Travel topic · Money
Flight delay and cancellation rights (US, UK, EU)
EU/UK departures: cash compensation can be due after a 3-hour arrival delay or a late-notice cancellation, but eligibility depends on route, distance and cause — check your specific flight; US flights: no cash for delay, but a refund if the airline cancels or makes a DOT-defined significant schedule change and you choose not to travel.
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Applies to
What you are owed when a flight is delayed, cancelled or you are bumped, how the US, UK and EU rules differ, what airlines must give you at the airport, and the exact steps and paperwork that get a claim paid.
Key facts
- EU261 / UK261 triggercheck
- Arrival 3+ hours late at the final destination, or cancellation with under 14 days' notice — eligibility depends on route, distance and cause; check your flight
- EU261 cash band
- €250 (up to 1,500 km), €400 (1,500–3,500 km, and qualifying intra-EU flights over 3,500 km), €600 (over 3,500 km between the EU and the rest of the world); halved if the airline reroutes you and you arrive within a set window
- UK261 cash band
- £220 / £350 / £520 for the same distance bands
- US cash compensation for delay
- None required by federal rule; a refund is owed if the airline cancels or makes a DOT-defined significant schedule change and you choose not to travel
- US tarmac delay limit
- 3 hours domestic, 4 hours international, before passengers must be allowed off
- Denied boarding (EU/UK)
- Compensation due unless volunteers were sought first and you gave up your seat willingly
- Claim deadlinecheck
- Limitation periods vary by jurisdiction (commonly around 2–6 years in EU countries and the UK); check the period that applies to your claim
- Typical payout timecheck
- Weeks to months; enforcement bodies and small-claims courts are free or cheap
Your checklist
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Short answer
Which rule applies depends on where you fly from, not on your passport or where you bought the ticket. A flight leaving an EU airport, or a UK airport, is covered by EU261 or UK261 respectively, even on a US or Asian carrier. A flight leaving the US is covered by US Department of Transportation rules, which are weaker on delay but strong on refunds and tarmac waits.
Under EU261 and UK261 you can be owed cash for a long delay or a late-notice cancellation, plus food, drink, two calls or messages and a hotel if you are stuck overnight. Eligibility is not automatic: it depends on the route, the distance and the cause, so check your specific flight before you claim. The amounts are fixed by distance: €250, €400 or €600 (roughly $270, $430, $650) under the EU scheme, and £220, £350 or £520 under the UK scheme. The airline can refuse only if it proves the cause was an extraordinary circumstance outside its control, such as a strike by air traffic control, severe weather or a security alert.
In the US there is no federal cash compensation for a delayed flight. What you do get: a full refund of the unused ticket if the airline cancels or makes a DOT-defined significant schedule change and you decide not to travel, a guaranteed way to get off a plane stuck on the tarmac after three hours (domestic) or four hours (international), and, since 2024, automatic cash refunds rather than vouchers when you are owed one. Bumping on an oversold US flight is a separate rule with its own payment scale.
| Situation | EU / UK flight | US flight |
|---|---|---|
| Delayed 3+ hours at arrival | Cash compensation plus care if the route, distance and cause qualify | No cash; refund only if you abandon the trip |
| Cancelled under 14 days out | Cash plus care, or rerouting | Refund of unused ticket if you choose not to fly |
| Overnight disruption | Hotel and transfers covered | No federal rule; ask, and claim on insurance |
| Stuck on tarmac | Care after reasonable wait | Must be allowed off after 3 h domestic / 4 h international |
| Oversold and bumped | Cash unless you volunteered | Payment scale set by DOT, higher if you are rebooked late |
Care means meals, drinks, two communications and accommodation where a stay is needed. Amounts are 2026 estimates.
Do
- Photograph the departure board and keep your boarding pass; both are the evidence a claim needs.
- Save every receipt for meals, taxis and hotels bought during the disruption.
What to do, step by step
Act at the airport first, because that is when the airline still has leverage and your costs are easiest to prove.
