AirwayControlEU 261: the new rules
New EU rules for delayed flights. They apply from 23 October 2027.
The European Union has amended EU 261. The new regulation was published in the Official Journal on 2 October 2026 and applies from 23 October 2027. Until then, Regulation (EC) No 261/2004 applies as it stands, with the same €250 to €600.
General information, not legal advice. Not a promise of payment.
What applies to a flight today
Nothing changes yet. A flight that is delayed, cancelled or overbooked today is covered by EU 261 as it stands, and so are the amounts. You can ask the airline now.
- Compensation
- 3+ h late at your final destination: you may be owed €250–€600, by distance.
- While you wait
- Meals and drinks are owed from 2 h on short flights, 4 h on the longest.
- When nothing is owed
- No compensation if the cause was outside the airline's control — weather, air-traffic control, or someone else's strike. Meals and a hotel are owed anyway.
These are the lines AirwayControl shows for a route under EU 261 today, word for word.
The main guide explains today's rules, with a claim you can send to the airline.
What the new regulation says
Regulation (EU) 2026/2202 rewrites much of EU 261. These are some of the changes that matter most when a flight goes wrong, with the article of the amended regulation. None of them applies before 23 October 2027.
The same amounts
- €250, €400 and €600. The amounts and the distances stay as they are (Article 7(1)).
- Three hours. For a delay, compensation may be asked for when you reach your final destination more than three hours late (Article 6(4)).
- Half on long flights. On the longest flights, the €600 band, the airline may halve the sum when you arrive no more than four hours late (Article 7(2)).
Asking for it
- Nine months. A request for compensation is to be made within nine months of the date of departure on your ticket (Article 7(9)).
- An answer in 30 days. The airline acknowledges the request at once, and within 30 calendar days either pays or explains why not, with how to complain (Article 7(9)).
- Told within 96 hours. When you may have a right to compensation, the airline sends you, within 96 hours of the end of the journey, what that right is and how to ask for it (Article 7(4)).
- Paid by bank transfer. Unless you explicitly agree to another way, in writing (Article 7(7)).
Extraordinary circumstances
The regulation gets a list of events that count as extraordinary circumstances, in an annex. The list is not exhaustive. The airline still has to prove a direct link between the event and the disruption, and that it took all reasonable measures (Article 6c). When it refuses to pay for that reason, it has to name the event and explain (Article 7(9)).
Other changes
- Return flights. You cannot be refused boarding on the way home, or charged for it, because you did not take the outbound flight on the same booking (Article 4(5)).
- Sitting with your child. A person travelling with a child under 14 on the same booking is offered, free of charge, a seat next to the child. Where there are none, the airline tries to help (Article 11(4)).
- A personal item. One personal item in the cabin at no extra cost, up to 40 x 30 x 15 cm or one that fits under the seat in front (Article 11a).
This is not the whole regulation. It also covers baggage, information, complaints and passengers with reduced mobility. Read it in full in the Official Journal: Regulation (EU) 2026/2202.
From proposal to rule
- 15 June 2026
- The Parliament and the Council agree a joint text in the Conciliation Committee.
- 7 July 2026
- The European Parliament adopts it.
- 13 July 2026
- The Council adopts it.
- 16 September 2026
- Signed in Strasbourg.
- 2 October 2026
- Published in the Official Journal of the European Union.
- 22 October 2026
- Enters into force, the twentieth day after publication.
- 23 October 2027
- Applies. Until then, EU 261 as it stands.
How to claim now
Write to the airline that operated the flight, keep your receipts, and take a refusal to the complaints body in the country you departed from. Today the time limit is set by national law, so do not wait. The checker shows which rules cover your route, and the main guide has a claim you can send.
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
When do the new EU 261 rules apply?
From 23 October 2027. Regulation (EU) 2026/2202 was published in the Official Journal on 2 October 2026. Until it applies, Regulation (EC) No 261/2004 applies as it stands.
What applies to my flight today?
EU 261 as it stands, with today's amounts: €250, €400 or €600 by distance may be owed when you arrive three hours or more late and the cause was within the airline's control.
Do the compensation amounts change?
No. The new text keeps €250, €400 and €600, by the same distances.
Does the three-hour limit for delays change?
No. Under the new text, compensation for a delay may be asked for when you reach your final destination more than three hours late.
How long will I have to claim?
Under the new rules, nine months from the date of departure on your ticket. Until 23 October 2027, the time limit is set by national law and runs from one year to several.
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. This page last checked 3 October 2026, against Regulation (EU) 2026/2202 in the Official Journal.
Sources: Regulation (EC) No 261/2004 and the European Union's own guide to air passenger rights. Regulation (EU) 2026/2202 of 16 September 2026, Official Journal L, 2 October 2026: the regulation.