EU passenger-rights guide
EU261 Flight Delay and Compensation Guide
EU261 compensation guide: check route and airline coverage, €250–€600 bands, arrival delays, cancellations, care, refunds and evidence before claiming.
Feroz Sheikh · Founder and editor, Doha, QatarReviewed 7 September 2026 · Not legal advice · Not a named lawyer review
About the editorShort answer
EU261 is a preliminary route-and-carrier framework, not an automatic payment rule. A flight departing the EU/EEA/Switzerland is a key starting fact; for arrivals from outside that area, the operating carrier can be important. Final arrival timing, cancellation notice, rerouting and the airline-recorded cause still need checking. Where a qualifying path applies, official EU guidance uses three compensation bands: €250, €400 and €600 per passenger, depending on distance and whether the flight is intra-EU or longer-haul. A long-haul replacement that arrives 3–4 hours late can reduce the €600 band by 50% to €300. A delay of five hours or more can open a refund-instead-of-travel question. There is no single EU-wide court deadline; national law sets the time limit for legal action.
Coverage test: when EU261 is the starting framework
Start with geography and the operating carrier, not the marketing brand on the ticket. Official EU passenger-rights guidance treats a flight departing from the EU, EEA or Switzerland as in scope. A flight arriving into that area can also be in scope when the operating carrier is an EU, EEA or Swiss airline. A codeshare sold by one airline and operated by another should be assessed against the airline that actually flew the disrupted sector. A connecting itinerary on one booking is usually judged at the final ticketed destination, not at the first delayed take-off. This page does not decide an individual claim. It organises the coverage question so a later airline letter is factual.
“You have rights if your flight is delayed, cancelled or if you are denied boarding. These rights apply to flights departing from an EU airport and to flights arriving in the EU on an EU carrier.”
Your Europe: air passenger rights
The three compensation bands
Where a qualifying delay, cancellation or denied-boarding path applies, official EU guidance uses three distance bands per passenger: €250, €400 and €600. Distance is the great-circle journey, not the miles you sat on the tarmac. Intra-EU flights over 1,500 km sit in the €400 band. Longer flights outside that shorter band sit in the €600 band unless a rerouting reduction applies. The calculator shows a conditional band only after the coverage, timing and cause facts are entered. A band is a working amount, not a payout.
| Journey | Reference amount |
|---|---|
| 1,500 km or less | €250 per passenger |
| More than 1,500 km inside the EU/EEA, or other flights between 1,500 and 3,500 km | €400 per passenger |
| More than 3,500 km outside that shorter band | €600 per passenger |
| Long-haul replacement arriving 3–4 hours late | 50% reduction (€300) |
The three-hour final-arrival rule
For many delay assessments the relevant clock is arrival at the final ticketed destination, not the departure delay at the first airport. Official material and court practice commonly use three hours as the compensation threshold for a qualifying delay. A one-hour late take-off that is recovered in the air may produce no compensation path. A short first-leg delay that causes a missed connection on one booking can still produce a three-hour (or longer) final-arrival difference. Record scheduled arrival, actual arrival, and whether the flights were on one reservation. The calculator asks for final-arrival hours for this reason.
The 50% long-haul reroute reduction
Official EU guidance provides that compensation can be reduced by 50% when the airline offers rerouting and the passenger reaches the final destination with a delay of three to four hours on a long-haul journey in the €600 band. That is why a qualifying CDG–JFK replacement that arrives 3.5 hours late is shown as a €300 working amount rather than €600. The reduction does not erase care, refund or rerouting questions. It is a specific arithmetic rule, not a reason to drop the rest of the request.
Care while waiting
Care is a separate duty from compensation. Official EU material describes meals and refreshments in relation to waiting time, two telephone calls or emails or telexes, and hotel plus transport between airport and hotel when an overnight stay becomes necessary. The waiting thresholds commonly cited are two hours on short flights, three hours on medium-haul, and four hours on long-haul. Extraordinary circumstances can affect a compensation band without automatically cancelling care. Keep itemised receipts. This website does not reimburse expenses and does not upload them.
Refund after five hours
A delay of five hours or more can open a refund-instead-of-travel choice. Official EU guidance treats that choice as distinct from the three-hour compensation threshold. A passenger who still wants to travel may prefer rerouting; a passenger who no longer wants the journey may ask the airline to explain the refund of the unused ticket. The calculator records travel choice so the result can mention refund or reroute without collapsing those questions into a single euro figure.
Extraordinary circumstances
Airlines sometimes refuse statutory compensation by pointing to extraordinary circumstances. Official EU examples include severe weather, air-traffic-control decisions, political instability, security risks and some strikes the airline does not control. A technical problem or poor maintenance is not automatically extraordinary. Even where compensation is disputed, care, refund and rerouting questions can still apply. Ask the operating airline for its recorded reason in writing and keep that letter with the journey record. The national enforcement body list is the official next step if the airline does not answer.
“You are not entitled to compensation if the airline can prove that the delay or cancellation was caused by extraordinary circumstances which could not have been avoided even if all reasonable measures had been taken.”
