KLM delay and cancellation compensation
Checked 11 min read · 4 tables
Two Dutch operating licences put KLM inside both regulations: €250 to €600 per passenger under EU261, £220 to £520 under UK261, once the flight reaches its final destination 3 hours or more late. Proven extraordinary circumstances are the only way out. A refused KLM compensation claim involving a UK airport goes to AviationADR.
KLM inside both regulations: 
UK airport goes to 
AviationADR.
- EU261 €€250–€600per passenger, 3 h or more late at arrival
- UK261 ££220–£520per passenger, 3 h or more late at arrival
- Claim service
No win, no feeHand the claim over →
Key facts: KLM
Fact | Detail |
|---|---|
Amounts | EU261 €250/€400/€600; UK261 £220/£350/£520 |
Operating companies | Koninklijke Luchtvaart Maatschappij N.V. (KLM) and KLM Cityhopper B.V., both Community carriers (Netherlands) |
Arrivals | EU261 on KLM flights into the EU; UK261 on KLM flights into the UK |
ADR scheme | AviationADR ("KLM" on the CAA list), flights involving a UK airport |
Enforcement body, Netherlands | Inspectie Leefomgeving en Transport (Human Environment and Transport Inspectorate) |
Court deadline | Dutch departures: 2 years (BW art. 8:1835, from the day after arrival). UK261: 6 years England, Wales and Northern Ireland; Scotland 5 years under the 1973 Act, untested |
Netherlands)
EU; UK261 on 
CAA list), flights involving a 
England, 
Wales and 
Scotland 5 years under the 1973 Act, untestedSource: EU261 arts. 3, 7, 16 — eur-lex.europa.eu; UK261 arts. 3, 7 — legislation.gov.uk; EC licence and NEB lists — transport.ec.europa.eu; CAA ADR page — caa.co.uk, checked 2026-09-15.
#How much does KLM pay under EU261 for a delay of 3 hours or more?
€400 per passenger is the middle EU261 band, 1,500 to 3,500 km measured to your final destination. Below that the figure is €250, above 3,500 km it is €600, and UK261 substitutes £220, £350 and £520. The clock that matters is arrival, 3 hours or more behind schedule.
KLM compensation bands by great-circle distance
Great-circle distance to your final destination | EU261 € | UK261 £ |
|---|---|---|
1,500 km or less | €250 | £220 |
1,500 to 3,500 km | €400 | £350 |
More than 3,500 km | €600; €300 at KLM's option if under 4 hours late; €400 between two EU airports | £520; £260 if between three and four hours late |
Source: EU261 art. 7, Sturgeon para 63 — eur-lex.europa.eu; UK261 arts. 6(3), 7 — legislation.gov.uk; CAA, Delays — caa.co.uk, checked 2026-09-15.
The three-hour rule came from the court. In Sturgeon (C-402/07 and C-432/07, 2009), the Court of Justice held that passengers reaching their final destination three hours or more late may claim article 7 compensation. UK261 has carried that rule inside article 6 since 14 December 2023.
One band never discounts. Beyond 3,500 km, except between two EU airports, article 7(2) lets KLM pay €300 rather than €600 while the delay stays under four hours; “may” is the word, so the cut is KLM’s option. Between two EU airports the amount holds at €400: Sturgeon’s reduction reaches only flights outside article 7(2)(a) and (b), and an intra-EU flight over 1,500 km sits inside 7(2)(b).
Amsterdam to Lisbon measures about 1,846 km on our own great-circle calculation, both airports inside the EU. A KLM flight on that pairing whose doors open 3 hours 40 minutes late owes €400 per passenger, and 6 hours late owes the same €400.
Write down the minute you were allowed off the aircraft, then run the band through the compensation calculator or the EU261 delay guide.
#Which KLM flights do EU261 and UK261 cover, and what depends on the licence check?
2 KLM companies sit on the European Commission’s list of active operating licences, data as at 19 May 2026, each licensed in the Netherlands as a Community carrier. Departures from EU and UK airports are covered whichever airline flies them. Those Dutch licences add the arrivals.
