Claim it yourself. Keep all of it.

What EU 261 says

Regulation (EC) No 261/2004, usually called EU 261, sets a fixed sum for a long delay, a late cancellation or denied boarding. The sum depends on the distance of the flight, not on what you paid for the ticket.

The airline may halve the sum when it rebooks you and you arrive within two to four hours of the original time, depending on distance.

When the rules apply

• A delay. You arrive three hours or more late at your final destination. On one booking the three hours count at the end of the journey, so a short delay that costs you the connection can still reach it.
• A cancellation. You were told less than 14 days before departure, and were not rebooked close to the original times.
• Denied boarding. The flight left without you against your will, for example because it was overbooked.

Which flights are covered

• Every flight that departs from an airport in the EU, Norway, Iceland or Switzerland, whatever the airline.
• Flights into those countries on an airline that is based there.
• The United Kingdom has its own version of the same rules, with £220 to £520.

When nothing is owed

There is no compensation when the cause was outside the airline's control: weather, air traffic control, or a strike by someone other than the airline's own staff. The airline has to show that. Meals and a hotel are owed anyway.

What you are owed while you wait

• Meals, drinks and two calls or messages, after two to four hours depending on distance.
• A hotel and the transfer to it if you are stuck overnight.
• From five hours you can give up the trip and get the unused fare back within seven days.

How to claim, in three steps

1. Ask the airline first. Write to the airline that operated the flight. Most complaints bodies will not act until you have.
2. Keep the receipts. Meals, taxis and hotels can be repaid even when compensation is not.
3. No reply, or a refusal? Take it to the complaints body in the country you departed from. It costs nothing in most countries.

The time limit is set by national law and runs from one year to several. Do not wait.

A letter you can send today

This is the letter AirwayControl writes. It names the regulation, asks for what the rules provide and asks the airline to give its reasons if it says no. It names no sum, because the airline works that out from the distance. Fill in the brackets and send it from your own email.

Dear [airline],

I am writing about flight [flight number] on [date]. I am claiming the compensation and assistance I am entitled to as a passenger on that flight.

Flight details
Flight number: [flight number]
Date: [date]
Route: [from] to [to]
Scheduled arrival: [time]
Booking reference: [reference]

[What happened: for example, "The flight arrived 3 hours 20 minutes late" or "The flight was cancelled on the day".]

I understand this flight is covered by Regulation (EC) No 261/2004, and I am claiming the compensation and any right to care that applies. If you consider that extraordinary circumstances apply, please set out what they were and what measures you took.

Please confirm receipt and let me know the outcome in writing. If you consider that compensation is not due, please tell me the specific reason and the evidence you rely on.

Kind regards,
[your name]

On your own, or with a claims company?

Both are fair choices. A claims company does the writing and the waiting for you, and some will take a refusal to court. It is paid with a share of what you receive. Asking yourself takes one letter, and what the airline pays is yours.

By airline

Where each airline takes a claim, and which rules cover its flights.

• Ryanair
• easyJet
• Lufthansa
• Air France
• KLM
• British Airways
• Turkish Airlines
• Wizz Air
• Vueling
• Iberia
• SAS
• Norwegian

By country

What the rules say outside the EU, in the same plain words.

• UK
• Canada
• Turkey
• United States

Questions people ask

How much compensation can I get for a delayed flight?

Under EU 261 you may be owed €250, €400 or €600, by the distance of the flight, when you arrive three hours or more late and the cause was within the airline's control.

Does a delay caused by weather count?

No. Weather, air traffic control and strikes by other parties are outside the airline's control, so no compensation is owed. Meals and a hotel while you wait are owed anyway.

My flight was cancelled. What am I owed?

A choice between a refund and another flight, and care while you wait. Compensation may also be owed if you were told less than 14 days before departure.

How long do I have to claim?

That depends on the country whose courts would hear the case, and runs from one year to several. Write to the airline as soon as you can.

Is AirwayControl a claims company?

No. AirwayControl never submits or handles claims and takes no share. It tells you which rules cover your route and writes a letter that you send from your own email.

Does it work outside Europe?

Yes. The app names the rules for your route in twenty countries and regions, and says so plainly when no law pays cash for a delay, as in the United States.