EU261 €EU261 compensation for delayed and cancelled flights

Checked 15 Sep 2026·13 min read

EU flight delay compensation pays €250 / €400 / €600 per passenger for a flight departing an EU, Icelandic, Norwegian or Swiss airport. That is owed once it arrives three hours or more late, is cancelled at short notice, or a passenger is bumped against their will. Departing a UK airport? UK261 sets its own amounts in pounds, covered on a separate page.

#EU261 €How much EU261 compensation do you get for a delayed flight?

€250, €400 or €600 per passenger is the EU261 amount, fixed by the great-circle distance to your final destination. It is owed once a delay reaches three hours at arrival, a cancellation lacks enough notice, or boarding is denied against your will. The band never changes with ticket price or airline.

Source: EU261 art. 7(1)(a)-(c), art. 7(4), art. 4(1)-(3) — eur-lex.europa.eu, checked 2026-09-15.

Each passenger on the booking claims the full figure separately.

You are owed this amount when three things hold at once. Your flight departed an EU, Icelandic, Norwegian or Swiss airport on any airline, or arrived at an EU or Swiss airport from outside on an airline holding an EU or Swiss operating licence. The delay reached three hours at your final destination, or the cancellation notice fell short of the windows covered below. And the airline cannot prove extraordinary circumstances — the burden sits on the airline, not on you.

The same table applies to every airline on flights from the EU, low-cost or full-service. Run your own route through the compensation calculator before assuming the top band applies.

#Does your delay qualify: 3 hours at arrival?

An arrival delay of 3 hours or more at your final destination is EU261’s delay trigger, set by the CJEU in Sturgeon rather than by the Regulation’s own wording. Arrival means the moment at least one aircraft door opens, not touchdown, so taxi time after landing still counts toward it.

Source: CJEU joined cases C-402/07 and C-432/07 Sturgeon, operative part point 2; C-452/13 Germanwings (Henning), operative part — eur-lex.europa.eu, checked 2026-09-15.

Sturgeon (C-402/07 and C-432/07, 2009) held that a passenger reaching their final destination three hours or more after the original scheduled arrival can claim the same article 7 compensation as a cancellation. Germanwings (C-452/13, 2014) then fixed what “arrival” means: the moment at least one door opens, not touchdown or the moment the aircraft reaches its stand. A flight that touches down 2 hours 50 minutes late and opens its doors 12 minutes later arrives 3 hours 2 minutes late and qualifies. Had a door opened after 9 minutes, at 2 hours 59 minutes, no compensation would be owed.

In Folkerts (C-11/11, 2013), the CJEU held that for connecting flights the delay that counts is the delay at the final destination. Where a single booking covers several flights, the order in Flightright v Eurowings (C-939/19, 2020) sets the compensation band on the total distance from the first departure to the final destination, even if only the last leg was delayed. A short final hop that arrives three hours late on a booking that started thousands of kilometres away is paid on the band for the whole journey’s distance.

UK261, Canada and US thresholds are compared on the flight delay threshold rules page. Write down the time the first door opened, not the touchdown time printed on a tracking app.

#What are you owed when a flight from the EU is cancelled?

14 days' notice is the line for a cancelled flight. With two weeks or more of warning, EU261 compensation is not owed. You still choose between reimbursement within seven days and re-routing, and while you wait for a replacement the airline still owes care: meals, two calls or emails, and a hotel if you need to stay overnight.

Source: EU261 art. 5(1)(a)-(c)(i)-(iii), art. 5(3), art. 5(4), art. 8(1), art. 9(1)-(2); CJEU C-832/18 Finnair (A and Others) — eur-lex.europa.eu, checked 2026-09-15.

Between two weeks and seven days' notice, the airline owes no compensation if it offers a replacement leaving no more than two hours before and landing less than four hours after your original times. Inside seven days, the tolerance tightens to one hour early and less than two hours late. Miss either window and compensation is due, unless the airline proves extraordinary circumstances. The burden of proof on notice sits with the airline, under article 5(4): it has to show when it told you.

