EU261 Compensation Amounts: How Much You Get and How Late You Must Be

Disclosure: Some links are sponsored. We may earn a commission if you use Compensair through our links, at no extra cost to you. You can always claim from the airline yourself for free, and the amounts below come from the EU's and the UK regulator's own pages.

Last reviewed: October 19, 2026 by the Smart Savings Guides editorial team. How we research and update articles.

Under EU Regulation 261/2004, compensation is a fixed €250, €400 or €600 per passenger, set by flight distance, if you reach your final destination 3 hours or more late (or your flight is cancelled at short notice, or you're bumped), unless the airline can prove "extraordinary circumstances". On long flights of more than 3,500 km between the EU and a non-EU country, a delay of 3 to 4 hours pays €300 instead of €600. The ticket price doesn't matter. UK flights follow the UK version of the rules: £220, £350 or £520 (£260 for a 3 to 4 hour delay on long flights).

EU261 compensation amounts at a glance

These are the figures on the EU's official Your Europe page for delays at arrival, cancellations and denied boarding. They're per passenger, so a family of four on a qualifying flight can claim four times.

Distance is measured as the great circle route between the airports, not the route the plane flew. The UK Civil Aviation Authority suggests using a third-party great circle calculator. For a booking with connections, the CAA says compensation is based on the distance between the first and last airports in your booking.

UK261 amounts (flights covered by UK rules)

The examples are the CAA's own. The UK CAA describes the threshold as arriving "more than three hours late".

How long does a flight have to be delayed for compensation?

Three hours at arrival at your final destination. A long wait at the departure gate doesn't count by itself: if the pilot makes up time and you land 2 hours 50 minutes late, there's no EU261 compensation. Other rights start earlier, though:

• Meals and refreshments (and two calls or emails) from a delay at departure of 2 hours for flights of 1,500 km or less, 3 hours for intra-EU flights over 1,500 km and other flights of 1,500 to 3,000 km, and 4 hours for all other flights.
• A hotel and transport to it if the new departure time is the next day or later.
• A refund of your ticket if the delay at departure reaches 5 hours and you decide not to travel.

Keep receipts for anything you pay for yourself while you wait. The airline should reimburse necessary, reasonable costs.

When the amount is halved

If the airline re-routes you and the new flight gets you to your destination close to the original time, it may reduce the payout by 50%:

Cancellations and notice periods

For a cancellation, the same €250, €400 or €600 applies if you were told less than 14 days before departure. You lose the right to compensation if you were told:

• more than 14 days ahead; or
• 7 to 14 days ahead and offered a re-route that leaves no more than 2 hours early and arrives less than 4 hours late; or
• less than 7 days ahead and offered a re-route that leaves no more than 1 hour early and arrives less than 2 hours late.

Either way, you can choose between a refund, re-routing as soon as possible, or re-routing at a later date.

Which flights are covered?

The EU rules also apply to flights to and from Iceland, Norway and Switzerland. They don't apply if you've already received compensation, re-routing or assistance for the same problem under a non-EU country's law. Flying between the US and Europe? Our guide to US flight delay and refund rights has a route-by-route table.

When the airline doesn't have to pay

Compensation isn't due if the airline proves the delay or cancellation was caused by extraordinary circumstances that couldn't have been avoided even with all reasonable measures. Your Europe lists examples: air traffic management decisions, political instability, adverse weather and security risks. It also lists things that are not extraordinary: most technical problems found during maintenance or caused by poor maintenance, a collision between mobile boarding stairs and the aircraft, and strikes by the airline's own staff. A strike outside the airline may count. If you miss a connection because you were held up at security or didn't board on time, you can't claim.

How to claim (free)

1. Check eligibility with our flight delay compensation checker, or read the full guide to flight delay compensation.
2. Claim from the operating airline using its own complaint or claim form. Include your booking reference, flight number, date, and the delay at arrival.
3. Escalate if needed. If the airline doesn't reply within 2 months or you're not satisfied, you can complain to the national enforcement body in the country where the incident happened, use an alternative dispute resolution scheme (EU residents), or go to court, for example with the European Small Claims procedure. For UK claims, the CAA says to escalate to the airline's ADR provider, or to the CAA's Passenger Advice and Complaints Team, if the airline takes more than 8 weeks or you disagree with its answer.

Time limits for going to court are set by each country's national law, so don't sit on a claim. If you'd rather hand it over, a claims service does the chasing for a share of the payout; see is Compensair legit? for how its fee works.

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