Is an Airline Owing You Money?

Understanding Flight Delay Compensation

Every year, millions of passengers are delayed, bumped, or left standing at the gate after a cancellation — and most never claim the money they're owed. Flight delay compensation exists because European and UK regulators decided airlines should be held financially accountable when a disruption is within their control.

Unlike travel insurance, which usually only covers extra expenses like meals or a hotel night, compensation under EU261 or UK261 is a fixed cash payment, separate from any refund or rebooking you're already entitled to. The rules apply no matter how much you paid for your ticket, whether you booked directly with the airline or through a travel agent, and whether the disruption happened on a short domestic hop or a long intercontinental route. This flight compensation calculator uses the same distance-based, cause-based logic that claims companies and courts apply, so you get a realistic answer in under a minute — before you decide whether it's worth pursuing an airline compensation claim.

What Is EU261 (and UK261)?

EU261 is a passenger-protection regulation that entitles travelers to fixed cash compensation when a flight is delayed by three or more hours, cancelled with short notice, or when a passenger is denied boarding due to overbooking. It applies to any flight departing an EU or UK airport, and to flights arriving in the EU or UK on an EU or UK-registered airline. UK261 mirrors the same rules after Brexit for flights connected to the UK. The amount owed depends on flight distance, not ticket price — so even passengers flying on a discounted fare are entitled to the full amount.

Who Is Covered by EU261 and UK261 Flight Compensation Rules

You're covered if your flight departed from any airport in the EU or UK, regardless of which airline you flew or where you were headed. You're also covered on the return leg — a flight arriving into the EU or UK — as long as the operating airline is registered there.

A British Airways flight from New York to London falls under UK261, while a budget carrier flying from Barcelona to Casablanca falls under EU261, even though the destination is outside Europe. Non-EU/UK airlines flying into Europe from elsewhere generally aren't covered unless the flight originates in the EU or UK. Connecting flights booked on a single ticket usually count as one journey for compensation purposes, even across multiple airlines.

How the Compensation Amount Is Calculated

The distance used is the great-circle distance between your departure and final destination airport, not the total distance flown if you had a connection. For flights with one stop, only the distance from the first departure to the final arrival counts, which usually works in the passenger's favor.

There's one notable exception: for long-haul flights over 3,500 km, if the delay at arrival was specifically between three and four hours, airlines are only required to pay half the standard amount — €300 instead of €600. Delays of four hours or more on long-haul routes qualify for the full amount.

Compensation scales with flight distance, not ticket price or airline.

Denied Boarding and Overbooking Compensation

Airlines routinely oversell flights, betting that some passengers won't show up. When more passengers arrive than there are seats, the airline must first ask for volunteers to give up their seat in exchange for compensation — usually a mix of cash, vouchers, and rebooking onto a later flight. If you volunteer and accept the airline's offer, you've entered a private arrangement, and the fixed EU261/UK261 amounts generally don't apply on top of whatever the airline gave you.

If nobody volunteers and you're bumped involuntarily, you're entitled to the same fixed compensation as a long delay or cancellation — up to €600, depending on distance — plus your choice of a full refund or rebooking onto the next available flight. Involuntary denied boarding is one of the clearest-cut cases for compensation, because there's rarely a valid "extraordinary circumstances" defense for an airline choosing to overbook a flight in the first place.

When Compensation Doesn't Apply

EU261/UK261 carves out "extraordinary circumstances" — disruptions outside the airline's control. Being upfront about these builds trust, and it also means this flight compensation calculator won't tell you what you want to hear if the facts say otherwise. Airlines carry the burden of proving an extraordinary circumstance applied, and they frequently get this wrong, or claim it when it doesn't actually qualify.

• Severe weather — storms, heavy snow, fog, or volcanic ash that genuinely prevents safe flight operations, not routine seasonal weather an airline should have planned around.
• Air traffic control strikes or restrictions — including strikes by ATC staff, though a strike by the airline's own crew usually does not count as extraordinary.
• Security threats or airport closures — bomb threats, terrorism alerts, or sudden airspace closures beyond the airline's control.
• Medical emergencies on board — a passenger or crew member requiring an unscheduled diversion or delay.
• Hidden manufacturing defects — faults discovered during mandatory safety checks that weren't detectable through normal maintenance, as opposed to routine technical faults, which airlines are still liable for.

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