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EU261 Flight Compensation Calculator

EU261 compensation for a delay of 3 hours or more, a late cancellation or denied boarding: €250, €400 or €600 by distance, halved after some reroutings. How it works

Use the EU261 Flight Compensation Calculator

Cancellation: Article 5(1)(c). Denied boarding against your will: Article 4(3). Both pay the Article 7 amounts.

How late you reached your final destination. EU261 counts the delay at arrival, not at departure.

Great-circle distance from the departure airport to your final destination. Needed once the delay is 3 hours or more.

Intra-EU flights over 1,500 km are €400 whatever the distance (Article 7(1)(b)).

Optional and advisory: it adds a note and never changes the amount.

Compensation Entitlement
€0

No compensation is due for delays under 3 hours at arrival. However, you may still be entitled to care (meals, refreshments) if the delay is significant.

Source: EU Regulation 261/2004, Articles 6 and 7. View full regulation

Cancellation (Article 5): no compensation if you were told 14 days or more before departure. If told 7 to 14 days before and offered rerouting that leaves no more than 2 hours earlier and arrives less than 4 hours late, or told under 7 days before and offered rerouting that leaves no more than 1 hour earlier and arrives less than 2 hours late, the right is lost too; this tool does not apply those two cases, so check them against your rerouting. Denied boarding against your will (Article 4(3)) pays the same Article 7 amounts. Voluntary denied boarding is a deal with the airline and is not covered.

The rules cover flights departing from an EU airport, and flights into the EU on an EU airline. The airline owes nothing if it proves the delay was caused by extraordinary circumstances that could not have been avoided.

Choose Intra-EU when both airports are in EU member states only (for example Paris to Martinique): flights over 1,500 km are then €400 under Article 7(1)(b).

Over 3,500 km the amount is €600. For a delay of 3 to under 4 hours the tool shows €300, the 50% reduction the airline may apply under Article 7(2)(c), which the Court of Justice applied to delays in Sturgeon.

About the EU261 Flight Compensation Calculator

A flight that reaches its final destination 3 hours or more late is owed €250 for 1,500 km or less, €400 for 1,500 to 3,500 km or for any flight within the EU over 1,500 km, and €600 beyond 3,500 km. On those longest flights a delay of 3 to under 4 hours may be halved to €300, and the EU261 flight compensation calculator shows that lower figure. Nothing is owed if the airline proves the delay came from extraordinary circumstances it could not avoid. The same amounts apply to boarding denied against your will and to a cancellation you were told of less than 14 days before departure.

EU261 delay compensation by distance and arrival delay

Distance and routeUnder 3 hours3 to under 4 hours4 hours or more
1,300 km€0€250€250
1,500 km€0€250€250
2,800 km€0€400€400
3,500 km€0€400€400
6,000 km, Other€0€300€600
6,000 km, Intra-EU€0€400€400

Per passenger, as the tool returns them for delays of 2.5, 3.5 and 4.5 hours. Exactly 1,500 km is in the €250 band and exactly 3,500 km in the €400 band.

EU261 cancellation and denied boarding compensation

Distance and routeNo rerouting offeredRerouting within the Article 7(2) windowWindow
1,300 km€250€1252 hours
2,800 km€400€2003 hours
6,000 km, Intra-EU€400€2003 hours
6,000 km, Other€600€3004 hours

For boarding denied against your will (Article 4(3)) or a cancellation told less than 14 days before departure (Article 5(1)(c)). The window is how late the rerouted flight may land after the booked arrival for the airline to halve the amount (Article 7(2)). A cancellation told 14 days or more ahead pays €0. The Article 5(1)(c)(ii) and (iii) exceptions are not applied.

How to use this tool

  1. Pick what happened: an arrival delay, a cancellation (told less than 14 days, or 14 days or more, before departure) or denied boarding.
  2. For a delay, enter how many hours late you reached your final destination. For a cancellation or denied boarding, enter how many hours after your booked arrival the rerouted flight lands, or leave it empty if none was offered.
  3. Enter the great-circle distance in kilometers from the departure airport to the final destination.
  4. Choose Intra-EU if both airports are in EU member states; otherwise leave Other.
  5. Read the amount and the route category. Under 3 hours the result is €0.

