How to claim EU261 compensation for a delayed flight

Your flight out of Barcelona landed four hours late, the airline emailed a voucher, and you took that as the end of it. The wrong assumption is that compensation only arrives if the airline offers it. Under EU Regulation 261/2004 the airline owes a fixed cash sum on top of any refund or rebooking, and it pays only if you claim in writing.

Check that the flight is covered

The rule covers a flight that departed from an airport in the EU on any airline, or a flight that arrived in the EU from outside on an EU airline. The same rules apply to flights to and from Iceland, Norway and Switzerland. A US carrier flying into Paris from Newark is not covered; the same carrier flying Paris to Newark is. Check the operating airline on the boarding pass, not the airline that sold the ticket.

Work out what you are owed

As of September 2026 the amounts are fixed by distance: 250 euro for flights of 1,500 km or less, 400 euro for longer flights inside the EU and for other flights between 1,500 and 3,500 km, and 600 euro for anything longer. For a delay, the test is arrival at your final destination 3 hours or more after the scheduled time, so measure from the last leg, not the first. For a cancellation, nothing is owed if the airline told you at least 14 days before departure. With 7 to 14 days of notice the airline escapes only if it rerouted you to leave no more than 2 hours early and arrive under 4 hours late; with less than 7 days, the windows shrink to 1 hour early and 2 hours late. Denied boarding on an overbooked flight pays the same table if you checked in on time and did not volunteer.

Decide whether the airline can refuse

The airline owes nothing if it proves extraordinary circumstances: air traffic management decisions, bad weather, political instability or security risks. A strike by the airline's own staff is not extraordinary. A strike outside the airline, such as air traffic controllers or airport ground handlers, can be, but the airline must prove the link and that the disruption could not have been avoided. Most technical faults do not count. Even when compensation is off the table, the airline still owes meals after a 2 hour delay on short flights, 3 hours on longer intra-EU flights and 4 hours on the rest, plus a hotel and transfers if the new departure is the next day. Keep every receipt.

Write to the airline first

Use the airline's own complaints or claims page and state the flight number, date, booking reference, the arrival delay in hours, the amount you claim under Regulation 261/2004, and your bank details. Attach the boarding pass and receipts. Say that you want cash, not a voucher. Keep a copy and note the date you sent it. If you refused the rebooking, ask for the fare refund in the same message, because it is a separate right.

Complain to the national enforcement body if the airline stalls

If the airline has not replied within 2 months, or has refused, lodge a complaint with the enforcement body in the country where the incident took place. For a departure from the EU that is the country of the departure airport; for an arrival on an EU airline from outside, it is the country of arrival. The Commission list of national enforcement bodies gives the office for each country. Send the same file, plus the airline's reply or the date it went unanswered.

If that fails. The enforcement body issues an opinion rather than an order. A claim the airline still ignores goes to an alternative dispute resolution entity or to court under the small claims procedure, and the time limit for suing is set by national law, so do not sit on it. A US-side refund for the same trip follows the separate rules in get a refund for a canceled or delayed flight.

Sources. Your Europe, air passenger rights, Commission page on national enforcement bodies.