EU261 Compensation Claims For Flight Delays And Cancellations

What Is EU Regulation 261?

EU Regulation 261/2004 gives passengers travelling to, from or within the EU legal rights to claim compensation if their flight is delayed or cancelled, or if they are denied boarding.

Under EU261, airlines may be legally required to pay compensation if a passenger reaches their final destination more than three hours later than originally scheduled, unless the airline can prove that the delay or cancellation was caused by an extraordinary circumstance and that it took all reasonable steps to prevent it.

The Regulation was introduced to compensate passengers for the loss of time and inconvenience they suffered when they experienced significant disruption to their travel arrangements.

The European Commission established EU261 on February 11, 2004. In July 2026, the European Parliament approved changes to EU air passenger rights while retaining the existing three-hour delay threshold and compensation levels of €250, €400 and €600. The changes also introduce a number of additional protections aimed at improving the passenger experience.

The Regulation is most often referred to as EU 261, but also EU261/2004, EC261, or EC261/2004.

Following the end of the Brexit transition period in December 2020, EU Regulation 261 was incorporated into UK law.

The UK version is commonly referred to as UK261. Depending on your travel itinerary, UK passengers can claim compensation under UK261 for delays or cancellations.

When Can I Claim Compensation Under EU261?

You may be able to claim compensation under EU261 if you were travelling on an eligible flight, arrived at your final destination more than three hours later than scheduled, and the delay was the airline’s responsibility.

EU261 compensation is available to protect airline passengers who experience significant travel disruption, including flight delays, cancellations, missed connecting flights and denied boarding.

Not sure if your flight qualifies for compensation under EU261? Our free flight delay compensation calculator can check for you in seconds.

Simply enter your flight number and date of travel to find out whether you may have a valid flight claim and how much compensation you could be entitled to receive.

What Flights Are Covered By EU261?

EU261 covers all flights departing from an EU airport, regardless of the airline, as well as flights arriving in the EU from outside the EU when operated by an EU-based airline.

Eligible flights under EU261 include:

• Any flight between two EU airports, regardless of which airline operates the flight
• Any flight departing from an EU airport and travelling to a non-EU country, regardless of the airline
• Any flight departing from a non-EU country and arriving at an EU airport, provided the flight is operated by an EU-based airline.

Additionally, EU261 laws protect passengers arriving or departing in Iceland, Norway, Switzerland and the so-called “outermost regions” (French Guiana and Martinique, Mayotte, Guadeloupe and La Réunion, Saint-Martin, Madeira and the Azores, and the Canary Islands).

UK passengers may also be protected by UK261, which provides similar rights for flights departing from or arriving in the UK. Depending on your journey, your flight may be covered by EU261, UK261 or both regulations.

When Can I Claim For A Delayed Flight Under EU261?

You may be entitled to claim compensation under EU261 if your flight arrives at your final destination more than three hours later than originally scheduled and the delay was the airline’s responsibility.

To claim EU261 compensation for a delayed flight:

• Your flight must be eligible under EU261
• You must arrive at your final destination at least three hours later than originally scheduled
• The delay must have been within the airline’s responsibility and not have been caused by an extraordinary circumstance.

If these conditions apply to your flight, you may be entitled to claim up to €600 per passenger, depending on the distance of your journey and the length of your delay.

How Much Is Flight Delay Compensation Under EU261?

Under EU Reg 261, you may be entitled to between €250 and €600 in flight delay compensation per passenger.

How much you can claim for a delayed flight is based on the distance of your flight and how long you were delayed before you reached your final destination.

Compensation is calculated per passenger, so if several people were travelling together, each passenger may be entitled to claim compensation individually. The amount you may receive is fixed under EU261 and is not based on how much you paid for your flight.

Our table below shows the amount of compensation you may be able to claim for a flight delay depending on your circumstances.

When Can I Make A Claim For A Cancelled Flight Under EU261?

You may be able to claim compensation if your flight was eligible under EU261, was cancelled less than 14 days before departure, and the cancellation was the airline’s responsibility.

