When does a delayed flight earn compensation?

Picture this: a flight of under 1,500 km, Paris to Barcelona, is due to land at 14:00. The doors open at 17:10. You are three hours and ten minutes late, so the airline owes €250 per passenger. Had the doors opened at 16:55, no fixed sum would apply, though meals and drinks still would.

The three-hour line comes from the Court of Justice in Sturgeon v Condor, confirmed in Nelson v Lufthansa. Once delayed passengers lose three hours or more, they get the same fixed compensation as passengers on a cancelled flight. Article 7 of Regulation 261/2004 then sets the amount by great-circle distance.

What counts is your final arrival, not your departure. You arrive when at least one aircraft door opens and passengers may leave. The flight must also be in scope. That means a departure from an EU or UK airport, or an arrival there on a qualifying EU or UK airline.

Write down when the doors opened and keep your boarding pass. Then claim from the operating airline, the one that flew the plane.

Suppose your flight from Rome to Amsterdam, under 1,500 km, leaves 3 hours 20 minutes late. Strong tailwinds help, and the doors open 2 hours 45 minutes late. No fixed sum is due. You were still owed meals and refreshments at the gate, though, because your wait passed two hours.

The Court of Justice set the arrival test in Sturgeon v Condor and Nelson v Lufthansa. It measures the time lost at the final destination on your booking. So a late take-off that the crew makes up in the air can wipe out a claim.

Departure time governs other rights. Article 6 of Regulation 261/2004 links meals, calls and hotels to how long you wait before leaving. It also gives you a right to a refund once the delay reaches five hours. These care rights apply even when the airline owes no compensation.

Look up when the doors opened at your final airport. Three hours or more after the scheduled arrival means you can claim. Under three hours, keep your meal receipts instead.

A flight due at 18:00 lands at 20:45. It taxis to a remote stand and waits for steps. The front door opens at 21:05, so the arrival delay is three hours and five minutes. The airline owes compensation unless it proves extraordinary circumstances. A flight tracker showing 2 hours 45 would mislead you.

The Court of Justice settled the point in the Germanwings case, C-452/13. Its reasoning was that passengers stay confined on a closed aircraft. They cannot phone freely, work or leave until a door opens, so the delay keeps running. The European Commission repeats the rule in its 2024 interpretative guidelines.

Passengers must also be allowed off. On that reading, a door opened for catering or a jet bridge check, with everyone kept seated, does not end the delay.

If your delay is close to three hours, note the exact time the first door opened. A photo of your phone's clock as you stand up does the job. Then ask the airline in writing for its own recorded arrival time.

Start by asking which time the airline used. In the Germanwings case, C-452/13, the Court of Justice ruled that arrival means the moment at least one door opens and passengers may leave. Airlines and flight trackers often show landing or gate times, which come earlier.

Consider a flight due at 10:00. The tracker shows landing at 12:52, a delay of 2 hours 52. Taxiing takes six minutes, then you wait four more for steps. The door opens at 13:02, so you arrived 3 hours 2 minutes late. On a flight of under 1,500 km, the airline would owe €250, or £220 under UK rules.

If the door time really is short of three hours, the answer is no. EU261 and UK261 draw a hard line there, set by the Court of Justice in Sturgeon v Condor. A delay of two hours fifty-nine minutes at the door earns no fixed sum, and no rule rounds it up.

Write down the door time while it is fresh. Keep any photo or message sent at that moment. Whatever the final figure, you still had a right to meals and refreshments during the wait.

Flight trackers usually show landing or gate times. Those come before the legal arrival, which is the moment at least one door opens and passengers may leave. The Court of Justice set that rule in Germanwings, C-452/13. A tracker screenshot can therefore understate your delay.

Build a simple file. Start with the booking confirmation showing the scheduled arrival time, and your boarding passes for every leg. Add the door time, noted on your phone or shown in a photo of the clock. A short voice note of the crew saying you can leave also helps. So do receipts for food and any hotel.

A typical case: the airline says your flight from Madrid to Berlin landed 2 hours 40 minutes late. Your photo shows the door opened at 3 hours 4 minutes. On this intra-EU flight of over 1,500 km, that gap decides whether the airline owes €400.

Send the airline your times and ask which source it used for its own figure. If it will not move, a national enforcement body or a court can weigh both records. Notes made on the day carry weight, because nobody wrote them afterwards.

