EU261 explained: your rights under Regulation (EC) No 261/2004
Regulation (EC) No 261/2004, known as EU261, sets common rules across Europe for passengers whose flight is delayed, cancelled or overbooked. It has applied since 17 February 2005, and much of what it means in practice comes from the Court of Justice of the European Union, which has interpreted it in dozens of rulings.
Last updated: October 3, 2026
Airkarma handles claims under EU Regulation 261/2004: flights departing from the EU, Iceland, Norway or Switzerland, and flights into those countries on a European airline. Flights departing from the United Kingdom fall under UK261, which we do not handle yet.
How much you can claim
- €250
- Flights up to 1,500 km
- €400
- Flights of 1,500 to 3,500 km, and every flight over 1,500 km within the EU
- €600
- Flights over 3,500 km, except flights within the EU
Per passenger, including children with their own seat.
No win, no fee: if we recover your compensation, we keep 25% incl. VAT. If we don't, you pay nothing.
Which flights it covers
The regulation covers every flight departing from an airport in the EU, whichever airline operates it, and every flight arriving in the EU from outside it when a European airline operates it (Article 3(1)), unless you already received benefits, compensation and assistance under the law of that other country. It applies in all EU countries, including their outermost regions such as the Canary Islands, Madeira, the Azores and the French overseas departments, and, by agreement, in Iceland, Norway and Switzerland.
You need a confirmed booking. Tickets bought with frequent-flyer miles are covered; free tickets and reduced fares not available to the public, such as airline staff tickets, are not (Article 3(3)). Since 2021 the United Kingdom applies its own copy of the rules, UK261, to flights from the UK.
What it gives you
Depending on what happened, the regulation gives you: compensation of €250 to €600 per passenger (Article 7); the choice between a refund and another flight (Article 8); care while you wait, meaning meals, refreshments, two calls or emails and, if needed, a hotel (Article 9); a partial refund if you are downgraded (Article 10); and priority for passengers with reduced mobility and unaccompanied children (Article 11).
The airline must also tell you your rights: a notice at check-in, and a written notice of the rules to every passenger affected by a cancellation, a long delay or denied boarding (Article 14).
The amounts
Compensation depends only on the distance, measured in a straight line between the airports (Article 7(4)): €250 for flights up to 1,500 km; €400 for flights of 1,500 to 3,500 km, and for every flight over 1,500 km within the EU; €600 for longer flights between the EU and the rest of the world. If the airline re-routes you and you arrive no more than 2, 3 or 4 hours late, depending on the distance, it may halve the amount (Article 7(2)); on the longest flights, a delay of 3 to 4 hours gives €300.
The rulings that shape it
Several of the rules passengers rely on most come from the Court of Justice: compensation for delays of 3 hours or more (Sturgeon, C-402/07, 2009, confirmed in Nelson, C-581/10, 2012); technical faults that are not extraordinary circumstances (Wallentin-Hermann, C-549/07, 2008); arrival measured when the doors open (Germanwings, C-452/13, 2014); missed connections judged at the final destination (Folkerts, C-11/11, 2013); strikes by the airline's own staff that do not excuse it (Airhelp v SAS, C-28/20, 2021); and limitation periods set by national law (Moré, C-139/11, 2012).
How to enforce your rights
Claim from the airline that operated the flight first. If it refuses or does not reply, you can complain to the national enforcement body of the country the flight departed from (Article 16), which every EU country, Iceland, Norway and Switzerland must have, or go to court. For a claim against an airline based in another EU country, the European Small Claims Procedure covers claims up to €5,000 without a lawyer.
You may also hand your claim to a claims service. Airlines sometimes write clauses into their terms forbidding this; the Court of Justice held in 2024 that such clauses cannot be enforced against passengers (Eventmedia, C-11/23).
The reform agreed in 2026
On 15 June 2026 the Council and the European Parliament reached an agreement on a revised regulation, after more than a decade of negotiation. It keeps compensation from a 3-hour delay at €250, €400 and €600, and adds new duties for airlines, such as telling passengers how to claim within 4 days of the end of their journey. The new rules are not yet in force and are not expected to apply before 2027: until they do, Regulation 261/2004 and the Court's case law govern every claim.
When compensation is unlikely
Compensation is usually not due when:
- the flight arrived less than 3 hours late;
- you were told about the cancellation at least 14 days before departure;
- the disruption was caused by extraordinary circumstances that could not have been avoided even if all reasonable measures had been taken — for example severe weather, air traffic control restrictions, a security risk, or a strike by staff who do not work for the airline;
Frequently asked questions
My flight from New York to Paris was delayed. Am I covered?
It depends on the airline that operated it. Flying into the EU, you are covered only if a European airline, such as Air France, operated the flight. On a US airline such as Delta, the EU rules do not apply to that flight; your flight from Paris to New York would be covered whichever airline operated it.
I paid for my ticket with air miles. Does the regulation apply?
Yes. Tickets issued under a frequent-flyer programme are expressly covered. The regulation excludes only free tickets and reduced fares not available to the public, such as tickets for airline staff.
Does EU261 still apply to flights from the United Kingdom?
Not to flights departing from the UK on a UK airline: since 2021 those fall under UK261, the UK's own copy of the rules, which we do not handle yet. A flight from the UK to the EU on a European airline is still covered by EU261, as is every flight from the EU to the UK.
Does the 2026 reform change my claim?
No. The new rules are not in force yet. A claim for a flight taken under the current rules is decided under Regulation 261/2004 and the Court of Justice's rulings on it.