EU261 and UK261 flight compensation
Flight 3 hours late? The airline may owe you up to €600.
Cancelled and overbooked flights can count too. The check takes about 30 seconds, and we write the claim letter for you to send.
Am I owed?
Late.
Delayed
If you reached your final destination 3 or more hours late, you may be owed up to €600.
Cancelled
If you were told less than 14 days before departure, you may be owed compensation.
Bumped
If the flight was overbooked and you were denied boarding against your will, the airline may owe you compensation.
For delays and cancellations, the airline can refuse if it proves extraordinary circumstances it could not avoid, such as bad weather.
How much
You may be owed, per passenger
Up to 1,500 km
€250£220
1,500 to 3,500 km
€400£350
Over 3,500 km
€600£520
€ amounts: EU261£ amounts: UK261
These amounts apply if you arrived 3 or more hours late, the flight was cancelled less than 14 days before departure, or you were denied boarding. Flights within the EU over 1,500 km get €400. On flights over 3,500 km, if you arrived only 3 to 4 hours late, it is €300 or £260. If the airline rerouted you after a cancellation or denied boarding and you arrived within 2, 3 or 4 hours of the planned time (by distance band), the amount can be halved.
How it works
The check takes about 30 seconds.
- 01
Check
Answer a few questions about your flight.
-
02
Get the letter
We write it with your flight details in it.
- 03
Send it
Paste it into the airline's claim form or an email.
To: the airline
Ask for a reply within 8 weeks (UK) or 2 months (EU).
You don't need a claim company
Claim companies often keep about 35%, more if it goes to court. If you send the letter yourself, you keep all of it.
Check my flight
Tell us what happened
It's free and there's no sign-up. Nothing you type leaves your browser.
How do you want to claim?
Claim it yourself
It's free and you keep all of it. We write the letter and you send it.
Let a company do it
No win, no fee. They keep a share of what they win (often about 35%, more if it goes to court), so check the fee first.
What's the catch?
- The check and the letter are free.
- You don't sign up for anything.
- Nothing you type leaves your browser.
- We only earn money if you use a partner link (AirHelp or Compensair) and they take your case. If you claim yourself, we earn nothing.
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The short version
The law
Under EU Regulation 261/2004 (EU261) and its UK version (UK261), arriving 3 or more hours late, a cancellation less than 14 days before departure, or being denied boarding can give you €250 to €600 (£220 to £520), depending on distance. It covers flights leaving the EU, Iceland, Norway, Switzerland or the UK on any airline; flights into the EU, Iceland, Norway or Switzerland on an airline from the EU, Iceland, Norway or Switzerland; flights into the EU on a UK airline (UK261 applies); and flights into the UK on a UK or EU airline.
When the airline can refuse
For delays and cancellations, if it proves extraordinary circumstances it could not avoid, such as bad weather or air traffic control decisions. Most technical faults and strikes by the airline's own staff do not count. For denied boarding, extraordinary circumstances are no defence, but you can be refused boarding for health, safety or travel-document reasons.
Start with the airline
Send your claim to the airline first. If it says no, answer its excuse with the court ruling. If it still says no, or you hear nothing for 8 weeks (UK) or 2 months (EU), take it to an Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) scheme, the UK CAA, or the national enforcement body.
Not legal advice. Checks follow the official texts: Regulation 261/2004 (EU and UK versions), European Commission, Your Europe, UK Civil Aviation Authority.