Claim Flight Compensation for Delayed or Cancelled Flights

The amount is fixed by flight distance, not by your ticket price and not by how long you were delayed beyond the three-hour threshold.

• €250 — flights up to 1,500 km
• €400 — intra-EU flights over 1,500 km, and other flights between 1,500 and 3,500 km
• €600 — all other flights over 3,500 km

This is paid on top of any refund or rerouting you’re entitled to. It is not a refund of your ticket.

You are potentially eligible in three situations:

Your flight arrived 3 or more hours late. The clock runs on arrival time, not departure. A flight that leaves four hours late but makes up time and lands two hours late does not qualify.

Your flight was cancelled with less than 14 days’ notice. The airline must prove it notified you in time.

You were denied boarding due to overbooking. There is no extraordinary-circumstances defence for overbooking — if you didn’t volunteer to give up your seat, you qualify automatically.

EU261 applies to:

• Any flight departing an EU airport, regardless of which airline operates it
• Flights arriving in the EU, but only on an EU-registered carrier

So a Singapore Airlines flight from Frankfurt is covered. The same airline flying into Frankfurt is not. A Lufthansa flight into Frankfurt from Singapore is.

UK261 applies the same logic to flights touching the United Kingdom. A flight with no EU or UK connection — New York to Tokyo on a US carrier, for instance — falls outside both.

The excuses that don’t hold up

Airlines can refuse to pay only if the disruption was caused by genuine “extraordinary circumstances” they couldn’t have avoided. This is where most disputes happen, and airlines apply the label far more often than the law allows.

Usually does count as extraordinary:

• Severe weather that genuinely prevented the flight operating
• Air traffic control restrictions outside the airline’s control
• Political instability, security threats or military action
• Strikes by airport staff or air traffic controllers

Does not count, whatever the airline tells you:

• Technical and mechanical faults — these are part of running an airline
• Strikes by the airline’s own staff. The European Court ruled in 2018 that airline staff strikes are not extraordinary circumstances
• Crew shortages or crew running out of legal hours
• Knock-on delays from an earlier flight’s problem

If an airline refuses your claim citing weather or technical issues, that refusal is not the final word. Check whether other airlines operated the same route that day.

Further than most people assume. The deadline depends on which country’s courts would handle the claim, and typically ranges from two to six years. Germany allows three years, Spain five, and the UK six.

If you had a bad flight two or three years ago, it may still be claimable.

What else you’re entitled to

Compensation is separate from the airline’s duty of care, which applies even when extraordinary circumstances excuse the compensation payment:

• Meals and refreshments proportionate to the wait
• Hotel accommodation and transfers if you’re delayed overnight
• Two free phone calls or emails
• A full refund or rerouting if you choose not to travel

If the airline downgrades you to a lower cabin than booked, you’re owed 30% of that segment’s price on flights up to 1,500 km, 50% on intra-EU flights over 1,500 km, and 75% on longer routes. That’s separate from delay compensation.

How to claim

Gather your evidence first. Your booking confirmation, boarding pass, and any communication from the airline. A screenshot from Flightradar24 or FlightAware showing the actual arrival time is the single most useful piece of evidence you can have.

Check your eligibility. Use the free checker above — it takes a couple of minutes and costs nothing.

Claim yourself or use a service. Claiming direct with the airline is free but often slow, and airlines routinely reject valid claims at the first attempt. A claims service takes a percentage but handles the pushback, and most work on a no-win-no-fee basis.

A reform was approved by the European Parliament and Council in July 2026, but it is not yet in force and won’t apply for some time. The three-hour threshold and the €250–€600 amounts survive unchanged. Everything on this page reflects the law as it applies to a flight disrupted today.

Check your flight

Use the free eligibility checker at the top of this page to see whether your flight qualifies. It takes two minutes and there’s no obligation.

See also our guide on what to do when your flight is cancelled or delayed, and compare travel insurance for cover beyond what airlines are obliged to provide.

No. Compensation is a fixed sum paid on top of any refund or rerouting. If your flight was cancelled you can be entitled to both.

How much compensation can I get for a delayed flight?

€250 for flights up to 1,500 km, €400 for medium-haul, and €600 for flights over 3,500 km. The amount depends on distance, not on your ticket price or how long the delay lasted beyond three hours.

Does the delay count from departure or arrival?

Arrival. A flight that departs late but lands less than three hours behind schedule does not qualify.

Can I claim for a flight from years ago?

Usually yes. Time limits vary by country and generally run from two to six years. Germany allows three years, Spain five, the UK six.

The airline said it was weather. Can I still claim?

Possibly. Airlines cite extraordinary circumstances far more often than the law permits. Check whether other flights operated the same route that day — if they did, the weather defence is weak.