Passenger rights for delayed and cancelled flights and missed connections

If you arrive at your final destination 3 or more hours late, your flight is cancelled, you are denied boarding or you miss a connection, you may be entitled to compensation of €250 to €600 per person under Regulation (EC) 261/2004. The Regulation covers flights departing from the EU and flights arriving in the EU with an EU carrier. Compensation can be claimed when the cause of the problem lies with the airline, not with extraordinary circumstances or with the passenger.

Which case is yours?

Delayed flight - you arrived at your final destination 3 or more hours late.
Cancelled flight - the airline cancelled the flight and, as a rule, informed you less than 14 days before the departure date.
Denied boarding - you were not allowed on the plane against your will, although you had a confirmed booking and checked in on time.
Missed connection - you missed a connecting flight because the previous one was delayed and arrived at your final destination 3 or more hours late. This applies when the flights are on a single booking.
Compensation for a strike - whether compensation is due depends on whose staff went on strike.
Compensation denied - the airline refused to pay. A refusal does not necessarily mean that you are not entitled to compensation.

Which flights can you claim compensation for?

Regulation (EC) No 261/2004 applies in two cases:

when the flight departs from an airport in the European Union - regardless of the airline;
when the flight lands at an airport in the EU and is operated by an EU airline, regardless of the place of departure.

The same rights also apply to flights to and from Iceland, Norway and Switzerland.

Besides the European Regulation, compensation can also be claimed in a number of countries outside the EU that have their own passenger rights rules - such as the United Kingdom (UK261), Turkey (SHY-YOLCU), Serbia and North Macedonia.

The Regulation applies equally to scheduled, low-cost and charter flights, including when the ticket is part of a package holiday.

When does the airline not owe compensation?

In the event of a delay or cancellation, the airline does not owe compensation if it proves that the problem was caused by extraordinary circumstances - events outside its normal activity and beyond its control - and that it could not have avoided them even if all reasonable measures had been taken (Article 5(3) of Regulation (EC) 261/2004). These may include severe weather, air traffic control restrictions or strikes, airport strikes, bird strikes and security risks.

The mere occurrence of such an event is not enough - there must be a direct link between the event and the delay or cancellation of the specific flight. Technical faults with the aircraft are, as a rule, not extraordinary circumstances (judgments of the Court of Justice of the EU in cases C-549/07 Wallentin-Hermann and C-257/14 van der Lans). Nor is a strike by the airline’s own staff (judgment in case C-28/20).

How we check the cause

When an airline relies on an extraordinary circumstance, we do not take its explanation on trust. We check the officially stated cause, what happened to the previous flights of the same aircraft, what the weather conditions were at the airports (from METAR and TAF), whether there were Eurocontrol air traffic restrictions and how other flights operated at the same time. Only then do we assess whether the stated event really caused the delay or cancellation of your flight.

If the airline has already refused you, see why airlines refuse to pay compensation and how you can proceed.

How is the amount of compensation calculated?

The amount of compensation depends on the distance between the first and the final airport of the journey and does not depend on the ticket price (Article 7 of Regulation (EC) No 261/2004):

€250 - for flights of up to 1,500 km;
€400 - for flights between 1,500 and 3,500 km, and for all flights within the EU of more than 1,500 km;
€600 - for flights of more than 3,500 km that are not entirely within the EU.

Compensation amount by flight distance - €250, €400 or €600

€250 < 1500 km

€400 1500 - 3500 km

€600 > 3500 km (outside the EU)

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How long do you have to claim compensation?

The time limit for bringing a claim in court is set by the national law of each country (judgment of the Court of Justice of the EU in case C-139/11) - in Bulgaria it is three years from the date of the flight. From 23 October 2027, Regulation (EU) 2026/2202 also introduces a separate time limit: the compensation request to the airline must be submitted within 9 months of the departure date. See the time limits by country and what will change.

What else does the airline owe you?

When there is a problem with your flight, the Regulation also provides for two groups of rights that are due separately from the financial compensation.

A choice between a refund and re-routing (Article 8 of Regulation (EC) 261/2004). In the event of cancellation and denied boarding, the airline must offer you a choice between a refund of the ticket price, re-routing to your final destination at the earliest opportunity or re-routing at a later date of your choice. The choice is yours - the carrier cannot impose an alternative flight on you instead of a refund. If the departure is delayed by 5 hours or more, you are entitled to give up the journey and get your money back.

