A delayed or cancelled flight can trigger several different EU passenger rights. The rules that apply depend on where the flight starts, where it ends, the airline, the length of the delay and the cause of the disruption.
When EU air-passenger rights apply
The current EU rules generally cover flights within the EU, flights departing the EU to a non-EU country, and flights arriving in the EU from outside the EU when operated by an EU airline. The EU passenger-rights framework also extends to Iceland, Norway and Switzerland in the circumstances described by the official EU guidance.
When a delay can mean compensation
Under the rules applying in September 2026, arrival at the final destination three hours or more late can give a passenger a right to financial compensation unless the airline proves that extraordinary circumstances caused the disruption.
The standard compensation bands are:
- EUR 250 for flights of 1,500 km or less;
- EUR 400 for intra-EU flights over 1,500 km and other covered flights between 1,500 and 3,500 km;
- up to EUR 600 for longer covered flights.
The exact entitlement depends on the route, arrival delay and circumstances. Re-routing that gets you to the destination within specified time limits can reduce compensation.
Meals, refreshments and hotel accommodation
Compensation is not the same as assistance. During a sufficiently long departure delay, the airline must provide meals and refreshments in reasonable relation to the waiting time and access to communications. The threshold starts at two hours for flights of 1,500 km or less, three hours for longer intra-EU flights and other flights between 1,500 and 3,500 km, and four hours for other flights.
If the new expected departure is at least the day after the original departure, the airline must provide hotel accommodation when needed and transport between the airport and the accommodation.
If the airline does not provide required assistance and you reasonably pay for it yourself, keep the receipts: necessary, reasonable and appropriate expenses may be reimbursable.
Cancellation and re-routing
For cancellation or qualifying denied boarding, the airline must offer a choice that can include reimbursement or re-routing. If you choose re-routing at the earliest opportunity, assistance continues while you wait under the applicable conditions.
For cancellations notified less than 14 days before departure, compensation may also be due unless an exception applies. The airline bears the burden of proving when you were informed and, where relied on, that extraordinary circumstances apply.
Missed connections
If connecting flights are part of a single reservation and EU passenger-rights rules apply, a missed connection that causes arrival at the final destination more than three hours late can qualify for compensation, unless extraordinary circumstances caused the delay. A missed connection caused by your own late arrival at the gate or by security-check delays does not automatically create the same entitlement.
What to do at the airport
1. Ask the airline for written information about the disruption and your passenger rights. 2. Ask for meals, refreshments, re-routing and accommodation when the relevant conditions are met instead of assuming you must pay yourself. 3. Keep boarding passes, booking confirmations and messages from the airline. 4. Photograph departure boards if they help document the actual delay or cancellation. 5. Keep itemised receipts for necessary expenses the airline should have provided. 6. Record your actual arrival time at the final destination, not only the departure delay. 7. Submit the claim to the operating airline using its official complaint channel.
A 2026 rule-change warning
EU institutions agreed and adopted a revised passenger-rights framework in summer 2026, but the European Commission says the revised rules are expected to enter into force next summer. Therefore travellers in September 2026 should use the current rules described by the official Your Europe passenger-rights guidance rather than assuming every announced 2026 reform already applies.
Quick checklist before claiming
Check the operating airline, origin and destination, whether the flights were on one reservation, scheduled and actual arrival times, distance band, the airline's stated reason for the disruption, and any assistance already provided. Those facts determine which rights apply.
This guide is practical information, not individual legal advice. For a disputed case, use the official EU passenger-rights guidance and the competent national enforcement or consumer-support body.
