EU261 reform: what Regulation 2026/2202 changes from 23 October 2027
Regulation (EU) 2026/2202, the EU261 reform, was published in the Official Journal on 2 October 2026, enters into force on 22 October 2026 and applies from 23 October 2027; until then the 2004 text decides every claim. The three compensation amounts, EUR 250, EUR 400 and EUR 600, survive unchanged. The rules around them do not. UK261 is not amended, and the compensation calculator on this site keeps today’s rules until 23 October 2027.
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#What is the legal status of the EU261 reform?
2 October 2026 is the day the Official Journal published Regulation (EU) 2026/2202, which amends EU261. It enters into force on 22 October 2026 and applies from 23 October 2027. Until then the 2004 text decides every claim, so the rules on the EU261 hub are the ones that apply to a claim you make now.
Source: Regulation (EU) 2026/2202, art. 3 — publications.europa.eu (OJ L, 2.10.2026), checked 2026-10-20; procedure file 2013/0072(COD) — oeil.europarl.europa.eu, checked 2026-10-20.
The legislative procedure is closed. Parliament adopted its legislative resolution on 7 July 2026, the Council took its third-reading decision on 13 July 2026, and the act was signed in Strasbourg on 16 September 2026. The European Parliament’s Legislative Observatory now records procedure 2013/0072(COD) as completed. The joint text behind the act was approved by the Conciliation Committee on 15 June 2026.
Two dates do different jobs. Entry into force, on the twentieth day after publication, makes the amended text part of EU law. Application is the day its rules start to bind airlines. Article 3 fixes it as a calendar date, 23 October 2027, rather than a countdown. Between those two days the amended text is in force but not yet applicable, and the 2004 Regulation, unamended, keeps deciding claims.
EU law. Application is the day its rules start to bind airlines. Article 3 fixes it as a calendar date, 23 October 2027, rather than a countdown. Between those two days the amended text is in force but not yet applicable, and the 2004 Regulation, unamended, keeps deciding claims.Article 3 adds that the regulation is binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States. Article 3 sets no other date, and the act contains no transitional provision.
Do not hold a claim back for the new rules. A claim made today runs on the 2004 text, and only your country’s limitation law sets how long you have: check it on flight compensation time limits.
#Do EU261 compensation amounts change from 23 October 2027?
EUR 250, EUR 400 and EUR 600 stay exactly as they are in new article 7(1), with the same distance bands. The line around them moves: delay compensation needs an arrival delay exceeding three hours, measured at on-block time, so exactly 3 hours 0 minutes, enough under the 2004 text, is not enough under the new one.
Element | 2004 text (decides claims until 23 Oct 2027) | Regulation 2026/2202 (applies from 23 Oct 2027) |
|---|---|---|
Compensation amounts | EUR 250 / 400 / 600, per flight | EUR 250 / 400 / 600, per journey (art. 7(1)) |
Delay threshold | 3 hours or more at arrival (Sturgeon) | Exceeding 3 hours at arrival (art. 6(4)) |
Arrival time | When at least one aircraft door opens (Germanwings) | On-block: aircraft at the stand, parking brakes engaged (art. 2(x)) |
50% reduction | Re-routing: all three bands; delay: longest band only, under 4 hours late | Longest band only, re-routing or delay, arrival no more than 4 hours late (art. 7(2)) |
Source: Regulation (EU) 2026/2202, new arts. 2(o), 2(x), 6(4), 7(1), 7(2), 7(5) — publications.europa.eu, checked 2026-10-20; Sturgeon and Germanwings — eur-lex.europa.eu.
The threshold change is the one that costs passengers money. Today, Sturgeon (C-402/07 and C-432/07, 2009) gives compensation to passengers who reach their final destination three hours or more late. New article 6(4) says “exceeding three hours”. A delay of 3 hours 0 minutes earns compensation under the 2004 text; under article 6(4) the delay has to pass that mark.
The clock stops at a different moment too. Under Germanwings (C-452/13, 2014), arrival is the moment at least one aircraft door opens. New article 2(x) uses on-block time instead: the aircraft has reached the arrival stand and its parking brakes are engaged. Delay at arrival counts from the scheduled arrival time on your ticket as issued at booking, with exceptions for some rescheduled and rerouting flights (new article 2(o)).