Under EU261 and UK261, the airline escapes compensation only when extraordinary circumstances caused the delay. It must also show that all reasonable measures could not have avoided it. A tight schedule is the airline's own choice. So "the aircraft came in late" answers nothing until the airline explains the first delay.

Consider an evening flight from Madrid to Berlin, over 1,500 km within the EU. It waits for an aircraft held up by a fault in Lisbon that morning. You arrive 3 hours 30 minutes late. The airline owes €400 unless it proves an extraordinary cause.

Follow the chain back to where it began. Under Wallentin-Hermann v Alitalia, a maintenance problem on the morning flight stays internal. A storm or an air traffic control restriction on that earlier flight may count as extraordinary. Even then, the airline must link it to your flight and show what it did to limit the damage, such as using a spare aircraft.

Ask the airline in writing for the reason behind the first delay. A refusal that only says "late inbound aircraft" leaves the real question open.

Planning crews and rosters is the airline's business. So when your flight waits for a crew from another late flight, the airline has work to do. It would have to show that something outside its control caused the crew problem, and that it could not reasonably find cover.

Only extraordinary circumstances allow a refusal under Article 5(3) of Regulation 261/2004. Those are events outside the airline's normal activity and control. The Court of Justice applied this to staff in Krüsemann v TUIfly. A sudden walkout by the airline's own crew did not excuse it.

A typical case: a flight from Manchester to Malaga, over 1,500 km, waits for a replacement first officer. The doors open in Malaga 3 hours 20 minutes late. Under UK rules the airline would owe £350 unless it proves an extraordinary cause.

Note down what the crew or gate staff said about the reason. If the airline later blames something else, that note helps. Ask it to explain in writing why a crew problem was outside its control.

Ask the airline for a hotel first. If it offers nothing, book a reasonable one and keep every receipt. You can then claim those costs and the compensation together.

Articles 6 and 9 of Regulation 261/2004 set out the care. Once an overnight stay becomes necessary, the airline must provide a hotel and the transfer between the hotel and the airport. It must also provide meals in reasonable relation to the wait. The Court of Justice confirmed in McDonagh v Ryanair that these duties continue even in extraordinary circumstances.

Compensation is a separate question. Under the Sturgeon v Condor rule, an arrival three hours or more late can earn fixed compensation. An overnight delay nearly always passes that line. The airline then owes the money unless it proves an extraordinary cause.

Suppose your 21:00 flight from Rome to London, about 1,450 km, leaves at 09:00 the next morning. The airline must house you for the night, and you arrive twelve hours late. If a crew shortage caused it, the airline owes €250 under EU rules, because the flight left an EU airport.

Article 9 of Regulation 261/2004 lists what you get, and Article 6 sets when. The airline must offer meals and refreshments in reasonable relation to the wait. It must also let you make two calls or send two emails. If an overnight stay becomes necessary, it must add a hotel and the transfer.

When care starts depends on distance. Up to 1,500 km, it is two hours. For intra-EU flights over 1,500 km and other flights of 1,500 to 3,500 km, it is three hours. For everything longer, it is four hours.

Fault plays no part. In McDonagh v Ryanair, the Court of Justice held that the duty continues even in extraordinary circumstances. A snowstorm does not cancel your meal voucher.

On a flight from London to New York, over 3,500 km, food and drink are owed after four hours. The regulation sets no fixed voucher value. If staff hand out nothing, buy something reasonable and keep the receipt. Then ask the airline to repay it, separately from any compensation claim.

Picture this: you booked a day trip from Glasgow to Amsterdam for a meeting at noon. Your 07:00 flight now shows 12:30, and the trip has lost its point. You tell the gate staff you will not fly and ask for your money back. The airline then owes the full fare within seven days.

Article 6(1)(iii) of Regulation 261/2004 gives this right once the delay reaches five hours. Article 8 describes how the refund works, with repayment due within seven days. Under Article 7(3), a voucher needs your signed agreement. So you can refuse one and insist on cash or a card refund.

Fixed compensation is a different right. The refund sits with the care duties in Article 6, so it does not depend on who caused the delay.

Make your choice clear, in writing if you can. Email the airline from the airport, stating the delay and that you decline the flight. Keep a screenshot of the delayed departure time. Do not board, because boarding may count as accepting the later flight.

What counts is the door time on the new flight. Under Sturgeon v Condor, a delay needs three hours at the final destination before compensation arises. Article 7 of Regulation 261/2004 then sets €250, €400 or €600 by distance, or £220, £350 or £520 under UK rules.