European Commission’s list of active operating licences, data as at 19 May 2026, each licensed in the KLM companies and their licence status
Company | Licence status | EU261 € | UK261 £ | Licence source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Koninklijke Luchtvaart Maatschappij N.V. (KLM) | Community carrier (Netherlands), category A, effective since 29/05/1995 | Yes | Yes | |
KLM Cityhopper B.V. | Community carrier (Netherlands), category A, effective since 14/12/1994 | Yes | Yes |
Source: EU261 arts. 2(c), 3(1) — eur-lex.europa.eu; UK261 arts. 2(c), 3(1) — legislation.gov.uk; EC licence list — transport.ec.europa.eu, checked 2026-09-15.
Coverage is identical; no licence list ties either company to routes.
Which rules apply to your KLM flight
Your KLM flight | EU261 € | UK261 £ |
|---|---|---|
From an EU airport, except to the UK | Yes | No |
From an EU airport to the UK | Yes | On arrival |
From a UK airport to the EU | On arrival | Yes |
From a UK airport to elsewhere | No | Yes |
From the US or another non-EU, non-UK country into the EU | On arrival | No |
From a non-EU, non-UK country into the UK | No | On arrival |
Between two airports outside the EU and the UK | No | No |
US or another non-EU, non-UK country into the An “on arrival” answer disappears where the country you flew from already gave you benefits or compensation and assistance. “EU” is the 27 member states; departures from Iceland, Norway and Switzerland belong in the EU rows, and flights into those three are not mapped.
Iceland, 
Norway and 
Switzerland belong in the #When does UK261 cover a KLM flight?
Article 3(1)(b)(i) of UK261 names Community carriers, so a KLM flight into the UK from any other country is covered, unless that country already gave you benefits or compensation and assistance. Connections on one booking count from the first airport.
Article 3(5) of EU261 puts the duty on the operating air carrier, so an arrival follows the licence of the airline that flies, not the code on the ticket. Neither regime reaches a Delta Air Lines flight from the US into the EU or the UK, because EASA lists Delta as a third-country operator.
Delta Air Lines flight from the u/leanyka on r/Flights (Reddit, November 2025) pictured a KLM booking with Delta-operated transatlantic legs. The comment asked: “does this also mean that I really need to pay attention to who operates the flights”. On arrivals, yes.
Read the “operated by” line on your booking; US routes sit in the transatlantic guide.
#How do you claim compensation from KLM directly?
21 days is all the Montreal Convention gives you to complain in writing about a delayed KLM bag, counted from the day it is placed back in your hands. The compensation claim beside it runs on years, so the two do not belong in one letter.
Source: EU261 arts. 3(3), 5, 7(3) — eur-lex.europa.eu; Montreal Convention arts. 22(2), 31 — eur-lex.europa.eu; ICAO 2024 limits — icao.int, checked 2026-09-15; KLM page titles in Google UK results, 14 September 2026.
The compensation letter carries the name of each passenger, the flight number with its date, the arrival delay or the cancellation notice, and the regime with the amount. Keep a dated copy: the escalation clock runs from that letter, not from the flight.
#Where are KLM’s compensation pages?
On 14 September 2026, Google UK results for “klm compensation claim” listed Compensation and reimbursement for delay KLM flight, Refund and compensation options for KLM flights, Passenger Rights and Track your request. Whichever page carries your KLM flight delay compensation form, name the figure yourself: “EU261, article 7(1)(b), €400 per passenger”.
Offered a voucher? EU261 decides what compensation is paid in, and KLM cannot move you off it. Paid with Flying Blue miles? Article 3(3) still covers that award ticket; only free travel and fares closed to the public fall outside.
Told 14 days or more before departure, you are owed no compensation for the cancellation; proving when that message went out is KLM’s job.
Delayed baggage runs on the Montreal Convention where that applies, against a limit of 1,519 SDR per passenger. KLM’s page: Lost, delayed, or damaged baggage compensation.
Screenshot the claim you send.
#Which KLM refusal reasons count as extraordinary circumstances?
