EU Regulation 261/2004
Your rights as an air passenger in Europe
EU law gives you fixed compensation, free care during the wait, and a choice between a refund or a replacement flight. Airlines are not obliged to tell you any of this.
- €250 to €600 per passenger
- Applies for up to 3 years back
- Independent of ticket price
Trustpilot
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When it applies
Two questions decide whether you're covered
The regulation follows the airport and the airline, not your nationality. You do not need to be an EU citizen to be protected.
Departing any EU airport
You're covered regardless of which airline you flew — including non-EU carriers leaving from an EU, Icelandic, Norwegian or Swiss airport.
Arriving in the EU on an EU airline
Flying into Europe from anywhere in the world is covered as long as the operating carrier is registered in the EU.
Connections on one booking
If a delayed first leg makes you miss a connection, what matters is how late you reached your final destination — not the length of the first delay.
Codeshare and charter flights
The airline that actually operated the aircraft is liable, even if you booked through a different carrier, a tour operator or an agency.
Compensation amounts
How much is your disrupted flight worth?
Under EU Regulation 261/2004 your compensation depends on flight distance, not on what you paid for the ticket. A €29 ticket can be worth €400.
Short haul
Up to 1,500 km
Bucharest to Vienna, Chișinău to Warsaw, Kyiv to Budapest.
Medium haul
1,500 – 3,500 km
Bucharest to London, Chișinău to Barcelona, Kyiv to Lisbon.
Long haul
Over 3,500 km
Bucharest to Dubai, Vienna to New York, Warsaw to Doha.
Amounts are fixed per passenger and paid on top of any refund or replacement flight you received. Long-haul flights delayed between 3 and 4 hours are compensated at €300.
What qualifies
Disruptions the airline owes you for
The trigger is nearly always your arrival time at the final destination — not how long you sat at the gate.
You are usually entitled to compensation
In these situations the airline is liable unless it can prove an extraordinary circumstance.
- Arrival 3 or more hours late (4+ hours on long-haul)
- Cancellation announced fewer than 14 days before departure
- Denied boarding because the flight was overbooked
- A missed connection that made you land 3+ hours late
- Being rerouted onto a much later flight against your will
Compensation is usually refused
These count as extraordinary circumstances — but airlines claim them far more often than the facts justify, which is exactly what we check.
- Severe weather that genuinely made the flight unsafe
- Air traffic control restrictions or airport closures
- Security alerts, medical emergencies or bird strikes
- Strikes by third parties such as airport or ATC staff
- Political instability at the departure or arrival airport
Routine technical faults, crew shortages, aircraft rotation problems and strikes by the airline's own staff are not extraordinary circumstances. Courts have repeatedly confirmed this, and it's the single most common reason claims are wrongly rejected.
Right to care
What the airline owes you while you wait
These duties apply during any long delay, even when no compensation is payable. Keep every receipt — you can reclaim what you paid yourself.
Food and drink
Meals and refreshments in reasonable proportion to the waiting time, from a delay of two hours onwards.
Hotel and transfers
If you have to wait overnight, the airline pays for accommodation and the transport between the airport and the hotel.
Two phone calls or emails
You are entitled to contact whoever needs to know, at the airline's expense.
Refund or rerouting
For cancellations and delays over five hours you may choose a full refund instead of travelling, or a replacement flight at the earliest opportunity.
Time limits
You have longer than the airline implies
The deadline is set by national law, not by the airline's own policy. In most of the markets we serve you can still claim for flights up to three years old, and in some countries considerably longer.
If you're unsure whether your flight is still within the limit, submit it anyway. Checking costs you nothing and takes two minutes.
FAQ
Questions passengers ask us most
Everything about eligibility, timelines and payouts. If your question isn't here, our team replies within six hours.
Your flight was disrupted. Your money is still waiting.
Check your flight in under two minutes. If it qualifies, we take it from there and you only pay when the airline pays you.