Your Europe: air passenger rights FAQ
National limitation periods — there is no single EU countdown
EU261 does not set one Union-wide deadline for taking an airline to court. The European Commission’s public FAQ states that the time limit for legal action varies according to national law. Preserve evidence now, write to the operating airline, and use the Commission’s national enforcement body list for the country concerned. FlightRefundCalc does not calculate remaining days and does not start, pause or decide a limitation period.
Use the facts before you act
Use this page to organise facts before asking an airline for a written review. The calculator keeps compensation, care, refund and rerouting questions separate so a distance band is never presented as a promise. The European Commission's public passenger-rights guidance is the source to revisit if your case turns on a specific rule or exception. A reliable request starts with a timeline rather than a conclusion. Compare the scheduled departure and arrival with the actual final arrival, write down when the airline gave notice, and keep any email, app message or airport notice. If an alternative flight was offered, record its proposed arrival and whether you accepted it. If you paid reasonable expenses while waiting, keep the itemised receipt and the reason it was necessary. These facts can support different questions about care, rerouting, refund or a possible statutory framework, but they do not automatically establish every remedy. For a connection, the final ticketed destination and whether all flights were on one booking can be as important as the first disrupted segment. A short departure delay may still create a material final-arrival difference; conversely, an earlier delay does not answer the whole question by itself. For a cancellation, notice timing and the replacement journey should be recorded separately. For denied boarding, distinguish an airline-imposed situation from a voluntary change. A schedule change may need the original itinerary, the revised itinerary and the point at which the passenger was informed. These distinctions help avoid a misleading one-size-fits-all result.
Worked example
Worked example: 1) A passenger flies Paris Charles de Gaulle (CDG) to New York JFK, a long-haul route well over 3,500 km. 2) The flight is operated by an EU carrier and arrives more than three hours late at JFK. 3) Official EU261 distance bands would place a qualifying delay on this route in the €600 per-passenger working amount. 4) If the airline instead reroutes the passenger and the replacement arrives 3.5 hours late, the 50% long-haul reduction can make the working amount €300. 5) If the delay reaches five hours and the passenger no longer wishes to travel, a refund choice can sit beside the compensation question. 6) That band is still conditional: the airline's recorded cause, any extraordinary-circumstances defence, notice and rerouting facts must be checked, and this page is not a payment decision. Save the booking, disruption message and actual-arrival proof before using a direct letter.
A practical evidence checklist
Write down the scheduled and actual timing, preserve the airline’s notice, and keep the booking, boarding or check-in proof, replacement offer and reasonable expense receipts. These records help explain what happened to the airline. They are not uploaded to FlightRefundCalc, and the site does not file a claim or decide an outcome.
Keep the legal questions separate
A disruption can create different questions about care while waiting, refund versus rerouting, a possible statutory compensation framework and expenses. An airline’s written explanation may affect one question without deciding all the others. Use official authority guidance and qualified advice for a decision with legal or financial consequences.
Check your own journey, not an example.
The calculator asks for the operating carrier, route, notice and disruption facts before showing a preliminary result. It does not guarantee compensation.
Sources and review
Reviewed 7 September 2026 by Feroz Sheikh. These authority links are provided for current rule checking; airline forms and official instructions can change. National enforcement bodies: European Commission NEB list.
Your Europe: air passenger rights
European Commission public guidance.
Your Europe: air passenger rights FAQ
European Commission FAQ covering compensation bands, extraordinary circumstances and national time limits.
European Commission: national enforcement bodies
Official list of national bodies that enforce EU air passenger rights.
Common questions
Does this route page guarantee compensation?+
No. It is an educational framework page. The operating carrier, route, disruption facts, notice, final arrival, rerouting and the airline's written reason can all matter.
Why does the operating airline matter?+
The airline that operated the disrupted flight can be different from the ticket seller or a code-share marketing carrier. Keep the itinerary and disruption notice before you submit a request.
What should I keep?+
Keep booking confirmation, check-in or boarding evidence, the airline notice, scheduled and actual timing, rerouting offers and reasonable expense receipts. Do not upload personal documents to this website.
Where should I send a request?+
Start with the airline's current official channel. Use the free letter toolkit to prepare a factual request, then check the airline's own current instructions before submitting personal information.
What are the EU261 compensation bands?+
Where a qualifying delay, cancellation or denied-boarding path applies, official EU guidance uses three distance bands: €250 (flights of 1,500 km or less), €400 (more than 1,500 km inside the EU/EEA, or other flights between 1,500 and 3,500 km) and €600 (flights of more than 3,500 km outside that shorter band). These amounts are per passenger and still depend on coverage, timing, notice, rerouting and extraordinary circumstances.
When is compensation reduced by 50%?+
Official EU guidance provides a 50% reduction on the long-haul €600 band when rerouting gets the passenger to the final destination with a delay of three to four hours. The working amount is then €300. Care, refund and rerouting questions can still stand.
Does a five-hour delay create a refund choice?+
A delay of five hours or more can open a refund-instead-of-travel question. That choice is separate from the three-hour compensation threshold. Ask the airline to explain both.
Is there one EU-wide time limit to claim?+
No. The European Commission's public FAQ states that the time limit for taking legal action varies according to national law. Preserve evidence now and check the national enforcement body for the country concerned. This site does not calculate a deadline.