If the airline offered you a replacement flight, whether compensation is payable can also depend on how much earlier the replacement flight departed and how much later it arrived compared with your original flight.

Your rights under EU261 for cancelled flights will depend on how many days before your departure your flight was cancelled and whether you decided to accept a refund or be re-routed.

If your flight was cancelled less than 14 days before departure, regardless of the reason for the cancellation, you have the right to choose between:

• A full refund for your cancelled flight
• An alternative flight to your destination provided at no additional cost either on the same airline or another airline.

These rights apply even when the cancellation was not the airline’s responsibility, and you are not entitled to additional compensation.

Additionally, if you chose to be re-routed, you may be able to claim compensation depending on when your replacement flight took off and landed in relation to your originally scheduled arrival time.

The amount of compensation you may receive for a cancelled flight can sometimes be complicated to calculate, as it can depend on how many hours earlier your replacement flight may have departed and how many hours later it may have arrived compared with your original flight.

You can read our complete guide to cancelled flight compensation for a detailed breakdown of the different compensation amounts, or use our free flight compensation calculator and we’ll check the departure and arrival times for you and let you know how much you may be entitled to claim.

Can I Claim Under EU261 For A Missed Connecting Flight?

You may be entitled to claim compensation under EU261 if a delay or cancellation causes you to miss a connecting flight and you arrive at your final destination more than three hours later than originally scheduled.

To make a claim for a missed connecting flight under EU261:

• Your flight must be eligible under EU261
• Your connecting flights must have been booked together as part of the same ticket
• The delay or cancellation caused you to arrive at your final destination more than three hours late
• The delay or cancellation must have been the airline’s responsibility and not caused by an extraordinary circumstance.

Importantly, when you arrive at your final destination will determine how much compensation you may be able to claim for.

When Am I Entitled To Compensation For Denied Boarding Under EU261?

You may be able to claim compensation under EU261 if you have been involuntarily denied boarding, sometimes known as being “bumped”, because your flight has been overbooked.

To qualify, you must have had a confirmed reservation, checked in for your flight on time and not voluntarily given up your seat.

If you are denied boarding because of the flight being overbooked, EU261 gives you the right to compensation as well as the choice between:

• A refund of the cost of your ticket, to be paid within seven days
• A return flight to your original point of departure, where applicable
• Re-routing to your final destination.

These rights will only apply when you are denied boarding against your will. If you voluntarily agree to give up your seat, you will not be eligible to claim compensation.

What Does EU261 Provide To Airline Passengers During A Delay?

Article 9 of EU Reg 261 states that airlines must provide passengers with a level of “care and assistance” if their flight is delayed beyond a certain number of hours.

Airline passengers are eligible for “care and assistance” if their flight is delayed by:

• At least 2 hours for flights of 1,500km or less
• At least 3 hours for flights between 1,500km and 3,500km
• At least 4 hours for flights over 3,500km.

Depending on how long you are delayed, and regardless of the reason, the airline must provide:

• Food and drink in reasonable relation to waiting time
• Free hotel accommodation when a stay of one night or more is necessary
• Free transport between the airport and the hotel
• Two free telephone calls, emails, telex or fax messages.

Your right to care and assistance under EU261 is separate from your right to compensation. The airline must provide care and assistance even if the disruption was caused by an extraordinary circumstance.

What Is An Extraordinary Circumstance Under EU261?

Under EU Regulation 261, an extraordinary circumstance is an event outside the airline’s control that could not have been avoided even if all reasonable measures had been taken.

If an airline can prove that your flight was delayed or cancelled because of an extraordinary circumstance, it may not be required to pay you compensation under EU261.

EU261’s definition of extraordinary circumstances for flight delays or cancellations has long been open to interpretation, but over the last two decades landmark cases have defined what is and what isn’t an extraordinary circumstance.

As the EU261 is currently interpreted, extraordinary circumstances do not include delays or cancellations caused by insufficient airline staff, including airline staff strikes or sickness; known technical faults with the plane; overbooking a flight; or expected or seasonal bad weather that the airline should reasonably have planned for.

