Flight delayed or cancelled: your rights

By the Viamo editorial team · Editor Terje Moy · Last updated July 2026 · 6 min read

If your flight is delayed, cancelled or you're denied boarding within the EU or UK (or on an EU/UK airline flying into one), you may be entitled to fixed cash compensation under Regulation (EC) 261/2004 (commonly called "EU261", with a near-identical UK261 version post-Brexit) — plus, separately, meals, hotel accommodation and rebooking regardless of the cause. The catch is a broad carve-out for "extraordinary circumstances", which airlines invoke often and which is the single biggest reason genuine claims get initially rejected.

Who and what the rules actually cover

EU261 applies to any flight departing an EU (plus UK, Norway, Iceland, Switzerland) airport regardless of the airline, and to flights arriving in the EU on an EU-based airline. A non-EU airline flying into the EU from outside is generally not covered on that inbound leg, though the outbound leg from an EU airport would be. The UK runs its own near-identical UK261 scheme covering UK departures and UK-airline arrivals post-Brexit. If your journey doesn't touch an EU or UK airport at all, you'd need to rely on the rules of wherever you departed or the airline's own conditions of carriage instead, which are typically far less generous — worth factoring in when weighing up connection buffers on a tight layover outside these jurisdictions.

Compensation for delay

Compensation for cancellation

Cancellation entitles you to the same compensation bands as a long delay, unless the airline gave you enough advance notice — the general rule is no compensation if you were told at least 14 days ahead, and reduced or no compensation in some in-between windows if you were rebooked on a similar-timed alternative flight. Cancelled with less than 14 days' notice and no suitable rebooking is where compensation is most reliably owed. Either way, you're entitled to a choice between a full refund or rebooking to your destination, regardless of notice period or compensation eligibility.

The "extraordinary circumstances" exemption

This is where most disputed claims live. Airlines don't have to pay compensation (though they still owe care and rebooking) if the disruption was caused by circumstances genuinely outside their control — severe weather, air traffic control strikes or restrictions, security threats, or a bird strike, among the commonly cited examples. What counts as "extraordinary" is narrower than airlines sometimes suggest: a technical fault with the aircraft is generally not considered extraordinary, since courts have repeatedly held that keeping aircraft maintained is a normal part of running an airline, not an external event. Airline staff shortages and rostering problems are usually treated the same way — as the airline's own operational responsibility, not an extraordinary circumstance.

Care and assistance: separate from compensation

Regardless of the cause of the delay or cancellation — including genuine extraordinary circumstances — the airline still owes you "duty of care": meals and refreshments proportionate to the wait, access to communication, and hotel accommodation plus transport if the delay runs overnight. This obligation kicks in for delays of two hours or more (varying slightly by flight distance) and is not conditional on whether compensation is ultimately owed. Keep receipts if the airline fails to provide this and you have to pay yourself, since you can generally claim reasonable costs back afterwards.

Denied boarding and missed connections

If you're bumped from an overbooked flight, different but related rules apply — see our guide to denied boarding and overbooking for how voluntary and involuntary bumping are handled. If a delay on one leg of a single-ticket itinerary causes you to miss a connecting flight, compensation is generally assessed on your total delay at the final destination, similar in principle to how rail delay compensation is calculated for a connecting rail journey — but this depends on both flights being part of one booking; see our guide to self-transfer flights for why separately booked connections don't carry the same protection.

How to actually claim

1. Keep everything — boarding pass, booking confirmation, any written notice of delay or cancellation, and receipts for expenses incurred.
2. Claim directly with the airline first, using their EU261/UK261 claims form, which most major airlines now provide online.
3. Escalate to the national enforcement body for the country where the flight departed (or arrived, for some claims) if the airline rejects or ignores your claim — every EU and UK country has a designated aviation regulator handling these disputes.
4. Consider a claims-handling company or small-claims court as a last resort, bearing in mind that claims companies typically take a percentage of any payout in exchange for handling the dispute for you.

Good travel insurance is a separate safety net worth having alongside these statutory rights — it can cover costs EU261/UK261 doesn't, such as non-refundable prepaid arrangements disrupted by a delay that falls short of the compensation threshold.

Time limits on claiming

There's no single EU-wide time limit for EU261 claims — it depends on the limitation period of the country whose courts would hear the case, which can range from one year to six or more depending on jurisdiction. In practice, claiming as soon as reasonably possible after the disruption is the safer approach, both because evidence is fresher and because you avoid any ambiguity about which country's time limit applies.

Frequently asked questions

How late does my flight need to be for compensation?

Generally three hours or more of delay at your final destination, with the compensation amount scaling by flight distance rather than by exactly how much over three hours you were.

Does a technical fault count as an extraordinary circumstance?

Generally no — courts have repeatedly held that keeping an aircraft properly maintained is a normal part of running an airline, so a technical problem is usually the airline's responsibility rather than an exempt "extraordinary circumstance".

Am I still entitled to meals and a hotel if the cause was extraordinary circumstances?

Yes — duty-of-care obligations (meals, communication, accommodation for overnight delays) apply regardless of the cause, even when cash compensation itself isn't owed.

What if the airline rejects my claim?

You can escalate to the national aviation enforcement body for the relevant country, and many initially rejected claims — particularly ones citing a technical fault as "extraordinary" — are successfully overturned on appeal.