1. Get the disruption in writing. Ask the gate or transfer desk for a written confirmation of the delay or cancellation and the reason. A photo of the departure board plus the airline's own app notification usually works too.
2. Ask for your care entitlement on the spot. Under EU261 and UK261 you can request meal vouchers, drinks and a hotel; the airline should arrange them, and if it cannot, you may book a reasonable hotel yourself and claim it back. Keep the receipts.
3. Decide: reroute or refund. On a qualifying cancellation or major delay, the choice is yours, not the airline's. If you take a refund, the cash compensation claim for a cancellation can be affected, so ask which option you are accepting before you sign anything.
4. Do not accept a voucher as a substitute for a refund you are owed. In the US, if you are entitled to a refund you are entitled to money, not credit, and you can insist.
5. File the claim with the airline in writing. Use its online form or email, state the flight number and date, the delay on arrival, and the regulation you are claiming under. Attach the boarding pass, the delay evidence and receipts.
6. If the airline refuses or goes quiet, escalate. In the EU, complain to the national enforcement body of the country you departed from. In the UK, the Civil Aviation Authority handles it. In the US, file a complaint with the DOT; airlines must respond. Small-claims court is a cheap next step in many EU countries and in the UK.
7. Watch the clock. Limitation periods vary by jurisdiction, so check the deadline that applies to your claim and file well before it; never pay an upfront fee to a claims company, and a no-win-no-fee share of 25–30% is the usual model if you use one at all.
| Step | Where | Keep |
|---|---|---|
| Confirm delay or cancellation | Gate or transfer desk | Written reason, board photo |
| Request care | Airline desk | Voucher or receipts |
| Choose refund or rerouting | Airline desk or app | Confirmation email |
| File compensation claim | Airline website | Reference number |
| Escalate if refused | Enforcement body or court | All correspondence |
Do the airport steps before leaving the terminal where possible.
Do
- Screenshot the airline app's delay notice; it is dated and hard for the airline to dispute.
- Ask for the disruption reason in writing; the wording decides whether the airline can plead extraordinary circumstances.
Watch out
- Signing an airline's 'full and final settlement' form for a voucher can end your cash claim.
Show 6 sectionsHideCosts, amounts and timing, Exceptions and the arguments airlines use, FAQ, Sources, Questions people ask, Related
Costs, amounts and timing
The cash figures are fixed by regulation, not negotiated. Under EU261 the bands are €250 for flights up to 1,500 km, €400 for 1,500–3,500 km and for qualifying intra-EU flights over 3,500 km, and €600 for anything over 3,500 km between the EU and the rest of the world. UK261 mirrors this in pounds: £220, £350 and £520. These are 2026 estimates and are set in local currency, so the euro and pound figures do not move with exchange rates.
The amounts can be halved if the airline offers you an alternative flight and you reach your destination within a set window: two hours for the shortest band, three hours for the middle band, four hours for the longest. If you refuse a reasonable rerouting and take a refund instead, the compensation claim can be lost.
US denied-boarding payments are separate and scale with how late you arrive after being bumped. The DOT sets the multiplier of your one-way fare, with a cap, and the amount roughly doubles if the airline cannot get you in close to your original arrival time. The exact figures change with fare levels, so check the current DOT table before you argue at the desk.
Timing: airlines often pay within a few weeks once a claim is complete, but disputed claims can run for months, and enforcement bodies and courts add more. There is no fee to complain to the CAA, an EU national enforcement body or the DOT. Claims companies take a cut, so use them only if you will not chase it yourself.
| Distance band | EU261 | UK261 |
|---|---|---|
| Up to 1,500 km | €250 | £220 |
| 1,500–3,500 km, and qualifying intra-EU flights over 3,500 km | €400 | £350 |
| Over 3,500 km between the EU and the rest of the world | €600 | £520 |
Amounts halved if you are rerouted and arrive within 2 / 3 / 4 hours respectively. 2026 estimates.
