Flight delayed 3 hours: what compensation you can claim

Where the three-hour rule comes from

Regulation 261/2004 only gives delayed passengers care and, after 5 hours, a refund. Fixed compensation for delays comes from the Court of Justice: in Sturgeon (C-402/07) and Nelson (C-581/10) it held that passengers who reach their final destination three hours or more late lose the same time as passengers whose flight was cancelled, and must be compensated the same way. UK261 keeps that case law. The delayed-flight page covers every delay right; this page is about the threshold itself.

How the three hours are measured

• At the final destination, against the scheduled arrival time on your ticket. On a single booking with a connection, that is the last airport, not the transfer airport (Folkerts, C-11/11).
• When at least one aircraft door opens so passengers can leave (Germanwings v Henning, C-452/13) — a few minutes after touchdown. Airlines sometimes quote the “on-block” time; insist on the door-opening time.
• Departure delay does not matter. A flight that leaves 3 h 30 late but arrives 2 h 50 late does not qualify; one that leaves on time and arrives 3 h 05 late does.
• Diversions to a nearby airport are measured at the moment you reach the original destination airport or an agreed alternative — the airline bears the transfer (Austrian Airlines, C-826/19).
• Exactly 3 h 00 qualifies. 2 h 59 does not.

How much

The table above gives the bands. On a flight over 3,500 km that is not entirely inside the EU/EEA, the airline may halve the €600 (£520) when your arrival delay is between 3 and 4 hours; from 4 hours the full amount applies. Distance is the straight line from the first departure airport to the final destination (Bossen, C-559/16), so a Paris → Singapore journey via Dubai is measured Paris → Singapore.

Seven realistic scenarios

Lisbon → Paris, scheduled 14:00, doors opened 17:03. 3 h 03 late, 1,450 km: €250 each.

Manchester → Alicante, departed 3 h 20 late, arrived 2 h 50 late. No compensation — the arrival delay is under 3 hours. Care was owed from 3 hours of waiting on this 1,800 km flight; if nothing was offered, claim the receipts.

London → Dubai on Emirates, arrived 3 h 40 late. UK departure, so UK261 applies to Emirates. 5,500 km, under 4 hours: the airline may pay £260 instead of £520. At 4 h 00 it would be the full £520.

Amsterdam → Nairobi via Paris on one KLM/Air France booking; the first flight lands 45 minutes late, you miss the connection and reach Nairobi 7 hours late. Compensable: the delay is measured in Nairobi and the distance Amsterdam → Nairobi (6,600 km): €600 each.

Frankfurt → Rome, 3 h 30 late because of a hydraulic fault. Technical faults are not extraordinary: €250.

Frankfurt → Rome, 3 h 30 late because thunderstorms closed the runways for two hours. Usually extraordinary, so no compensation — but ask what share of the delay the storm explains. If the aircraft was already 90 minutes late for the airline’s own reasons, the analysis changes.

Separate tickets: Ryanair to Stansted, then a separate British Airways ticket to Boston. The Ryanair flight arrives 3 hours late and you miss the BA flight. Ryanair owes €250 for its own flight; the missed BA flight is not covered, because each booking stands alone.

Care while you wait

Care starts before compensation does: after 2 hours on flights up to 1,500 km, 3 hours between 1,500 and 3,500 km, 4 hours beyond, the airline must offer meals and refreshments, two calls or emails, and — when the departure moves to the next day — a hotel and transport. From 5 hours you may abandon the trip and claim a full refund within 7 days.

What the airline may argue

Only a proven extraordinary circumstance removes the compensation: weather incompatible with the flight, an air-traffic-control restriction, a security event, a bird strike. Technical faults, crew shortages, rotation problems and the airline’s own strikes never count. The extraordinary circumstances page lists the case law; if the airline blames air traffic control, that page explains what it must prove.

How to claim

1. Photograph the arrivals board or take a flight-tracker screenshot showing the actual arrival; keep the boarding pass.
2. Ask the airline in writing for the reason for the delay and keep its exact wording.
3. Claim from the operating airline quoting Article 7 of Regulation 261/2004 and Sturgeon; give it six to eight weeks. The claim letter generator writes it from your flight.
4. Escalate to the enforcement body or dispute scheme of the departure country if refused; check the time limit for older flights.