Article 5(3) of EU261 releases KLM from compensation on one condition: it proves the cancellation was caused by extraordinary circumstances that could not have been avoided even if all reasonable measures had been taken. Sturgeon carries the defence across to arrival delays of 3 hours or more.
Source: EU261 art. 5(3), Wallentin-Hermann (C-549/07, 2008) paras 24-26 — eur-lex.europa.eu; UK261 art. 2(o) — legislation.gov.uk, checked 2026-09-15.
Technical faults have a boundary, and Wallentin-Hermann (C-549/07, 2008) is where it was drawn: which faults clear article 2(o) and which do not is worked through there, with maintenance on one side of the line and a hidden manufacturing defect on the other.
In a passenger report on r/Flights (Reddit, August 2026), u/Born-Broccoli9989 quotes KLM’s refusal for flight KL 1579, Amsterdam to Lisbon, 1 July 2026: it “was cancelled due to Tail strike maintenance optimization report”. The post reports no outcome for that flight.
That wording points at maintenance rather than a hidden defect. Amsterdam to Lisbon is the 1,846 km pairing above, so a cancellation there sits in the €400 band. Two things remove the payment: the notice rules in article 5(1)(c), or extraordinary circumstances KLM proves.
Wallentin-Hermann predates 2021, so it binds UK courts too, where article 2(o) of UK261 writes the test into the statute.
#If KLM rejects your claim
Put two questions to KLM in writing: what caused the disruption, and what did it do to avoid it. Then read when an airline refuses compensation.
#Where do you escalate a refused KLM claim?
8 weeks of silence after your written complaint, or a final refusal, opens AviationADR for a KLM flight involving a UK airport; the CAA lists KLM as a member. File within 12 months of the final response or the last written communication. It costs nothing.
Source: CAA ADR (undated list) and PACT pages — caa.co.uk; AviationADR members — aviationadr.org.uk; EU261 art. 16 — eur-lex.europa.eu; NEB list (27 August 2026) — transport.ec.europa.eu, checked 2026-09-15.
Both lists work at brand level. “KLM” is the entry, neither company is named, and AviationADR adds no country beyond flights involving a UK airport. Accept a decision and it binds KLM; refuse it and court stays open. The scheme takes incidents from the last 6 years, or 5 in Scotland.
PACT is not the KLM route. The CAA’s Passenger Advice and Complaints Team is “only likely to consider your complaint” where the airline is not a member of an approved ADR body.
With no UK airport in the picture, article 16 of EU261 gives the flight to the country you departed from, and to the arrival country on a flight from outside the EU. For the Netherlands that is the Inspectie Leefomgeving en Transport (Human Environment and Transport Inspectorate), so a Schiphol departure ends there.
Diary the 8-week date; compare the ADR scheme guide and ADR map.
AirHelp (third-party claim service)- Write to the airline and keep the reference
- Refused: the enforcement body of the country you left, free
- You keep all of the compensation
Hand it overAirHelp takes the claim, no win no fee- They deal with KLM for you
- AirHelp's fee is 35% of the compensation, VAT included, and nothing if the claim fails.
#How long do you have to claim against KLM?
6 years is your UK261 deadline against KLM in England and Wales, because article 3(9) pulls in section 9 of the Limitation Act 1980; Northern Ireland’s statute matches it and Scotland’s 1973 Act sets 5, untested. Fly out of Schiphol instead and the Dutch clock gives you two years.
Source: UK261 art. 3(9); Limitation Act 1980 s.9; Limitation (NI) Order 1989 art. 4; 1973 Act s.6 — legislation.gov.uk; BW Boek 8 art. 8:1835 — wetten.overheid.nl; ILT complaint page — ilent.nl; Cuadrench Moré — eur-lex.europa.eu; court fees — gov.uk, checked 2026-09-15/18.
Two years is the Dutch answer, not six: article 8:1835 of Book 8 of the Burgerlijk Wetboek, counted from the day after arrival, on a flight that left the Netherlands. Cuadrench Moré (C-139/11, 2012) is why the two numbers can differ on one booking. The ILT stops taking complaints a year after the flight, an intake rule of its own that leaves the court deadline untouched.