Article 7(2) lets the airline halve the sum when the rerouted arrival stays close to the original time. The limit is two hours for flights up to 1,500 km, three hours for medium flights and four hours for flights over 3,500 km. So on short and medium flights, the halving rarely bites. On long-haul flights, an arrival between three and four hours late may pay half.

Consider your flight from London to Toronto, over 3,500 km. After a delay, the airline moves you to a later flight. You reach Toronto 3 hours 40 minutes late. Under UK rules the airline may pay £260 instead of £520. At 4 hours 10 minutes late, it would owe the full £520.

Keep both booking confirmations and note when the doors opened on the new flight. Claim from the airline that operated your original flight.

A flight from Frankfurt to New York, over 6,000 km, should open its doors at 15:00. They open at 18:30. At three and a half hours late, the airline may pay €300. Had they opened at 19:05, it would owe €600.

Article 7 of Regulation 261/2004 sets €600 for flights over 3,500 km. Under Article 7(2), the airline can cut that by 50% when the arrival on these flights stays within four hours of the schedule. Put that next to the three-hour rule the Court of Justice applied in Sturgeon v Condor. A long-haul arrival between three and four hours late may then pay half.

Distance runs along the great-circle route from your first departure to your final destination. A connection along the way does not split it. Paris to Chicago via Dublin on a single booking counts as one long-haul journey.

Check the door time before you accept any offer, because thirty extra minutes can double the sum. Either figure also assumes the airline has no extraordinary circumstances defence.

Suppose you fly London to New York and back. On the way home, a delay gets you into London 5 hours late. If British Airways operated that flight, UK261 applies and the airline may owe £520. If a US airline operated it, UK261 generally does not apply. The Montreal Convention may still let you claim proven costs the delay caused.

Article 3(1)(b) of Regulation 261/2004 covers flights from outside Europe into an EU airport only when a Community carrier operates them. UK261 follows the same pattern for the UK. The operating airline is what counts, not the one that sold your ticket. A codeshare number does not change who flew the plane.

Each direction is judged on its own. Section 2.1 of the European Commission's 2024 guidelines treats outbound and return as separate flights. A covered flight out does not make an uncovered flight home covered.

Find the "operated by" line on your boarding pass. If a European airline flew you, claim from it. If not, look at your receipts for losses you can prove, and at your travel insurance.

Antalya to Manchester is about 3,100 km. A UK airline operates the flight, and a technical fault with the aircraft holds it up. The doors open 4 hours late. Under UK rules the airline owes £350 per passenger, so £1,400 for a family of four. Had a Turkish airline operated the same flight, UK261 generally would not apply.

Package holidays often use UK charter airlines for both legs. The flight home from Antalya or Hurghada can then fall under UK261. The airline still escapes compensation only if it proves extraordinary circumstances.

The rule comes from Article 3(1)(b) of Regulation 261/2004, which covers inbound flights only when a Community carrier operates them. UK261 applies the same idea with UK rules and amounts. Your outbound flight does not decide it, because the 2024 Commission guidelines treat the return as a separate flight.

Check the operating airline on your boarding pass. Claim the fixed sum from that airline, not the tour operator. Keep receipts for meals or a hotel during the wait as well.

Distance sets the figure, not the ticket price. Article 7 of Regulation 261/2004 measures it by great-circle distance. The €400 band covers intra-EU flights over 1,500 km and other flights between 1,500 and 3,500 km. Anything longer falls in the €600 band. UK261 uses the same bands in pounds.

A family of three flies Barcelona to Stockholm, over 2,000 km within the EU. They arrive 3 hours 45 minutes late because of a maintenance problem. The airline owes €400 each, so €1,200 in total. The same delay on a flight over 3,500 km could pay €300 each.

The money is per passenger, and a cheap fare does not reduce it. On flights over 3,500 km, an arrival between three and four hours late lets the airline halve it, to €300 or £260.

Other schemes use other figures. Canada's rules pay CA$400, CA$700 or CA$1,000 on large carriers, depending on the length of the delay. Israel's law sets indexed amounts. Work out which law covers your flight before you calculate the sum, then claim from the airline that operated it.

Consider a flight from Milan to Brussels, under 1,500 km, that boards at 09:00. It sits on the taxiway for 2 hours 30 minutes because of a fault. Then it lands and waits 40 minutes for a gate. The door opens 3 hours 15 minutes after the scheduled arrival. The airline owes €250 unless it proves extraordinary circumstances.

