Late Flights

When you are traveling within Europe and experience a late flight, you can get up to $700 in compensation from the airline. Air passenger rights laws in the EU make sure that airlines are held accountable for delays and other disruptions if they are the ones found at fault. This law, known as EC 261, has set compensation amounts depending on the length of the delay and the distance traveled.

These air passenger rights extend to everyone who is traveling from Europe or is traveling with an EU airline you do not have to be an EU citizen to be able to qualify for compensation under EC 261.

There are, however, some exceptions: late flights that were affected by extraordinary circumstances are not eligible for compensation. These are situations where the airline has no control over the flight delay, such as bad weather conditions, political unrest, and other health or safety threats.

The easiest way to check if your flight qualifies for compensation or not is to check with the AirHelp Compensation Check Tool. It only takes a few minutes, and lets you know how much you are owed.

AirHelp is the world's largest air passenger rights organization, here to help air travelers secure compensation for delayed, canceled, or overbooked flights.

We make claiming compensation easy and stress-free. Whether you are unsure of your rights, lack the time, or simply want an expert to handle your entire claim for you, AirHelp can help you get what you are rightfully owed.

We operate on a no win, no fee basis, so you can check your compensation risk-free.

How do you know when you should claim compensation for a delayed or canceled flight? Though the law can be complicated, we're here to break it down for you:

Delayed flights: you may be able to claim compensation if your flight arrived 3 hours or more late.
Canceled flights: you may be eligible for compensation if your flight was canceled less than 14 days before it was due to depart.
Overbookings: you are owed compensation any time you are denied boarding through no fault of your own — so long as you didn't voluntarily give up your seat.

We should note that if extraordinary circumstances were involved, arirlines are under no obligation to pay compensation. Examples of extraordinary circumstances include bad weather, travel restrictions, and air traffic control strikes. Though these situations cause delays and cancellations, the airline isn't at fault, so can't be expected to offer compensation.

Remember these are European flight regulations and so only apply to flights departing from an EU airport, or flights landing in the EU with a European airline. The table below makes it clear which flights are covered:

Table shows values in € as specified in EC 261

In some circumstances the compensation amount may differ from the standard amounts shown above. The easiest way to find out what you’re owed is to use our Compensation Calculator.

If you experience a flight delay or cancellation, here's what you should do:

• Hold onto your boarding pass and other travel documents.
• Ask why the flight was delayed or canceled.
• Request food, drinks, and if necessary, free transport and hotel accommodation.
• If you had a canceled flight, ask for an alternative flight or a refund.
• Keep all receipts of any extra expenses you may have had, including necessary food, clothing, etc.
• Be careful not to sign any waivers or accept vouchers that will require you to waive your right to compensation.