A family of 3 from Heathrow to Amsterdam, 370 km on our own great-circle calculation, arriving 3 hours or more late, claims £220 each: £660, a small claim in England and Wales at £70 to issue.
HeathrowNot your situation? Canada’s APPR, the Montreal Convention for baggage, US DOT rules, or which law covers my flight.
Canada’s APPRDiary two years from a Schiphol departure, six from a UK one, five for Scotland (time limits).
#What does KLM owe you while you wait at the airport?
2 hours past scheduled departure, KLM’s EU261 duty of care begins on a flight up to 1,500 km. The line moves to 3 hours between two EU airports over 1,500 km and on other flights of 1,500 to 3,500 km, then to 4 hours. Care is meals and refreshments plus two free calls or emails.
Source: EU261 arts. 5(3), 6(1), 8(1), 9 — eur-lex.europa.eu; UK261 arts. 5(3), 6(1), 6(4), 9 — legislation.gov.uk, checked 2026-09-15.
Two clocks run at once: care counts from scheduled departure, compensation counts arrival at your final destination. An Amsterdam Schiphol departure over 3,500 km pushing back 3 hours 30 minutes late and arriving 3 hours 15 minutes late owes €600, or €300 at KLM’s option, and no care: the 4-hour care line was never crossed.
UK261 draws its 2, 3 and 4-hour lines on distance alone. An overnight wait adds a hotel and transport to it; from 5 hours you may drop the flight for reimbursement within 7 days.
A proven extraordinary circumstance leaves care untouched: article 5(3) of EU261, and articles 5(3) and 6(4) of UK261, remove article 7 compensation and nothing else.
Compare Air France (France, AviationADR), Transavia (Dutch and French licences), Lufthansa (Schlichtung Reise & Verkehr) and Delta Air Lines, a third-country operator covered only leaving the UK or EU.
Air France
France, 
Transavia
LufthansaKeep the receipts and claim unpaid care costs through the right to care guide.
General information, not legal advice. For your specific case, contact the enforcement body of your departure country (arrival country for flights into the EU), the European Consumer Centre network, the CAA or a solicitor.
KLM complaints in the CAA figures
The CAA reports Air France and KLM as one line, "Air France / KLM": 2,328 Reg 261 complaints about the pair reached AviationADR in the CAA's 2025/26 figures (April 2025 to March 2026), an estimated 419 per million passengers, and 52.1% of cases were upheld. These are complaints the ADR body or the CAA received, not delays.
Air France / KLM: complaints, April 2025 to March 2026
| CAA figure | FY26 |
|---|---|
| Handled by | AviationADR |
| Reg 261 complaints | 2,328 |
| All complaints opened | 2,848 |
| Per million passengers (CAA estimate) | 419 |
| Uphold rate | 52.1% |
Source: CAA, Passenger Complaints Data FY26 (Q2 2025 – Q1 2026), data correct as of 3 June 2026 — caa.co.uk, checked 2026-09-22. The CAA calls the per-million figure "an indicative estimated value only".
#Sources
- EU261 (Regulation (EC) No 261/2004) - eur-lex.europa.eu
- UK261 and SI 2023/1370 - legislation.gov.uk
- Sturgeon, C-402/07 and C-432/07 (2009) - eur-lex.europa.eu
- Wallentin-Hermann, C-549/07 (2008) - eur-lex.europa.eu
- Cuadrench Moré, C-139/11 (2012) - eur-lex.europa.eu
- European Commission: active operating licence list, national enforcement bodies
- EASA, Authorised Third Country Operators - easa.europa.eu
- CAA: Delays, ADR, How the CAA can help, Airline licence holders
- AviationADR, airline and airport members - aviationadr.org.uk
- Limitation Act 1980 s.9; Limitation (NI) Order 1989 art. 4; Prescription and Limitation (Scotland) Act 1973 s.6 - legislation.gov.uk
- Montreal Convention 1999 and ICAO 2024 revised limits - eur-lex.europa.eu, icao.int
- Small claims track and court fees - justice.gov.uk, gov.uk