Distance keeps the great circle method. New article 7(5) measures it from the initial point of departure to the final destination, and on a connecting flight only those two points count.
The 50% cut narrows. Today article 7(2) lets an airline halve a re-routed passenger’s payment in all three bands, and Sturgeon applies the cut to delays in the longest band only. New article 7(2) allows it only in the EUR 600 band, after rerouting or a delay, where arrival is no more than 4 hours late, so exactly 4 hours 0 minutes is reducible. The text says “may”: the cut stays the airline’s option. Under both texts the airline can refuse payment if it proves extraordinary circumstances.
Write down the minute the first door opened and keep the airline’s published arrival time: under the 2004 text, the door time decides.
#What changes for cancellation notice under the new text?
14 calendar days becomes the single notice line for cancellation compensation under new article 5(5). With less notice, the airline avoids paying only by offering rerouting that departs no more than 1 hour early and arrives less than 2 hours late, or by proving extraordinary circumstances. The 2004 text’s 14-to-7-day middle tier, with its wider 2-hour and 4-hour window, disappears.
Source: Regulation (EU) 2026/2202, new arts. 2(l), 5(5), 7(2), 7(3) — publications.europa.eu, checked 2026-10-20; Regulation (EC) No 261/2004, art. 5(1)(c), 5(4) — eur-lex.europa.eu, checked 2026-09-15.
Today article 5(1)(c) has three tiers. Two weeks' notice or more removes compensation. Between two weeks and seven days, the airline owes no compensation if it offers rerouting that departs no more than 2 hours early and arrives less than 4 hours late. Inside seven days, the window tightens to 1 hour early and 2 hours late.
Example: the airline cancels 10 days before departure and offers a replacement that leaves 30 minutes early and lands 3 hours late. Under the 2004 text that offer removes compensation. Under new article 5(5) it misses the 2-hour limit, so compensation is due unless the airline proves extraordinary circumstances; in the EUR 600 band the airline may halve it, because arrival is within 4 hours. Under both texts the airline carries the burden of proving when it told you.
Two further changes sharpen what counts as a cancellation. New article 2(l) treats a ticket whose departure time is brought forward by more than one hour as cancelled, and also a flight that took off but was diverted elsewhere, or returned, and could not continue. If the rerouted journey departs more than one hour before the original, new article 7(3) allows two cuts, provided you take that flight: 50% where departure moves forward by less than two hours, and 25% where it moves forward by less than three hours.
Keep the message that announced the cancellation, with its date and time: the days of notice decide your tier under either text. Today’s rules are on flight schedule changes.
#What new claim and complaint deadlines does the reform set?
9 months from the actual date of departure is the window new article 7(9) gives you to request compensation from the airline. The airline must acknowledge the request immediately and, within 30 calendar days, pay or justify a refusal. The 2004 text sets no claim deadline at all; today only national limitation law decides how long you have.
Source: Regulation (EU) 2026/2202, new arts. 7(4), 7(9), 15a(2) — publications.europa.eu, checked 2026-10-20; Cuadrench Moré (C-139/11, 2012) — eur-lex.europa.eu.
The airline also has to come to you first. Under new article 7(4), where you may be owed compensation for a cancellation, a delay or a missed connection, the airline must contact you within 96 hours of the end of your journey. It does so electronically, on a durable medium, with information on that right and clear instructions for requesting it.
A refusal has to be specific. New article 7(9) requires the airline to name the extraordinary circumstance from the Annex it relies on or, for an event not on the list, the event and its reasons. It must add a clear and substantiated explanation of how the event meets the direct causal link and reasonable measures conditions. If a claim company or another third party files for you, the airline may ask for evidence of a valid mandate.
Complaints get their own clock under new article 15a. You may complain within 12 months of the date the flight was performed or scheduled, or 3 months after your compensation request, whichever is later. The airline confirms receipt within seven working days and gives a reasoned reply within one month; in duly justified cases it may instead tell you a final reply will come within less than two months of receipt. That final reply must name the complaint-handling bodies.
Until 23 October 2027 none of these deadlines applies: Cuadrench Moré (C-139/11, 2012) leaves the time limit to each country’s rules on limitation of actions. Claim in writing now and keep the airline’s reply; the period for your country is on flight compensation time limits.
