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THE 60-MINUTE PLAYBOOK · EC261 / UK261

Stranded overnight? The airline pays for the hotel. Here’s how to make that happen.

By Nathan Zarcaro, founder of MyAirAdvocate · 3 min read · Updated

A standard hotel room near the airport

THE SHORT ANSWER

If a UK or EU flight strands you overnight, the airline pays for your hotel, meals and transport, whatever the cause (Article 9). If it won’t arrange them, book them yourself and claim the cost back with receipts.

AT A GLANCE

  • Do: Hotel, meals and transport are the airline’s cost
  • Do: Owed even for weather or strikes
  • Do: Book it yourself if they won’t, and keep receipts
  • Don’t: No payment for discomfort, only what you spent

Does this apply to my flight?

EC261 · UK261

COVERED

  • ●Any flight departing the UK or an EU country, on any airline (including US carriers)
  • ●Any flight arriving into the UK or EU on a UK or EU airline
  • ●Connecting itineraries on one booking, where the final destination is late

NOT COVERED

  • ●US domestic flights (Boston to Denver) — different rules, no fixed compensation
  • ●Flights into the EU or UK on a non-European airline (New York to London on Delta or American)
  • ●Anywhere else in the world, unless local law says otherwise

This is EU Regulation 261/2004, called EC261, and its UK copy, UK261. It is the reason a cancelled Paris flight pays €600 and a cancelled Phoenix flight pays nothing.

In this guide · 4 sections
  1. 01Does the airline have to pay for a hotel if my flight is cancelled?
  2. 02How do I get the airline to pay for my hotel?
  3. 03What if the airline refuses to reimburse my hotel?
  4. FAQQuestions people ask

THE DUTY

Does the airline have to pay for a hotel if my flight is cancelled?

Yes, whatever caused it. Compensation can be argued away with extraordinary circumstances. Care under Article 9 can’t.

Ash cloud, air traffic control strike, blizzard: the airline still owes you a room, meals and the transport to get there, for as long as you wait.

The court made this explicit in 2013 (McDonagh v Ryanair), over the 2010 ash cloud. There’s no cap.

TONIGHT

How do I get the airline to pay for my hotel?

  1. Ask the desk for a hotel voucher first

    Some airlines have rooms blocked at airport hotels. Take the voucher and the shuttle time.

  2. If the desk is closed or refuses, book it yourself

    A normal airport hotel, a normal room. Keep the booking and the receipt. “Reasonable” is the test the airline will apply.

  3. Eat, and keep the receipt

    Dinner tonight, breakfast tomorrow, and the taxi if the shuttle isn’t running: all the airline’s.

  4. Photograph every receipt before you sleep

    Paper receipts fade and get lost. The photo is what you’ll attach to the claim.

See exactly what your flight owes you. Free, no card.

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WHAT THEY’LL SAY

What if the airline refuses to reimburse my hotel?

The usual answer is that the disruption was outside their control. That can matter for compensation. It’s irrelevant to Article 9.

Reply once, cite the article, attach the receipts, and say you’ll refer it to the dispute body. With receipts attached, there’s nothing to argue about but the arithmetic.

COMMON QUESTIONS

Questions people ask

The cancellation was because of a strike. Do they still owe me a hotel?

Yes. Article 9 care applies regardless of cause. Only compensation depends on the cause.

How much can I spend on the hotel?

A reasonable amount for the airport area. An ordinary airport hotel gets reimbursed; a suite gets questioned.

I slept in the terminal. Can I claim anything?

You can claim what you actually spent, meals included. There’s no payment for discomfort, which is one reason to book the hotel.

Does this apply if the delay wasn’t the airline’s fault?

Yes. That’s the point of Article 9.

How long do I have to claim the hotel back?

The same limitation periods as compensation: six years in England and Wales, two to three across most of the EU.

See exactly what your flight owes you — free, no card. We check it against the rules, and if it qualifies and you say go, we file the claim for you.

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The law this guide is written against: EC261 full text (EUR-Lex) · UK261 full text (legislation.gov.uk)

General information, not legal advice. Compensation depends on the facts of each disruption and the airline’s evidence. MyAirAdvocate files claims for a flat $39, charged only if the airline pays, and never takes a percentage of what you are owed.