In Germanwings, C-452/13, the Court of Justice ruled that a flight arrives when at least one door opens and passengers may leave. The reasoning was simple. On a closed aircraft you cannot move freely or get on with your day. So every minute on board before that moment counts.

A hold before departure works the same way. Board on time and then wait two hours on the stand, and that wait pushes your arrival back. The final door time against the schedule is what counts.

Note when you boarded, when you took off and when the door opened. If the wait runs long, ask the crew for water. Keep any announcement about the cause, because the airline may give a different reason later.

A rolling delay arrives in small steps. The departure board moves by half an hour, then again, then again. Each step looks minor, but the law ignores the steps. It looks only at the moment you finally arrive.

Arrival means the time a door opens and you may leave the aircraft, as the Court of Justice held in Germanwings (C-452/13). If that moment comes three hours or more after the scheduled arrival, fixed compensation can be due. A flight from Barcelona to Amsterdam covers about 1,241 km. Land there 3 hours 20 minutes late after six small updates, and Article 7 of Regulation 261/2004 gives €250 per passenger.

The steps still matter for care. On a flight of up to 1,500 km, the airline owes meals and refreshments once the delay reaches two hours. If it reaches five hours, you can give up the trip and ask for a refund instead.

Screenshot each new departure time and keep the airline's messages. They show how the delay grew and that you stayed at the airport. Then claim from the operating airline with the scheduled and actual arrival times. It can refuse only by proving extraordinary circumstances that all reasonable measures could not have avoided.

Start with an example. A Lisbon to Berlin flight, about 2,304 km, sits at the gate for five hours. Then the airline cancels it and moves you to the next morning. You claim for a cancellation, and on that intra-EU distance the amount is €400 per passenger.

Why a cancellation claim? Under Article 5(1)(c) of Regulation 261/2004, a cancellation announced less than seven days before departure earns compensation. The only short-notice exception is a replacement that leaves no more than one hour early and arrives less than two hours late. A flight cancelled after hours of waiting almost never meets that test.

The airline can still refuse if it proves extraordinary circumstances, such as severe weather, and shows it took all reasonable measures. A technical problem with the aircraft is normally its own matter. Ask in writing for the specific reason it cancelled.

Your other rights change too. You can choose a refund, the earliest rerouting, or a later flight that suits you. Meals, and a hotel if you must stay overnight, remain due even when the cause was extraordinary. Keep the receipts for anything you buy, and keep the messages showing both the delay and the cancellation.

The European Commission's 2024 interpretative guidelines, Section 3.2.3, settle the label. A flight that departs and returns to its departure airport, with passengers transferred to another flight, is treated as cancelled. The time spent in the air changes nothing, because the flight never reached its destination.

Picture a Dublin to Rome flight, about 1,886 km, turning back an hour after take-off. The airline puts everyone on a flight the next morning, arriving 14 hours late. The notice was zero and the new arrival is far outside the two-hour margin, so EU261 gives €400 per passenger.

The reason decides the rest. A technical problem found in the air is normally the airline's own matter, as the Court of Justice held in Wallentin-Hermann (C-549/07). A bird strike or severe weather may be extraordinary, but the airline must prove it and show it took all reasonable measures.

Ask the crew or the desk why the plane turned back, and keep your old and new boarding passes. Claim from the operating airline. Meals, and a hotel for the night, remain due even if the cause turns out to be extraordinary.

Some flights land on the way, refuel or change passengers, and then continue under one flight number. For compensation, the question is where your journey ends. The Court of Justice measures the delay on arrival at your final destination, as it did in Folkerts (C-11/11).

Suppose a flight runs from Madrid to Santiago de Chile with a stop in São Paulo. You booked Madrid to Santiago, about 10,720 km. The flight leaves São Paulo late and you land in Santiago 4 hours 30 minutes late. EU261 applies because the flight left Madrid, and the amount is €600.

Distance follows the same logic. It is a great-circle line from your first departure point to your final destination, so the stop does not shorten it. A passenger who booked only Madrid to São Paulo, about 8,380 km, is judged on the arrival in São Paulo instead.

Check your ticket to see where it ends. Then claim from the operating airline with the scheduled and actual arrival time at that airport. If you arrived 3 to 4 hours late on a flight of over 3,500 km, the airline may pay €300 instead.