ROUTE
Flight Compensation EU261
A delay of 3+ hours or a cancellation entitles you to 250–600 € under EU Regulation 261 — regardless of the ticket price. How to check and claim it yourself, no middlemen.
✓ Checked: 18/07/2026
European air passenger rules give you a right to cash compensation for delays of three hours or more, cancellations and denied boarding. The amount depends on flight distance rather than ticket price — a cheap ticket earns the same as an expensive one.
COSTS AND DEADLINES
Deadlines you cannot miss
- Limitation period: 3 years from the end of the flight yearFlight Compensation: Enforcing the Claimguideline
Amounts follow official fees as of each step’s verification date. Your city may charge a different rate — check the step itself.
› More about this route
This two-step route covers everything: how to check whether you have a claim in your specific situation, and how to pursue it yourself without handing a share to intermediary services.
The key thing to know: the airline is released only by extraordinary circumstances, and technical faults generally do not qualify. A first refusal means nothing — that is the stage where people who will not write a second letter drop out.
WHERE PEOPLE MOST OFTEN LOSE MONEY AND TIME
- Accepting a voucher instead of money. The entitlement is to cash, and vouchers are frequently offered in its place at lower value.
- Believing the first refusal. Claims of extraordinary circumstances often do not withstand scrutiny; repeat the demand in writing.
- Handing the case to a service straight away. They take a substantial share for a letter you can usually write yourself.
- Not preserving evidence. Boarding pass, booking confirmation and a photo of the departure board showing the delay underpin everything that follows.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS ABOUT THIS ROUTE
What determines the amount?▾
Flight distance rather than ticket price. The right arises on arrival delays of three hours or more, cancellations notified late, and denied boarding due to overbooking.
When does the airline not have to pay?▾
Only in extraordinary circumstances it could not have avoided: severe weather, air traffic control strikes, airspace closures. Technical defects of the aircraft generally do not count.
Do I need a claims service?▾
No. The demand goes directly to the airline in free form and runs to a few paragraphs with the flight number and date. A service takes a noticeable share, justified more where there is refusal and dispute than in a straightforward case.
What should I do after a refusal?▾
Repeat the demand in writing addressing the specific circumstances, then approach the passenger conciliation body or the courts. A substantial share of cases resolve at the second letter.