FOR TRAVELERS
Flight delay compensation guides: delayed, cancelled, bumped, stranded
Airlines owe up to €600 (£520) per passenger under EU261 and UK261 when a flight arrives three hours late, is cancelled at short notice, or bumps you. These guides say what you are owed in each situation, what to do in the next hour, and how to claim while keeping every euro.
Written by Nathan Zarcaro
Updated- Written against Regulation 261/2004 and UK261, with the articles cited
- Never a percentage. The airline pays you directly, a flat $39 only if it pays
What happened
Your flight just went wrong
What you’re owed, and what to do in the next hour.
€250–€600Delayed three hours or more? What you’re owed
When a 3-hour arrival delay pays, and the care you get while you wait.
€250–€600Your flight was just cancelled. Here’s the next hour.
Rebook in writing, let the airline pay for the hotel, then claim.
Bumped from your flight? The strongest claim you’ll have
Payable under Article 4, and the airline has no weather excuse.
Missed your connection? You’re owed for the whole journey
On one booking, the delay is measured at your final destination.
Stranded overnight? The airline pays for the hotel
The room, the meals and the ride there, whatever caused it.
Your rights
Which rules cover your flight?
Where the law applies, and how much it pays.
UK261 explained: what UK flight compensation covers
What the UK rules cover, and where they differ from EC261.
£220–£5204 min read
The airline said “extraordinary circumstances”. Does that settle it?
What counts as one, what doesn’t, and how to answer the airline.
€250–€6003 min read
Do United, Delta or American owe you for a delay?
Inside the US, no cash for delays. Flying out of Europe or the UK is different.
Up to €6004 min read
Claiming it
How do you get paid?
The airline pays you directly. Nobody needs to take a cut.
Airline casebooks
When a specific airline says no
What each airline argues, and how to answer it.