If the replacement flight you accept is itself delayed or cancelled, the CJEU held in Finnair (A and Others) (C-832/18, 2020) that a second compensation can be owed, on top of the payment for the original flight.

Extraordinary circumstances remove only the fixed article 7 payment. Under article 5(3), the airline has to prove the cancellation was caused by extraordinary circumstances that could not have been avoided even if all reasonable measures had been taken. Even then, the exemption covers “compensation in accordance with Article 7” by name. Your article 8 choice of reimbursement or re-routing and your article 9 right to care stay owed. Test the specific cause the airline gives against the extraordinary circumstances decoder before accepting a refusal.

Put your choice of reimbursement or re-routing in writing before you book anything yourself, and keep the airline’s cancellation message: it is your record of how much notice you got.

#When can the airline cut the amount by 50%?

50% is the only reduction EU261 allows, and article 7(2) says the airline “may” apply it. It covers two situations: a re-routed passenger arriving within two, three or four hours of the original schedule, by band, or an arrival delay of three hours or more but less than four hours, on the €600 band only.

Source: EU261 art. 7(2); CJEU joined cases C-402/07 and C-432/07 Sturgeon, para 63 — eur-lex.europa.eu, checked 2026-09-15.

Article 7(2) covers a passenger moved onto a different flight under article 8. If that replacement arrives no more than two hours (flights up to 1,500 km), three hours (intra-EU flights over 1,500 km, and other flights of 1,500-3,500 km) or four hours (other flights over 3,500 km) after the original scheduled arrival, the airline may pay half. Sturgeon’s paragraph 63 extends the same cut to a plain delay on your own flight, but only on the €600 band and only where the delay is less than four hours. At 4 hours 0 minutes or more, the full €600 is due.

This long-haul 50% reduction never reaches the €250 or €400 bands. Sturgeon’s paragraph 63 excludes flights falling under article 7(2)(a) or (b) from the delay cut. A delay of 3 hours 30 minutes on a flight of over 3,500 km between the EU and a non-EU country may be paid at €300. The same length of delay on an intra-EU flight over 1,500 km stays at the full €400.

Before accepting €300, check that your route sits outside the intra-EU band and that the doors opened less than 4 hours after the scheduled arrival. The EU261 hub explains how the reduction works across all three bands.

#Which flights to and from the EU are covered?

Any flight departing an EU, Icelandic, Norwegian or Swiss airport is covered under article 3(1)(a), on any airline. A flight arriving at an EU or Swiss airport from outside is covered only if the airline that operated it holds an EU or Swiss licence, under article 3(1)(b).

Source: EU261 art. 3(1)(a)-(b), art. 3(5); Commission Interpretative Guidelines C/2024/5687, fn 20; EU-Switzerland Air Transport Agreement, Annex — eur-lex.europa.eu; Irish Aviation Authority, Air Passenger Rights — iaa.ie, checked 2026-09-15.

Departure coverage ignores the airline’s nationality: a US, Canadian or Gulf carrier leaving an EU airport is covered under article 3(1)(a) exactly as an EU airline would be. The same airline’s flight arriving from outside is a different test. The Irish Aviation Authority’s own example: a New York-to-Dublin flight delayed on Aer Lingus, an Irish-licensed carrier, is covered; the same route delayed on American Airlines, which holds no EU licence, is not. Even on an EU- or Swiss-licensed airline, an inbound flight falls outside EU261 if you already received benefits or compensation and assistance for it in the country you departed from.

