If Regulation (EC) No 261/2004 covers your journey, a cancellation or long delay may give you rights to a refund or rerouting, assistance while you wait, and—in qualifying cases—fixed compensation. These are separate rights: getting a refund or meals does not by itself establish a right to compensation. The rules below describe the current regulation, not the revised rules adopted in 2026 that have not yet become applicable.
Does EU flight passenger-rights law cover my journey?
Regulation (EC) No 261/2004 generally covers:
- A flight departing from an airport in the EU, regardless of whether the operating airline is based in the EU.
- A flight arriving in the EU from outside the EU if it is operated by an airline licensed in the EU.
On a code-share or multi-airline booking, contact the operating airline for the disrupted flight. The airline that sold the ticket may be different; the operating carrier is generally responsible for the relevant passenger-rights obligations. The European Commission’s Your Europe air-passenger-rights guidance explains the scope and claim route.
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What are my rights if my flight is cancelled?
For a covered cancellation, you choose one of three options. The choice is between transport remedies; fixed compensation is a separate question.
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- Reimbursement: get a refund for the part of the journey not made. Under the current rules, the refund is due within seven days.
- Rerouting at the earliest opportunity: ask the operating airline to get you to your destination as soon as possible, under comparable transport conditions and subject to available seats.
- Rerouting at a later date: travel at a date convenient to you, subject to seat availability.
If you choose rerouting and have to wait, the airline may also owe care: meals and refreshments proportionate to the wait, and a way to communicate, such as telephone calls or email. If an overnight stay becomes necessary, accommodation and transport between the airport and accommodation may be required. These assistance obligations are not the same as fixed cash compensation.
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A cancellation does not automatically mean compensation is due. Whether you were told in time and whether the operating airline can prove qualifying extraordinary circumstances can affect that separate claim.
My flight was delayed and I arrived 4 hours late at my destination. Am I entitled to financial compensation?
Possibly. For long-delay compensation, the key measure is how late you arrive at your final destination, not simply how late the aircraft departed. Under the current rules, arrival three hours or more after the scheduled time may qualify for compensation, provided the other eligibility conditions are met and the delay was not caused by qualifying extraordinary circumstances. A four-hour arrival delay therefore clears the general time threshold, but does not alone settle the claim.
Departure delay matters for different rights: care while waiting and, once the delay reaches five hours, the option to abandon the journey and seek reimbursement. The current departure-delay thresholds for care are:
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| Flight category | Care is due after a departure delay of 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 |
Care means meals and refreshments proportionate to the wait and communication facilities. When the delay reaches five hours, you may choose reimbursement for the journey not made and, where relevant, a return flight to your first point of departure. The five-hour option is based on departure delay; it is not the long-delay compensation test.
Am I entitled to compensation only for cancelled flights, or can I also get it for delayed flights?
Compensation can be due for either a qualifying cancellation or a qualifying long delay. The statutory amounts are based on flight distance:
| Flight distance/category | Standard compensation |
|---|---|
| 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 amounts set by Regulation (EC) No 261/2004, adopted by the European Parliament and Council in 2004. If rerouting gets you to your final destination within specified time windows, the regulation allows the amount to be reduced by 50%; the exact window depends on the route and circumstances.
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For a cancellation, the notice you received can affect whether compensation is payable. The operating airline may also avoid compensation if it establishes the required extraordinary-circumstances exception. Neither issue removes the separate cancellation choices and care rights described above.
When can extraordinary circumstances prevent compensation?
The operating airline must show that extraordinary circumstances caused the disruption and that it could not have avoided them even if it had taken all reasonable measures. A label such as “technical issue” or “bad weather” is not enough on its own; consider the event and its connection to the cancellation or delay.
- Weather incompatible with safe operation and air-traffic-management decisions may qualify, depending on the facts.
- Some strikes outside the airline, such as air-traffic-control or airport-staff strikes, may qualify. A strike by the airline’s own staff over employment demands is treated differently in the Commission FAQ.
- A technical problem found during normal maintenance, or caused by inadequate maintenance, is not automatically extraordinary. A hidden manufacturing defect identified by the manufacturer or a competent authority, or sabotage damage, may be different.
Even when an extraordinary circumstance defeats a compensation claim, it does not automatically erase the applicable refund or rerouting choice and assistance rights.
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How do I claim, and is there a time limit?
- Keep evidence: save the booking confirmation, boarding pass, disruption messages and receipts for necessary expenses.
- Contact the operating airline: ask what caused the disruption and submit your refund, care-expense or compensation claim to the responsible carrier. Keep a copy of your correspondence.
- Escalate if needed: if the airline’s response is unsatisfactory, contact the relevant national enforcement body.
- Check the local deadline: the time limit for bringing court action depends on national law and differs between countries. EU law does not provide one universal limitation period for all such claims, so check with the relevant national enforcement body or consumer centre.
The current EU rules set a seven-day deadline for a refund when you choose reimbursement. They do not set a general deadline by which the airline must pay fixed compensation.
Are the revised EU rules already in force?
No. The Council gave final clearance to revised air-passenger rules on 13 July 2026, but adoption is not the same as applicability. The Council says the update will enter into force 12 months and 20 days after publication in the Official Journal; the actual application date therefore depends on that publication. Check the Official Journal and current official guidance before relying on the new provisions for a particular trip.
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The Commission’s explanatory Q&A describes future changes including self-rerouting reimbursement if the airline fails to provide rerouting within three hours, with reimbursement capped at up to 400% of the ticket price, as well as new information and claims procedures. These provisions should not be treated as current rights before their application date. The Commission says the adopted revision maintains the three-hour long-delay compensation structure and the standard compensation amounts.
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