winter and Christmas peaks are when the delay statistics turn ugly.

• Compare carriers before you book with our best budget airlines in Europe guide and the head-to-head on Ryanair vs Wizz Air vs easyJet .
• Check one carrier’s record in is Wizz Air reliable .
• Book the riskiest weeks early using when to book Christmas flights and the practical advice in our winter and Christmas travel tips .
• For weather-driven disruption specifically, our hurricane season travel guide covers how EU261 and the US refund rule split the risk.
• Everything else on fares and airlines sits in the flights section .