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What are my rights if my flight is delayed or cancelled?

In short

If you arrive at least three hours late or your flight is cancelled, you are owed EUR 250, 400 or 600 per person, depending on the flight distance. Separately, the airline must pay for food and drinks after two to four hours of waiting, plus a hotel and transfers if you have to stay overnight. You do not need insurance for this: the claim is against the airline.

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What are my rights if my flight is delayed or cancelled?

What it costs

Amounts fixed by the EU regulation, plus guide figures for side costs, commissions and travel cover, as of September 2026.

Example	Typical range
Compensation up to 1,500 kilometres	EUR 250 per person
Compensation 1,500 to 3,500 kilometres and EU flights over 1,500 kilometres	EUR 400 per person
Compensation over 3,500 kilometres	EUR 600 per person, or EUR 300 with re-routing and an arrival less than four hours late
Hotel night the airline owes you when an overnight stay is needed	about EUR 90 to 150; the average net room rate in Germany was EUR 109 in 2025
Food and drinks at the airport per person and day	about EUR 15 to 40
Commission charged by flight compensation firms	about 20 to 36 percent of the payout, often plus VAT
Annual travel cover including delay benefits, one person	about EUR 46 to 80 a year, with delay cover often up to EUR 500 extra costs and EUR 1,000 accommodation per person

The figures EUR 250, 400 and 600 are set out in Article 7 of Regulation (EC) No 261/2004 and are not estimates. The hotel figure is based on the published average room rate for Germany; the food figure per person and day is a guide value from our quoting practice. Premiums for travel cover depend on age, trip cost and duration; as an underwriting agency we obtain the exact quote for you.

Worked example

Family of four, Frankfurt to Antalya, arriving five hours late

The outbound flight leaves late and the family lands five hours behind schedule. Here is how the claim adds up, and what is left with and without a claims firm.

Distance Frankfurt to Antalya	about 2,300 kilometres, so the EUR 400 band applies
Arrival delay	5 hours, so above the three-hour threshold
Compensation for four passengers	4 times EUR 400, EUR 1,600 in total
Food and drinks at the airport the airline owes	about EUR 60 to 100 for four people
Deduction by a claims firm charging 30 percent plus VAT	about EUR 571

Claiming yourself leaves EUR 1,600 plus the refunded food and drinks. Through a claims firm about EUR 1,029 is left. The side costs are guide values; the compensation is the statutory amount.

Three separate rights that get mixed up

Regulation (EC) No 261/2004 gives you three rights, and they apply independently of each other. First, care at the airport: food, drinks, two phone calls or emails, and a hotel plus transfers if an overnight stay becomes necessary. Second, a choice between a refund of the fare and re-routing to your destination. Third, the flat compensation of EUR 250, 400 or 600.

The important difference: the airline always owes care and a refund, even when the cause is a storm or an air traffic controllers' strike. Only the flat compensation falls away if extraordinary circumstances caused the delay. Passengers who treat all three as one thing give up too early at the desk.

Right	When it applies	What you get
Care (Betreuungsleistungen)	after 2 to 4 hours of waiting, depending on distance	food, drinks, two messages, hotel and transfers if you stay overnight
Refund or re-routing	on cancellation, on denied boarding, on a delay of 5 hours or more	the fare back within seven days, or transport to your destination
Compensation (Ausgleichszahlung)	3 hours or more late on arrival, and cancellation with less than 14 days notice	EUR 250, 400 or 600 per person, with no need to prove a loss
Damages on top	if you had costs you can document	your actual costs, with the compensation set off against them

When the regulation covers your flight

Two cases are covered: any flight departing from an airport in the EU, whichever airline operates it, and any flight from a non-EU country into the EU if an EU airline operates it. So a Bangkok to Frankfurt flight on a Thai carrier is outside the rules, while the same route on a German carrier is inside them. Iceland, Norway and Switzerland apply the rules as well.