A UK-licensed carrier sits on the same side of that line as American Airlines. British Airways, Jet2, Virgin Atlantic, Loganair, and the UK-licensed entities inside the Ryanair, easyJet, Wizz Air, TUI and Aer Lingus/Emerald groups are UK air carriers, not Community carriers. EU261 does not cover their flights arriving in the EU from outside it. Groups such as Ryanair and easyJet operate under several licensed entities, so check which one operated your flight. If that airline holds a Norwegian or Icelandic licence and flew you into the EU, confirm with the enforcement body of the arrival country whether EU261 applies before you claim.

UK261 applies to every departure from a UK airport, with its own amounts in pounds: see the UK261 guide. Canada’s rules sit in the Air Passenger Protection Regulations guide, and US federal rules in the US DOT hub. Unsure which law fits your ticket? Work it out here.

#How do you claim EU261 compensation from the airline?

Article 7 is what you cite when you claim EU261 compensation yourself. State your flight number, date, the delay length or cancellation notice you received, and the euro figure from the distance table above, sent to whichever airline actually operated your flight.

Source: EU261 art. 3(5), art. 7(3), art. 15(1) — eur-lex.europa.eu, checked 2026-09-15.

Identify the operating carrier before you write anything: article 3(5) makes that airline the one that owes you, and it is not always the name printed on your booking confirmation. Use the airline’s own online claim form where one exists. Otherwise email its customer relations address so you keep a dated copy. Attach your booking confirmation, boarding pass and any disruption message.

Article 7(3) requires payment in cash, electronic bank transfer, bank orders or bank cheques. An airline can pay in travel vouchers or other services instead only with your signed agreement, so a default voucher offer does not bind you. Article 15(1) bars the airline from limiting or waiving these obligations in its own terms and conditions. A clause offering store credit only cannot take away your right to payment under article 7(3).

If the airline rejects a valid claim or does not pay, move to the enforcement step below rather than resending the same email.

#What if the airline refuses: national enforcement body or court?

27 EU states, plus Iceland, Norway and Switzerland, appear on the European Commission’s list of national enforcement bodies for EU261, updated 27 August 2026. Complain to the body of the country your flight departed from; for a flight into the EU from outside it, complain to the body of the country where it landed.

Source: EU261 art. 16(1)-(2); European Commission, National Enforcement Bodies list (updated 27 Aug 2026); Irish Aviation Authority, Air Passenger Rights; Courts Service of Ireland, Small Claims — eur-lex.europa.eu, transport.ec.europa.eu, iaa.ie, courts.ie, checked 2026-09-15.

Ireland shows how one country’s route works. The Irish Aviation Authority (IAA) is Ireland’s national enforcement body for EU261 and takes complaints through its MySRS portal. If you live in Ireland and the airline is based in another EU state, Iceland, Norway or the UK, ECC Ireland, hosted by the CCPC, gives free advice. The IAA’s own guidance names three routes for an EU261 claim: the Small Claims Procedure in the District Court, the European Small Claims Procedure, or a complaint to the competent enforcement body. Ireland’s Small Claims Procedure takes claims of €2,000 or less, so one passenger’s €600 fits inside it.

The bodies on the Commission’s list do not all do the same job. In Finland, the Consumer Disputes Board takes private consumers' complaints, while Traficom deals with non-consumers and handles no individual cases. In Italy, ENAC enforces and sanctions but does not decide compensation, and alternative dispute resolution runs through the Transport Regulatory Authority’s ConciliaWeb.

The airline-refused escalation map sets out the ladder for every regime, and passenger-reported payout times sit in the payout-times data. Check on the Commission’s list which body in the departure or arrival country takes individual complaints before you file.

Rather not chase the enforcement body or a court yourself? AirHelp (third-party claim service) takes on rejected or stalled EU261 claims, no win no fee, and keeps a fee from any payout; the free complaint route above stays open.

Do it yourself · freeClaim with the airline, then the regulator

• Write to the airline and keep the reference
• Refused: the enforcement body of the country you left, free
• You keep all of the compensation

Use the claim letter template →

Hand it overAirHelp takes the claim, no win no fee

• They deal with the airline for you
• AirHelp's fee is 35% of the compensation, VAT included, and nothing if the claim fails.