However, accepted examples of extraordinary circumstances under EU261 do include events such as:

• Extreme and unexpected weather conditions
• Strikes and industrial action, including strikes unrelated to the airline, such as air traffic control strikes, baggage handler strikes, or border force strikes
• Air traffic control decisions affecting flight scheduling
• Hidden manufacturing defects or technical issues with the plane
• Bird strikes
• A passenger or member of airline staff taken ill on the flight, including medical emergencies
• Unruly passengers
• Disruptions to airspace, including drone activity
• Unexpected IT outages that are beyond the responsibility of the airline
• Acts of terrorism or civil unrest
• Security risks and Foreign and Commonwealth Office travel bans
• Disease outbreaks

Every claim made under EU261 depends on its individual circumstances, and an airline must still show that the event was genuinely outside its control and that it took all reasonable measures to avoid or minimise the disruption.

How Do I Claim EU261 Compensation?

Since 2013, we have helped establish this area of law by winning multiple landmark cases at the Supreme Court and have since helped hundreds of thousands of UK airline passengers claim flight delay compensation from the airlines. Many of them have been turned down after trying to claim directly with the airline.

The quickest way to start a claim is to add your flight details to our flight compensation checker. We will instantly check your flight’s eligibility and tell you how much you can claim. Then, we only need a few more details to submit your claim.

Our legal services for EU261 compensation claims are handled on a no-win, no-fee basis, so you will pay nothing if we can’t recover your compensation.

If you wish to claim directly with the airline, your next step will be to write to them. Set out exactly what happened with your flight, why you believe you are entitled to compensation, and the amount you wish to claim as per your rights under Regulation EU 261/2004. We have a free flight compensation claim template letter you can download and send to the airline if you need help getting started.

There is no set timeframe in which the airline must respond to you, but, in our experience, you should usually receive a response within 30 days, even if it is simply to say they are looking into the matter for you.

If you don’t receive a response, you may wish to complain to the Civil Aviation Authority. More information on the complaints procedure can be found on the Civil Aviation Authority’s website.

If you still haven’t progressed, even after consulting the CAA, your only remaining option is to issue Court Proceedings.

Issuing Court proceedings can often be a complicated and lengthy process. We recommend that you seek legal advice before doing so. For many people, this is the stage where they decide to get a solicitor to take over their claim.

What Is The Time Limit To Claim Compensation Under EU261?

While the time limit to claim compensation under EU261 for UK passengers is generally accepted to be 6 years, the limitation period is determined by the national law of the country where your claim is made.

This means the amount of time you have to claim can vary depending on the country and can range from one year to several years after the date of your disrupted flight.

*  Sweden: if a passenger notifies an airline within the first 2 months after the flight, the claim is eligible for 10 years.
** Czech Republic: if a passenger notifies the airline within 6 months after the flight, the claim is eligible for 3 years.

Is EU261 The Same As UK261?

UK261 is based on EU261 and provides passengers with similar rights when flights are delayed, cancelled, or passengers are denied boarding.

Following Brexit, EU261 was incorporated into UK law and amended to operate as the UK’s own air passenger rights legislation.

EU261 and UK261 therefore operate separately, and which Regulation applies will depend on where your flight departed, where it arrived, and the operating airline.

When Does EU Regulation 261/2004 Apply?

Created by the European Commission (EC), EU Regulation 261/2004, more commonly known as EU Reg 261, applies to the UK and European Union (EU) countries that, as part of their membership, are bound by the rules and cannot opt out.

Some European countries that are not part of the European Union, such as Switzerland and Norway, have opted into EU Regulation 261 as a benefit to their citizens and travellers in and out of their airports.

See the air passenger rights page on the European Union’s official website for more information.

What EU Countries Are Covered By EU261?

EU 261 protects passengers on flights within the following 27 EU nations:

Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain and Sweden.

EU261 also covers flights outside of the EU in the following countries:

Guadeloupe, French Guiana, Martinique, Reunion Island, Mayotte, Saint-Martin (French Antilles), the Azores, Madeira, the Canary Islands, Iceland, Norway and Switzerland.