Frequently asked questions

Is a flight delay measured at departure or arrival?
At arrival at your final destination. A flight that leaves 4 hours late but lands 2.5 hours late is under the 3-hour line, and the tool shows €0. On a journey with a connection, enter the delay at the final airport, not at the connection.
Which flights does EU261 cover?
Your Europe lists three cases: a flight within the EU on any airline, a flight leaving the EU on any airline, and a flight into the EU from outside on an EU airline. A flight into the EU on a non-EU airline is not covered, and neither is a journey for which you already received benefits under a non-EU country’s law. The tool does not check this, so confirm it before you claim.
What counts as extraordinary circumstances?
Your Europe gives air traffic management decisions, political instability, bad weather and security risks as examples, and says most technical problems and strikes by the airline’s own staff do not count. Recital 14 of the Regulation lists political instability, weather incompatible with the flight, security risks, unexpected flight safety shortcomings and strikes that affect the airline, and recital 15 adds air traffic management decisions. Pick the cause the airline gave and the tool shows the matching note; the amount does not change. The airline has to prove the link to your delay and that it could not have been avoided with all reasonable measures.
How do I find the flight distance?
Use the great-circle distance, the shortest path over the earth’s surface, between the departure airport and the final destination. Many flight-tracking and airport-distance sites list it. Enter the number in kilometers: a blank field counts as 0 km and puts the flight in the €250 band, so a long flight left blank shows too little.
How much compensation do I get for a cancelled flight?
The Article 7 amount for the distance, €250, €400 or €600, if you were told of the cancellation less than two weeks before departure. Told two weeks or more ahead, you get no compensation (Article 5(1)(c)(i)). If the airline offered a rerouting that lands within 2, 3 or 4 hours of your booked arrival, depending on the band, it may halve the sum: a 2,800 km flight rerouted to land 3 hours late is €200. Told 7 to 14 days, or under 7 days, ahead, a rerouting close enough to the original times removes the right altogether (Article 5(1)(c)(ii) and (iii)); the tool does not check that, because it does not ask for the rerouted departure time.
What do I get if I am denied boarding?
Boarding denied against your will is compensated under Article 7 (Article 4(3)): on a 6,000 km flight outside the EU that is €600, or €300 if the airline reroutes you to land within 4 hours of the booked arrival. Giving up your seat as a volunteer is a deal with the airline instead, and the tool does not price it.
How do I claim EU261 compensation?
Send a complaint to the airline first, using its own form. If it does not reply within 2 months, or you are not satisfied with the reply, Your Europe says to complain to the national enforcement body of the country where the incident happened. The European Small Claims procedure is one way to take it to court.

Checking a flight problem against EU261

Pick What happened: an arrival delay, a cancellation told less than 14 days or 14 days or more before departure, or boarding denied against your will. Enter the great-circle distance in km, and choose Intra-EU when both airports are in the EU.

A 4-hour delay returns €250 on a 1,300 km flight, €400 over 2,800 km and €600 over 6,000 km. Under 3 hours returns €0.

For a cancellation or denied boarding, enter how much later the rerouted flight lands, if one was offered. Denied boarding on a 6,000 km flight is €600, or €300 when the rerouting lands 3 hours late. A cancellation told 14 days or more ahead returns €0.

The airline owes nothing if it proves extraordinary circumstances that could not have been avoided. Cause given by the airline shows whether recitals 14 and 15 of the Regulation name that cause (weather, strikes, security risks, air traffic control) or not (a technical fault, crew shortage, overbooking). It is advisory and never changes the amount.

The bands the tool applies

The sums are those of Article 7(1) of Regulation (EC) No 261/2004:

  • 1,500 km or less: €250.

  • Over 1,500 up to 3,500 km, or Intra-EU over 1,500 km: €400.

  • Over 3,500 km on an Other route: €600.

Denied boarding (Article 4(3)) and cancellation (Article 5(1)(c)) pay them directly. Delays pay them from 3 hours late at arrival, following the Court of Justice in Sturgeon (C-402/07 and C-432/07); on the €600 band a 3 to 4 hour delay shows €300.

Article 7(2) lets the airline halve the sum when the rerouting lands no more than 2, 3 or 4 hours after the booked arrival in the €250, €400 and €600 bands, and the tool applies that cut. Distance is measured by the great-circle method (Article 7(4)).

The Article 5(1)(c)(ii) and (iii) exceptions for a close rerouting after 7 to 14 days', or under 7 days', notice are not applied: the tool does not ask for the rerouted departure time.

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