Care while you wait (Article 9). The airline must provide meals and refreshments in reasonable relation to the waiting time, as well as two telephone calls or messages. In the event of a delay, these rights arise when the departure is delayed by 2 hours or more for flights of up to 1,500 km, by 3 hours or more for flights between 1,500 and 3,500 km and by 4 hours or more for longer flights. When a stay of one or more nights becomes necessary, hotel accommodation and transport to it are also due.

Care is always due - including when the problem was caused by an extraordinary circumstance and no financial compensation is payable (judgment of the Court of Justice of the EU in case C-12/11 McDonagh). Bad weather releases the airline from compensation, but not from the obligation to provide you with meals, refreshments and, if needed, a hotel.

If the airline did not provide these and you paid yourself, keep the receipts - you are entitled to claim the costs back.

Why Aeroisk?

No win - no fee and no increase in the commission
You only pay if compensation is successfully paid. Our commission does not increase if legal or administrative action is needed. See current prices and terms
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Real contact with our team
You can call us and get information about your specific case.
We handle the whole process
We communicate with the airline and take the necessary action, including in refused and more complex cases.

How does the process of collecting your compensation work?

You register a claim

You enter the flight details and provide the necessary documents.

Aeroisk takes the case

We contact the airline and pursue the claim on your behalf. If it refuses to pay, we take the necessary administrative and legal action.

You receive up to €600 in compensation

If successful, the airline pays the compensation. A commission is only due if you receive compensation.

You can follow the progress of your claim in your personal account, and we email you whenever there is a change in your case.

Did the airline refuse to pay you?

A refusal does not necessarily mean that you are not entitled to compensation.

See why airlines refuse to pay compensation and how you can proceed.

Sources and updates

This information is prepared by the Aeroisk team, specialised in protecting passenger rights and claiming compensation for disrupted flights.

Reneta Yovkova is responsible for keeping the legal information up to date.

Legal basis and sources: Regulation (EC) No 261/2004; Regulation (EU) 2026/2202 amending Regulation (EC) No 261/2004; the European Commission’s Interpretative Guidelines C/2024/5687 on Regulation (EC) No 261/2004; judgments of the Court of Justice of the European Union in cases C-549/07 (Wallentin-Hermann), C-257/14 (van der Lans), C-28/20, C-12/11 (McDonagh) and C-139/11 (Moré); the UK passenger rights regime known as UK261; the Turkish Regulation on Air Passenger Rights SHY-YOLCU (SHY-PASSENGER).

Last updated: 13 October 2026

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Frequently Asked Questions FAQ

I’m not sure which case applies - my flight was operated the next day. Is that a cancellation or a delay?

What matters is whether the airline operated the flight according to the original plan, only later, or abandoned that plan and transferred you to another flight. In the first case it is a delay, in the second a cancellation. A change of flight number or new boarding passes are not decisive in themselves.

Do I need insurance to receive compensation?

The two are unrelated. Compensation under Regulation (EC) 261/2004 is owed by the airline regardless of whether the passenger has insurance. Insurance covers other risks under the contract with the insurer, and claims under it are made separately.

The problem was on the return flight, not the outbound one. Does it matter?

No. Each flight is assessed separately, even when it is part of one booking. A normal outbound flight does not take away your rights for the return flight.

Several of us travelled on one booking. Is the compensation for each of us?

Yes. Compensation is owed to each passenger separately and in full. You can submit one joint claim for all passengers on the booking, or each can claim individually. In practice a joint claim is better, as separate submissions can slow down the procedure.

The airline refunded my ticket. Am I still entitled to compensation?

Yes, if the conditions for it are met. A refund of the ticket price and financial compensation are two separate rights under the Regulation - one does not cancel the other. The airline cannot consider that it has fulfilled its obligations to you by refunding the money.

The ticket was bought by someone else or by a company. Who is entitled to the compensation?

The passenger who travelled. Compensation under Regulation (EC) 261/2004 is owed to each passenger personally, regardless of who paid for the ticket - a family member, an employer or a travel agency. For minors, the parent submits the claim on their behalf.

The airline says the problem was not its fault. Does that automatically mean I am not entitled to compensation?

No. The airline must prove that the delay or cancellation was caused by extraordinary circumstances that it could not have avoided even with all reasonable measures. It is not enough to state that the cause was beyond its control. Technical faults are, as a rule, not extraordinary circumstances, and bad weather or air traffic restrictions must have actually affected the specific flight. That is why a refusal on such grounds is worth checking.