Delayed flight compensation: how much you can claim and when

The three-hour rule

The Regulation itself only mentions care and refunds for delays. Fixed compensation for long delays comes from the Court of Justice: in Sturgeon (2009) and Nelson (2012) the Court held that passengers who reach their final destination three hours or more late suffer the same loss as passengers whose flight is cancelled, and must be compensated the same way. UK261 keeps this case law; Switzerland applies it in practice (see the Swiss page for the nuance).

How the delay is measured

• Measured at the final destination, not at the connection airport.
• Measured at the moment at least one aircraft door opens, not at touchdown (Germanwings v Henning, C-452/13).
• Departure delay is irrelevant: a flight that leaves 3 hours late but makes up time in the air and arrives 2 h 50 late does not qualify.
• 2 h 59 does not qualify; 3 h 00 does. Worked examples of the threshold are on the 3-hour delay page.

Amounts

Long-haul reduction: on flights over 3,500 km the airline may reduce the amount by 50% (to €300 / £260) when the arrival delay is between 3 and 4 hours. Arrive 4 hours or more late and the full amount applies.

Care while you wait

Care rights start earlier than compensation: after 2 hours (short flights), 3 hours (1,500–3,500 km) or 4 hours (long haul) the airline must offer meals and refreshments, two calls or emails, and — if the departure moves to the next day — a hotel and transport. If it does not, keep receipts and claim reasonable expenses in addition to compensation.

After 5 hours of delay you may also abandon the trip and claim a full refund of the unused ticket.

What the airline can argue

The airline escapes compensation only if it proves that the delay was caused by extraordinary circumstances and that it took all reasonable measures. Typical outcomes:

• Weather that genuinely prevented safe operation, ATC restrictions, security incidents, airport or ATC strikes: usually extraordinary — but the airline must show the link to your flight (see extraordinary circumstances and, for ATC, what the airline must prove).
• Technical problems, including those discovered during pre-flight checks: not extraordinary (Wallentin-Hermann, van der Lans).
• Strikes by the airline’s own pilots or cabin crew: not extraordinary (Airhelp v SAS, Krüsemann).
• Crew sickness or a crew member reaching duty limits: not extraordinary (TAP, C-156/22).
• “Knock-on” delays from an earlier rotation: the airline must prove the original cause was extraordinary and that it could not reschedule.

Connecting flights

On a single booking, a short delay on the first flight that makes you miss the connection and arrive 3+ hours late at the final destination is compensable (Folkerts, C-11/11). The amount is based on the distance from the first departure airport to the final destination. On separate tickets, each flight stands alone and a missed onward flight is not covered.

How to claim for a delayed flight

1. Note the scheduled and actual arrival times (a photo of the arrivals board or a flight-tracking screenshot helps).
2. Ask the airline in writing for the reason for the delay — keep its wording.
3. Submit a claim to the operating airline with your booking reference, passenger names and the legal basis (Article 7 of Regulation 261/2004, Sturgeon) — the claim letter generator writes it from your flight, or use the EU261 / UK261 template.
4. Escalate to the enforcement body or ADR scheme if refused.