Check what a delayed, cancelled or overbooked flight may pay under EU261 and UK261. Pick the route, enter the scheduled and actual times and the airline's reason, and you get the distance, the delay and the compensation level, plus the care you are owed and a ready-to-send claim letter.
The amount depends on the distance between the two airports, measured in a straight line, and not on the ticket price. It is per passenger.
| Distance | EU261 | UK261 |
|---|---|---|
| Up to 1,500 km | €250 | £220 |
| 1,500 to 3,500 km (and any flight over 1,500 km within the EU) | €400 | £350 |
| Over 3,500 km | €600 | £520 |
For a delay you need to arrive 3 hours or more late at your final destination. On flights over 3,500 km, arriving between 3 and 4 hours late halves the amount (€300 or £260). For a cancellation or denied boarding the airline can also halve it by rerouting you to arrive within 2, 3 or 4 hours of your original arrival time, depending on the distance.
| Flight | EU261 | UK261 |
|---|---|---|
| Departing from the EU, Norway, Iceland or Switzerland | Any airline | Only if the airline is UK-based and the flight lands in the UK |
| Departing from the UK | Only if the airline is EU-based and the flight lands in the EU | Any airline |
| Arriving from outside both areas | Only on an EU-based airline | Only on a UK-based airline |
| Neither end in the EU, EEA, Switzerland or UK | Not covered | Not covered |
Where both apply, for example London to Amsterdam on an EU airline, you choose one regime to claim under, not both.
The airline does not have to pay if it can prove the disruption came from extraordinary circumstances it could not have avoided even with all reasonable measures. Severe weather, air traffic control restrictions, security threats and strikes by air traffic control or airport staff usually count. Technical faults, crew shortages, late incoming aircraft and strikes by the airline's own staff usually do not. A bird strike is arguable and depends on what the airline did about it.
The airline has to prove the cause, so a vague answer such as 'operational reasons' does not settle it. If it cancelled with 14 days or more notice, or offered a close alternative flight, it also owes no compensation.
Care and refund rights apply to delays, cancellations and denied boarding whatever the cause. After 2, 3 or 4 hours waiting for departure (by distance) you are owed meals and refreshments and two calls or emails, and a hotel with transport if you wait overnight. For a cancellation you choose between a full refund and rerouting. After 5 hours of delay you can give up the trip and be refunded.
Write to the airline first using the letter the calculator generates, with your booking reference and flight details. Airlines often reply within a few weeks. If they refuse or ignore you, take it to the national enforcement body or the alternative dispute scheme the airline belongs to (in the UK, an approved ADR body such as CEDR or AviationADR) before considering court. A claims company can do this for you, but keeps a percentage of what you win.
3 hours or more at your final destination. The time that counts is when the aircraft doors open, not when it lands, so a flight that lands 2 hours 50 minutes late but takes 15 minutes to reach the gate can still qualify.
Usually not. Severe weather is treated as an extraordinary circumstance, so the airline does not owe the fixed compensation. You still have the right to meals, a hotel if needed and a refund or rerouting.
Only flights that leave an EU airport, Norway, Iceland or Switzerland, and flights arriving there from outside on an airline based in those countries. A flight between two non-European airports is not covered, whatever the airline.
If the whole trip was on one booking, what counts is the delay at your final destination and the distance from your first departure airport to that destination. Enter the first departure and final arrival airports. A missed connection on separate tickets is usually not covered.
If you started at an EU or UK airport and it was all one booking, the whole trip is covered, including the US leg. What counts is when you reach your final destination, measured against the distance from your first departure airport, so a missed connection caused by a delay on the US leg can still qualify. Whether you are paid depends on the cause: US weather and air traffic control problems are usually extraordinary circumstances. If your trip starts in the US and ends in the EU or UK, EU261 and UK261 only apply if the airline operating the flight into Europe is based there, so a flight on a US airline is usually not covered. US rules give no fixed delay compensation, only refunds for cancellations and payments for denied boarding. On separate tickets, a missed connection is not covered. Claim from the airline that operated the flight that went wrong.
No. If both apply, such as for a flight between the UK and the EU on an EU airline, you claim under one, so choose the one that pays more in your situation.
It depends on the country where you bring the claim: 6 years in England and Wales and 3 years in Germany, counted from the end of the year. Other countries differ, so do not wait.
General information, not legal advice. The result applies the regulation as written and cannot see your airline's evidence. Amounts are per passenger.