#What changes for refunds, rerouting and payment?
7 calendar days from your choice is the refund deadline in new article 8(1)(a), and the money comes by electronic bank transfer unless you explicitly agree to another method. If the airline offers no comparable rerouting within 3 hours, new article 8(3) lets you arrange your own and reclaim up to 400% of your ticket price.
Source: Regulation (EU) 2026/2202, new arts. 7(7), 7(8), 8(1)-(3), 8a — publications.europa.eu, checked 2026-10-20; Regulation (EC) No 261/2004, arts. 7(3), 8(1) — eur-lex.europa.eu, checked 2026-09-15.
Refund timing barely moves. Article 8(1) of the 2004 text already gives reimbursement within seven days; the new text makes the refund of the full ticket price and any intermediation fees automatic, counted from your choice. An activated airport contingency plan can stretch that to 30 calendar days.
Self-rerouting is new. The 400% cap covers the full price of the ticket or tickets and intermediation fees, and the airline reimburses within 14 calendar days of your request, or 30 under a contingency plan. For a cancellation, the 3 hours run from the departure time on your ticket. The airline’s own offer can use the same route, a different route, another airline, another mode of transport or an alternative airport, with the transfer at its cost (new article 8(2)).
Compensation moves to bank transfer. Today article 7(3) allows cash, bank transfer, bank orders or cheques, and vouchers only with your signed agreement. New article 7(7) makes electronic bank transfer the rule; any other means needs your explicit agreement on a durable medium, and the airline must prove how and when you gave it. Under new article 8a you never have to accept a voucher instead of payment. A voucher you do accept is worth at least the amount due and lasts at most 12 months, extendable once by 12 months if both sides agree; any unused balance comes back automatically within seven calendar days of expiry.
Ask the airline in writing to reroute you before you buy a replacement ticket, and refuse a voucher if you want money; today’s rules are on refunds and vouchers.
#What care must the airline give during a delay under the new text?
Every 2 hours of waiting earns refreshments under new article 9(1); a meal is due after 3 hours and every 5 hours after that, up to three meals a day, with internet access and two phone calls free. The 2004 text ties care to distance instead, starting at 2, 3 or 4 hours of delay depending on the band.
Source: Regulation (EU) 2026/2202, new arts. 6(1)-(3), 9, 11(10) — publications.europa.eu, checked 2026-10-20; Regulation (EC) No 261/2004, arts. 6(1), 9 — eur-lex.europa.eu, checked 2026-09-15; McDonagh (C-12/11, 2013) — eur-lex.europa.eu.
New article 6(2) drops the distance thresholds of the 2004 article 6(1): on a delayed flight, the airline offers assistance under article 9, and the schedule above sets its rhythm. It must tell you about the delay immediately where possible, and at the latest by the departure time on your ticket. When the delay at departure reaches 5 hours, it must offer a refund without undue delay (new article 6(3)). The airline may limit or decline assistance if providing it delays the departure further.
Hotel nights get a ceiling. McDonagh (C-12/11, 2013) holds that extraordinary circumstances do not release the airline from care, and it sets no limit on how long that care lasts. New article 9(6) lets the airline limit hotel accommodation to three nights where extraordinary circumstances apply, and new article 11(10) keeps that cap away from passengers with specific needs. McDonagh decides care until 23 October 2027.
If the airline fails to provide care, you may arrange it yourself and claim back what was necessary, reasonable and proportionate, repaid within 14 calendar days (30 under a contingency plan). Care stops once you choose a refund at your initial point of departure, or rerouting at a later date (new article 9(7)).
Keep every receipt for meals, transport and hotel, and ask the airline for care in writing first. Today’s rules are on right to care.
#What changes for tarmac delays and extraordinary circumstances?
2 hours of tarmac delay at an airport in an EU Member State is the point at which new article 6a(3) sends the aircraft to the gate, or another suitable point, so you can disembark. Beyond it, the delay can continue only for safety, immigration, air traffic control or security reasons. The 2004 text contains no tarmac rule at all.