Start with AirHelp →Third-party claim service

#How long do you have to claim EU261 compensation?

No EU-wide deadline exists for an EU261 claim. Article 7 fixes the amount, not the time limit, so the CJEU ruled in Cuadrench Moré that each Member State’s own rules on limitation of actions decide how long you have to sue, and Ireland’s rules give 6 years.

Source: CJEU C-139/11 Cuadrench Moré, operative part; Statute of Limitations 1957 (Ireland) s.11(1) — eur-lex.europa.eu, revisedacts.lawreform.ie, checked 2026-09-15.

Cuadrench Moré (C-139/11, 2012) held that the time limit for bringing an EU261 claim is set by national rules on limitation of actions, because the Regulation itself sets none. Your answer therefore depends on which country’s courts hear the claim, and the period is whatever that country’s law provides. Ireland’s Statute of Limitations 1957 gives six years.

Regulation 261/2004 contains no rule that pauses that period while the airline or an enforcement body handles your complaint, so file in court inside it. Treat the period that applies to you as a hard stop, not a target. Keep your booking confirmation, boarding pass and every message from the airline until the claim is paid or the period has run out.

Confirm the limitation period of your own likely court before assuming Ireland’s six years applies outside Ireland.

General information on EU flight delay compensation, not legal advice. For your specific case, contact the enforcement body of your departure country, or of your arrival country for a flight into the EU, the European Consumer Centre network or a solicitor.

#Sources

• Regulation (EC) No 261/2004, arts. 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 15, 16 - eur-lex.europa.eu, checked 2026-09-15.
• Sturgeon, joined cases C-402/07 and C-432/07 (2009), CJEU - eur-lex.europa.eu.
• Germanwings (Henning), C-452/13 (2014), CJEU - eur-lex.europa.eu.
• Folkerts, C-11/11 (2013), CJEU - eur-lex.europa.eu.
• Finnair (A and Others), C-832/18 (2020), CJEU - eur-lex.europa.eu.
• Flightright v Eurowings (order), C-939/19 (2020), CJEU - eur-lex.europa.eu.
• Cuadrench Moré, C-139/11 (2012), CJEU - eur-lex.europa.eu.
• Commission Interpretative Guidelines on Regulation (EC) No 261/2004, C/2024/5687, footnote 20 - eur-lex.europa.eu, checked 2026-09-15.
• Agreement between the European Community and the Swiss Confederation on Air Transport, Annex (consolidated 15 July 2023) - eur-lex.europa.eu, checked 2026-09-15.
• European Commission, National Enforcement Bodies — Regulation (EC) No 261/2004, updated 27 August 2026 - transport.ec.europa.eu, checked 2026-09-15.
• Irish Aviation Authority, Air Passenger Rights - iaa.ie, checked 2026-09-15.
• ECC Ireland, Who we are - eccireland.ie, checked 2026-09-15.
• Courts Service of Ireland, Small Claims - courts.ie, checked 2026-09-15.
• Statute of Limitations 1957 (Ireland), s.11(1) - revisedacts.lawreform.ie, checked 2026-09-15.

#FAQ

Does EU261 still apply to the UK?

Yes, both ways. A flight from an EU, Icelandic, Norwegian or Swiss airport to the UK is covered on any airline under article 3(1)(a). A flight from the UK into the EU is covered only on an EU- or Swiss-licensed airline, under article 3(1)(b), unless you already received benefits or compensation and assistance in the UK.

Can I get EU261 compensation twice if my replacement flight is also late?

Yes. In Finnair (A and Others) (C-832/18, 2020), the CJEU held that compensation may be owed twice: once for the original flight and again if the re-routed replacement flight is itself delayed or cancelled. Keep the booking, boarding pass and disruption messages for both the original and the replacement flight.