AirwayControlFor travelers from the United States
EU 261 for Americans flying home from Europe
A flight that departs from an airport in the EU, Norway, Iceland or Switzerland is covered by EU 261 on any airline, Delta, United and American included. A flight from the United States to Europe is covered only on an airline licensed there. Arrive three hours or more late on the way home, and €600 may be owed.
General information, not legal advice. Not a promise of payment.
Which flights EU 261 covers, by direction
The European rules follow the airport you leave from, and on the way into Europe, the country that licensed the airline (Article 3(1)).
| Flight | Airline | EU 261 |
|---|---|---|
| Europe to the United States | Any airline, a US airline included | Yes |
| United States to Europe | An airline licensed in the EU, Norway, Iceland or Switzerland | Yes, unless you received benefits or compensation and assistance in the United States |
| United States to Europe | A US airline, or any other airline licensed outside Europe | No |
"Europe" here is the countries that apply EU 261: the EU, Norway, Iceland and Switzerland. A flight that departs from the United Kingdom is under UK 261, the UK's own version of the same rules.
What may be owed on the flight home
On a flight that EU 261 covers, a passenger who reaches the final destination three hours or more late may be owed compensation, unless the airline proves extraordinary circumstances that could not have been avoided. The Court of Justice ruled so for delays in Sturgeon.
The sum depends on the distance, measured by the great circle (Article 7(4)). A flight between Europe and the mainland United States is longer than 3,500 km, so the sum the regulation sets is €600 (Article 7(1)). The airline may halve it when you arrive more than three but less than four hours late (Article 7(2)).
- While you wait. Meals and drinks from four hours on these long flights, a hotel if you are stuck overnight, and from five hours a refund if you give up the trip. More in delayed by hours.
- Cancelled. A refund or another flight, and compensation may be owed when you were told less than 14 days before. More in refund or voucher.
- Bumped. Denied boarding against your will is covered too. More in denied boarding.
What the US rules say, next to them
On a flight to or from the United States, US rules apply as well. These are the lines AirwayControl shows for them, word for word.
- Compensation
- No US law pays cash for a delay.
- While you wait
- No legal meals or hotel — but food and water after 2 h stuck on the aircraft.
- Refund
- A refund if you don't fly: 3 h late domestic, 6 h international.
So the flight home from Europe is the one where a delay can be worth money. On the way out, on a US airline, EU 261 does not apply. More on the US rules.
What to do
- Keep the paperwork. Your boarding pass, the booking and every receipt for food, a hotel or a taxi.
- Write to the airline. Send a claim to the airline that operated the flight, from your own email. There is a free claim template to copy, and the calculator shows which rules cover your route. American Airlines, Alaska Airlines and JetBlue have their own pages.
- No reply, or a refusal? Take it to the complaints body in the European country you departed from.
AirwayControl
Or let the app fill it in.
AirwayControl is a flight tracker for iPhone and Apple Watch. Set your flight before you leave, and it follows the day for you. If the day goes wrong, it already knows the details the claim needs.
- It tells you when it matters. A notification when your flight lands three hours late or more.
- It knows which rules cover your route. EU 261, UK 261 and the rules of 18 more countries, in plain words.
- It fills in the claim. Airline, flight number, date and route come from My Flight.
- You send it. From your own email, or through the airline's own claim form with every answer ready to copy.
- No fee and no share. AirwayControl never takes a part of what you receive.
7 days free, then 29 NOK a month.
Questions people ask
Does EU 261 apply to Delta, United and American Airlines?
On a flight that departs from the EU, Norway, Iceland or Switzerland, yes. EU 261 covers passengers departing from an airport there on any airline. On a flight from the United States to Europe, it does not cover an airline licensed in the United States.
Does EU 261 cover a flight from the United States to Europe?
Only on an airline licensed in the EU, Norway, Iceland or Switzerland, and not if you received benefits or compensation and assistance in the United States.
How much compensation for a delayed flight from Europe to the US?
The sum EU 261 sets for flights over 3,500 km is €600, and a flight between Europe and the mainland United States is longer than that. It may be owed when you reach your final destination three hours or more late, unless the airline proves extraordinary circumstances. The airline may halve it below four hours late.
Do US rules pay compensation for a delayed flight?
No US law pays cash for a delay. A refund if you don't fly: 3 h late domestic, 6 h international.
Is AirwayControl a claims company?
No. It tells you which rules cover your route and writes the claim, and you send it from your own email. AirwayControl never sends or handles a claim for you, and takes no share.
When something goes wrong
Today's rules, problem by problem. The main guide covers delays and cancellations, and the checker shows which rules cover your route.
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General information about air passenger rules, not legal advice and not a promise of payment. Your airline decides; a complaints body decides on appeal. AirwayControl never submits or handles claims: the mail is yours, from your own account. Rules last checked 9 August 2026. The regulation and the judgments named on this page were read in full on 3 October 2026.
Sources: Regulation (EC) No 261/2004 and the European Union's own guide to air passenger rights. Court of Justice of the European Union, Sturgeon (C-402/07 and C-432/07): the judgment.