Flight delay compensation calculator
This flight delay compensation calculator applies the EU261 and UK261 rules to your journey. Pick the route, say how late you arrived and what caused it, and it returns the statutory amount per passenger — €250, €400 or €600 by distance. It takes seconds and needs no sign-up.
Check what you're owed
How much compensation for delayed flight: the bands
EU Regulation 261/2004 and its UK equivalent fix compensation by route distance, not ticket price. Three bands exist: €250 for flights up to 1,500 km, €400 between 1,500 and 3,500 km (and all intra-EU flights over 1,500 km), and €600 beyond 3,500 km. UK261 mirrors these in sterling: £220, £350 and £520.
To qualify, you must have arrived at your final destination 3 or more hours late (or had a cancellation with under 14 days' notice, or been denied boarding), and the cause must have been within the airline's control. On long-haul delays of 3–4 hours, Article 7(2) lets the airline halve the payment.
As an EU261 calculator it gives you the statutory figure for your route, and the sterling equivalent when UK261 applies instead. Whether the claim actually pays depends on the cause of the disruption — which is what the full check verifies against the flight's official record. Read the full delay-compensation guide for the legal detail.
What this flight delay compensation calculator can and cannot tell you
Three things decide the figure: how far you were booked to fly, how late you reached your final destination, and whether the cause sat within the airline’s control. Nothing else changes it. Not the fare, not the cabin, not which airline you flew.
The result is an estimate, not a decision. It assumes the delay was the airline’s responsibility. If the airline proves extraordinary circumstances the fixed payment falls away, while care and rerouting remain. Settling that takes the flight’s official record, which is what the full check reads. The rules are in the delay guide, the shorter thresholds in the two-hour guide, and the law itself in the EU261 guide.
Sources
- Regulation (EC) No 261/2004 — the regulation itself, in every EU language
- UK Civil Aviation Authority — passenger rights — the UK regulator's own guidance and complaint route
About the calculator
How does the calculator work out the amount?
It runs the same eligibility engine our claim form uses: the great-circle distance between your airports picks the EU261/UK261 band (€250, €400 or €600 — £220, £350 or £520 under UK261), and the delay length and disruption type decide whether the band applies at all. It never estimates by rule of thumb.
Is the estimate guaranteed?
No — it is the statutory amount for your route IF the claim qualifies. What the calculator cannot know is the cause of the disruption: if the airline proves extraordinary circumstances (severe weather, air-traffic control restrictions), no compensation is due. That is what the full claim check verifies against the flight's actual record.
Why doesn't my ticket price matter?
EU261 and UK261 fix compensation by flight distance, not by fare. A €20 seat and a flexible business fare on the same route are worth exactly the same €250–€600 — and the compensation is separate from any refund of the ticket itself.
What if my delay was under 3 hours?
Fixed compensation needs an arrival delay of 3+ hours at your final destination. Under that, the airline still owes you care — meals, refreshments, and a hotel if the wait runs overnight — and if a short delay cost you a connection on the same booking, the whole journey is judged by your final arrival time, which may qualify after all.