Do
- A free enforcement-body complaint costs nothing and often moves a stalled claim faster than another email to the airline.
Exceptions and the arguments airlines use
Extraordinary circumstances are the airline's main defence. A technical fault discovered on the day is usually not extraordinary, because maintenance is the airline's job; a fault that the manufacturer orders across a whole fleet can be. Air traffic control strikes, volcanic ash, severe weather and airport security closures generally count. Crew shortages caused by the airline's own rostering usually do not.
Watch for the 'we informed you in time' argument on cancellations. If you were told 14 days or more before departure, no compensation is due, though you can still choose a refund or rerouting. Between 7 and 14 days, compensation is due only if the alternative flight arrives more than two hours late for short routes, four hours for medium and six for long. Under 7 days, the windows tighten further.
Denied boarding is its own case. If the airline asks for volunteers and you give up your seat for the offered deal, you have waived the statutory payment. If you are bumped without volunteering, you are owed compensation and care, and you can still negotiate a better voluntary deal before the gate closes.
Two more traps: a delay measured on departure rather than arrival does not count, so always quote the arrival time; and a missed connection on a single ticket is covered, while two separate tickets usually are not, because the second airline owes you nothing.
| Airline defence | Usually valid? | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Severe weather or ATC strike | Yes | Claim on travel insurance instead |
| Technical fault found on the day | No | Quote EU261/UK261 and re-file |
| Fleet-wide manufacturer grounding | Often yes | Ask for the written reason |
| Crew shortage from rostering | No | Escalate to the enforcement body |
| Told 14+ days before cancellation | Yes | Take refund or rerouting, no cash |
The written reason the airline gives you is the document that decides most disputes.
Watch out
- Separate tickets mean no protection for a missed connection; book through-tickets when a connection matters.
FAQ
The questions travellers ask most, answered directly.
Sources
Rules and figures are checked against the official regulators and the EU regulation text. Amounts are 2026 estimates and are set in local currency.
Questions people ask
Flight delay and cancellation rights (US, UK, EU): what do I need to know?
Where you depart from decides your rights. Leave an EU or UK airport and EU261 or UK261 may apply: cash compensation after a 3-hour arrival delay, plus meals, drinks, communications and a hotel if you are stuck overnight, unless the airline proves an extraordinary circumstance. Eligibility depends on the route, distance and cause, so check your specific flight. Leave the US and there is no federal cash payment for delay, but you get a full refund of the unused ticket if the airline cancels or makes a DOT-defined significant schedule change and you choose not to travel, and you must be allowed off a plane after 3 hours on the tarmac domestically or 4 hours internationally.
What are the most common mistakes?
Accepting a voucher instead of the cash refund you are owed; signing a settlement form that ends your compensation claim; measuring the delay at departure instead of arrival; booking two separate tickets and expecting the second airline to cover a missed connection; and waiting too long to file. Limitation periods vary by jurisdiction, so check the deadline that applies to your claim, keep the boarding pass and receipts, and escalate to the CAA, an EU enforcement body or the DOT if the airline refuses.
What should I do before I travel?
Book through-tickets for any connection, since a single ticket keeps you covered if the first leg is late. Save the airline's app and booking reference offline, and photograph your boarding pass. Buy travel insurance that covers delay and missed connection, because it fills the gaps the regulations leave, especially in the US and for separate tickets. Check the airline's own delay policy too, as some pay more than the legal minimum.
Deep dive
Every source; changeable facts are marked check and were last checked Jan 2026
Show the detailsHide
Sources
- officialEU – Regulation 261/2004 on air passenger rights
- officialEU – Your Europe: air passenger rights
- officialUK Civil Aviation Authority – Flight delays and cancellations
- officialUS Department of Transportation – Airline customer service dashboard and refund rules
- officialUS DOT – Fly Rights: a consumer guide to air travel
- secondaryWikivoyage – Dealing with flight delays and cancellations