Source: Regulation (EU) 2026/2202, new arts. 2(r), 2(y), 6a, 6c, 17 and the Annex — publications.europa.eu, checked 2026-10-20; Regulation (EC) No 261/2004, art. 5(3) — eur-lex.europa.eu, checked 2026-09-15.
A tarmac delay is a wait exceeding 30 minutes on the ground with the doors closed, or after touch-down (new article 2(y)). While it lasts, the airline must provide heating or cooling, toilets and drinking water (new article 6a(2)).
Extraordinary circumstances get a definition and a list. New article 2(r) defines them as events which by their nature or origin are not inherent in the normal exercise of the airline’s activity and are beyond its actual control. New article 6c points to a non-exhaustive Annex and allows the defence only where there is a direct causal link between the event and your disruption. Proving that link, and that all reasonable measures were taken, falls on the airline.
Each Annex item carries its own conditions, so read the item in full rather than its label. A strike at the operating airline counts only where it originates from demands that only public authorities can satisfy (item 3(h)). Meteorological conditions count where they are incompatible with the safe operation of the flight (item 1(c)). The Commission must report on the list by 23 October 2031 and every five years after that (new article 17).
Today article 5(3) leaves the term undefined, and case law fills the gap. If an airline refuses you now, ask it to name the event and explain why it could not be avoided. The tests that apply today are on extraordinary circumstances.
#Does the EU261 reform change UK261 or the compensation calculator?
24 recorded changes to the UK’s version of Regulation 261/2004 all come from SI 2019/278 and SI 2023/1370; none dates from 2026. Regulation (EU) 2026/2202 binds EU Member States only and never became UK law, so UK261, which covers every flight from a UK airport, is unchanged.
UK’s version of Regulation 261/2004 all come from SI 2019/278 and SI 2023/1370; none dates from 2026. Regulation (EU) 2026/2202 binds Source: European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018, s. 3(1); changes affecting Regulation (EC) No 261/2004 — legislation.gov.uk, checked 2026-10-20; Reg. 261/2004 as it forms part of UK law, arts. 2(n), 5(1)(c), 6(3)-(4) — legislation.gov.uk, checked 2026-09-15.
Section 3(1) of the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018 makes direct EU legislation part of UK law so far as it was operative immediately before IP completion day. Regulation (EU) 2026/2202 was signed on 16 September 2026 and published on 2 October 2026, so it was not operative then and does not form part of UK law.
A flight from a UK airport therefore stays on UK261. EU261, and so the reform, reaches it only when an EU airline flies it into the EU and you did not already receive compensation and assistance in the UK (article 3(1)(b)). Its statutory delay right, inserted by SI 2023/1370, remains three hours or more at the final destination, unless the airline proves extraordinary circumstances (article 6(3)-(4)). Arrival remains the time passengers are permitted to exit the aircraft (article 2(n)). The 14-to-7-day cancellation tier also stays in UK261 article 5(1)(c).
The compensation calculator on this site keeps today’s rules, the 2004 EU text and UK261, until 23 October 2027: three hours or more, the current notice tiers and the current reductions. The rule-changes tracker logs the reform’s dates.
Use UK261 for a flight from a UK airport and the EU261 hub for a flight from an EU airport.
General information, not legal advice. For your specific case: your national enforcement body or your national European Consumer Centre.
#Sources
- Regulation (EU) 2026/2202 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 September 2026, OJ L, 2026/2202, 2.10.2026 — eur-lex.europa.eu; text read through the Publications Office Cellar (CELEX 32026R2202), checked 2026-10-20.
- European Parliament Legislative Observatory, procedure file 2013/0072(COD) — oeil.europarl.europa.eu, checked 2026-10-20.
- Regulation (EC) No 261/2004, arts. 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 — eur-lex.europa.eu, checked 2026-09-15.
- CJEU, Sturgeon (C-402/07 and C-432/07, 2009) — eur-lex.europa.eu; Germanwings (C-452/13, 2014) — eur-lex.europa.eu; McDonagh (C-12/11, 2013) — eur-lex.europa.eu; Cuadrench Moré (C-139/11, 2012) — eur-lex.europa.eu.
- European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018, s. 3 — legislation.gov.uk, checked 2026-10-20.
- Changes affecting Regulation (EC) No 261/2004 (UK version) — legislation.gov.uk, checked 2026-10-20.