Your rights as a passenger

When the regulation applies

Regulation (EC) 261/2004 applies if either of these conditions is met:

• the flight departs from an airport in the EU, Norway, Iceland or Switzerland, whatever the airline;
• the flight arrives at an EU airport from a third country and is operated by an airline holding a European licence.

The United Kingdom kept its own version of the regulation after Brexit, with the same amounts in pounds sterling, so flights from London, Manchester or Edinburgh remain covered.

You must have had a confirmed booking and presented yourself for check-in at the time indicated (or 45 minutes before departure if no time was given). For cancellations this condition does not apply.

Compensation amounts

Distance is measured as the crow flies (great circle) between the departure airport and the final destination. The amount is per passenger, including children with a paid ticket, and does not depend on the ticket price.

Delayed flight

The regulation itself only mentions care for delays, but the Court of Justice of the EU ruled in 2009 (Sturgeon) and confirmed in 2012 (Nelson) that passengers arriving at their final destination 3 hours or more late are entitled to the same compensation as for a cancellation.

What counts is the time at least one aircraft door opened at the destination, not the landing time and not the departure time.

On routes over 3,500 km, if the delay is between 3 and 4 hours, the airline may reduce the compensation to €300.

Cancelled flight

On cancellation you always have the right to choose between a full refund within 7 days and re-routing to your destination under comparable conditions, as soon as possible or at a later date convenient to you.

In addition, you receive the fixed compensation, except where:

• you were informed at least 14 days before departure;
• you were informed 7 to 14 days before and offered re-routing departing no more than 2 hours earlier and arriving less than 4 hours later;
• you were informed less than 7 days before and offered re-routing departing no more than 1 hour earlier and arriving less than 2 hours later;
• the cancellation was caused by extraordinary circumstances.

The burden of proving that you were informed in time lies with the airline.

Denied boarding

When the airline has sold more seats than it has (overbooking), it must first ask for volunteers to give up their seats in exchange for negotiated benefits. If you are refused against your will, you are immediately entitled to the fixed compensation, to a choice between refund and re-routing, and to care.

Being refused because you reached the gate late, lack valid documents or for security reasons does not entitle you to compensation.

Missed connection

If the flights are on the same booking and the first was late enough for you to miss the connection, compensation is calculated from the delay at the final destination and the total distance of the journey. It also applies when the connection was outside the EU, as long as the initial departure was from a European airport (Wegener ruling, 2018).

If you bought the tickets separately, each flight is treated independently.

Care at the airport

Whatever the cause of the delay or cancellation, the airline must offer you, free of charge:

• meals and refreshments in proportion to the waiting time, from 2 hours (flights under 1,500 km), 3 hours (1,500 to 3,500 km) or 4 hours (over 3,500 km);
• two telephone calls or e-mails;
• hotel accommodation and transport between the airport and the hotel if departure is postponed to the next day.

If the airline did not provide care, you can claim reasonable expenses against receipts. This comes on top of the fixed compensation.

Extraordinary circumstances

The airline is exempt from paying compensation only if it proves the problem was caused by extraordinary circumstances that could not have been avoided even if all reasonable measures had been taken. The Court of Justice has interpreted the notion narrowly.

Even when the circumstance is extraordinary, the airline must show it did everything possible to limit the delay, for example by re-routing on other carriers.

Time limits

The regulation sets no limitation period; national law applies. In Romania the general period is 3 years from the flight date. Elsewhere: 6 years in the UK, 5 years in France and Spain, 3 years in Germany (to the end of the calendar year), 2 years in Italy, 1 year in Belgium and Poland.

What the regulation does not cover

Lost, delayed or damaged baggage is governed by the Montreal Convention, with damages up to about €1,600 based on proven loss. Consequential losses (an unused hotel at the destination, missed excursions) are not covered by the fixed compensation, but may be claimed separately under certain conditions.