European Regulation EC 261: everything you need to know

• EC 261 protects passenger rights in the EU.

• It covers delays, cancellations, and overbooking.

• You could get up to €600 in compensation.

Flying is frustrating when things go wrong. Luckily, EU Regulation EC 261 exists to protect your rights and compensate you when airlines cancel flights, or overbook and deny boarding. Delays over 3 hours might also make you eligible for compensation — if it’s the airlines’ fault.

Our expert legal team holds airlines to account to make sure they pay you the EC 261 flight compensation you’re owed.

You won’t be surprised to hear that EC 261 compensation is something airlines would rather avoid paying out! So while you can file claims by yourself via the airline’s website, it will probably be complicated, time-consuming and stressful.

That’s what we’re here for. We’ve got 400+ expert AirHelpers to take the burden from you, simplify the process, and take it to court if we have to.

All you need to do is enter your flight details in our easy-to-use compensation checker and we’ll get you your money.

No win, no fee!

We only take a fee if your claim is successful. For more info, check out what we charge when you win.

There are 3 main reasons why you might be entitled to compensation of between €250 and €600 from the airline.

• Denied boarding means the airline prevented you from boarding even though you had a valid ticket and arrived at the gate on time. It often happens because the airline overbooked the flight.

• Flight cancellations might be eligible for compensation if the airline informed you less than 14 days before you fly.

• Long delays of flights (3 or more hours) can be compensated when the delay affects your arrival time (not the time the plane takes off).
  

The actual amount of compensation depends on a lot of factors including the distance travelled and the amount of time you’re delayed reaching your final destination.

When it comes to EU law EC 261 2004 compensation, most European flights are covered.

This includes not only EU airspace, but also Iceland, Norway, Switzerland and the so-called “outermost regions” (French Guiana and Martinique, Mayotte, Guadeloupe and La Réunion, Saint-Martin, Madeira and the Azores, and the Canary Islands).

International flights are covered if your flight departs from an airport in the EU, or if your destination is in the EU and it’s a European carrier.

The easiest way to find out if your trip is covered is to use the AirHelp Eligibility Check.

Remember you don’t have to be an EU citizen for EU 261 to apply to you!

You can’t get EC 261 compensation for any disruptions that are outside the airline’s control like wars or air traffic control strikes.

However, there are grey areas where an EC 261 claim might be successful. For example, if other airlines were able to prepare for bad weather, but yours didn’t, you could be owed compensation.

AirHelp keeps up to date with European Court of Justice cases and any changes to the rules so we always know when your claim might be stronger than you think.

EC 261 is one of the most comprehensive passenger rights laws in the world. As well as monetary compensation, it also specifies how the airline must treat you.

So if your flight is delayed or canceled, or you’re denied boarding, these are other rights you have under EC 261.

Yes! If your flight is canceled, you can get compensation for the loss of your time. But you’re also entitled to be re-routed on the next available flight to your destination or for a full or partial refund on your original ticket.

For delays, once your delay exceeds 5 hours, if you want, you can choose not to fly and get a full refund for the unused flight.

Yes! You have a right to care, which means the airline has to provide you with snacks, meals and water if you’re stuck at the airport.

Yes! This comes under your right to care. If overnight accommodation is necessary, they must provide you with a hotel room and transportation to and from the airport.

EC 261 gives you the right to access communication, including two telephone calls, telex or fax messages, and emails. This is especially important if the airport doesn’t have free Wi-Fi or you would otherwise have to use expensive mobile data to make a call.

If you’re offered an alternative flight and given a higher class ticket, the air carrier cannot charge you any additional payment. On the other hand, if you’re downgraded to a lower class ticket, you can get reimbursed for 30%–75% of the price you originally paid.

There are two ways to make an EC 261 claim — direct via the airline or via a third party expert like AirHelp.

Claiming via the airline

Every airline has its own individual claims process which should be somewhere on their website. You’ll need to gather all the documents about your flight, research the regulations to determine whether your claim is eligible, and then submit it and follow up.

If you don’t get a reply or you aren’t satisfied, you can find the relevant national aviation authority and pursue your claim with them. If that fails, you may want to consider hiring a lawyer and taking legal action through the courts.

Claiming with AirHelp

We handle everything for you, from start to finish so it’s as easy as possible to get your money.

1. Check if your disrupted flight is eligible using our quick checker.

2. Submit all your documents — we’ll tell you exactly what you need.

3. Sit back and wait for your money! We’ll take care of every aspect of the rest of the process — even if we have to go to court on your behalf.

AirHelp is a team of over 400 experts in air passenger rights, laws and regulations. Since 2013, we’ve helped millions of passengers all over the world because we believe everyone deserves the best and smoothest travels possible.

AirHelp operates on a no-win, no fee basis so you don’t pay us anything up front — even if we have to take your case to court. If we win, our commission is 35% of your compensation, leaving you free to spend the rest of the money on whatever you want. If we go to court for you and win, we only take an additional 15% from the compensation.

Every airline has different document requirements but we’ll tell you exactly what you need — whoever you were flying with — and we make the process as quick and simple as possible.

Typical documents we ask for when we’re processing your claim are your booking confirmation and boarding passes (mobile or paper).

Don’t worry if you’ve lost or deleted them as we’ve got plenty of ideas for how to get hold of the information you need.

If you’re claiming for extra expenses like accommodation or food, or missed events as a result of your disrupted flight, you’ll also need receipts, invoices or bank statements.

The process can take anything from a few weeks to a few months or longer, depending on whether we need to go to court to get you your compensation or not. We’ll keep you up-to-date on the status of your claim.

Your right to EC 261 compensation does eventually expire, but the time limit varies depending on where you were flying and where the airline has its headquarters.