You also need a confirmed booking and you must have presented yourself for check-in in time, which means no later than 45 minutes before the published departure time if the airline states no other deadline. Arrive at the desk too late and the claim is gone, even if the flight was delayed anyway. Keep your boarding pass: it is your proof.

The amounts by distance

The distance counted is the one between your departure airport and the final destination on your booking, not the individual leg. On a connecting itinerary the end point decides the band, and the arrival time there decides whether you are three hours late.

Arrival, according to the case law of the European Court of Justice, means the moment at least one aircraft door is opened and you may get off. Not the moment the wheels touch the runway. On routes over 3,500 km the airline may halve EUR 600 to EUR 300 if it offered you re-routing and you arrived less than four hours late.

Flight distance	Arrival delay	Compensation	Care from
up to 1,500 km	3 hours or more	EUR 250	2 hours
1,500 to 3,500 km, and all flights within the EU over 1,500 km	3 hours or more	EUR 400	3 hours
over 3,500 km, destination outside the EU	3 to 4 hours with re-routing	EUR 300	4 hours
over 3,500 km, destination outside the EU	4 hours or more	EUR 600	4 hours
any distance	5 hours or more	plus the right to choose a refund	as above

Extraordinary circumstances: where most disputes start

The airline does not owe the flat compensation if extraordinary circumstances caused the delay and could not have been avoided even with all reasonable measures. Accepted examples are bad weather at departure or arrival, strikes by air traffic controllers and other third parties, closure of airspace, security risks ordered by the authorities, bird strike and natural disasters.

What does not count, according to the case law of the European Court of Justice, is a technical defect that arises in the normal operation of an aircraft, even where maintenance was carried out properly, and a strike by the airline's own staff. Ask for the reason in writing. A verbal answer at the gate proves nothing, and German courts look closely at exactly this point.

So why buy travel insurance at all?

Honestly: you do not need it for the compensation. That is a statutory claim against the airline, and no insurer pays you the EUR 250 to 600 instead of the carrier. Buying cover only for that means paying twice.

Cover earns its keep where the regulation stops. It reimburses extra costs you had to carry yourself because the airline did not provide care, a missed connection on separately booked flights that no airline is responsible for, the first hotel night you never used, and cutting the trip short (Reiseabbruch). Delay modules have limits, often EUR 350 to 1,000 per person, and usually start only after a fixed waiting time of four to six hours. You do not need one if you booked a package holiday, fly direct and have a spare day before any appointment.

Claiming yourself instead of paying a claims firm

One letter or email to the airline is enough: flight number, date, scheduled and actual arrival time, number of passengers, the amount, your bank details and a deadline of 14 days. You do not have to explain any loss, because the compensation does not depend on one. If the airline stays silent for two months or refuses, two free bodies mediate in Germany: the conciliation body for public passenger transport (Schlichtungsstelle für den öffentlichen Personenverkehr, söp) and, for airlines that do not take part there, the aviation conciliation body at the Federal Office of Justice (Schlichtungsstelle Luftverkehr beim Bundesamt für Justiz). The Federal Aviation Office (Luftfahrt-Bundesamt) takes complaints and enforces the rules, but it does not collect your money.

Claims firms and flight rights portals take the work off your hands and keep a share for it: published comparisons quote around 20 to 36 percent of the compensation, often plus 19 percent VAT, and more if the case goes to court. Out of EUR 600 you may keep only EUR 350 to 480. That trade is fair if the airline stonewalls or you have no time. If it pays on the first letter, you gave away the share for nothing. Watch the deadline: in Germany the claim lapses after three years, counted from the end of the year in which the flight took place.

Step by step

Keep the boarding pass and booking, and note the actual arrival time, ideally with a photo of the departure board.
Ask for food and drinks at the airport, and for a hotel and transfers if you have to stay overnight; get any refusal in writing.
Collect receipts for meals, taxis and the hotel if you had to pay yourself.
Ask in writing for the reason for the delay, because the compensation depends on it.
Write to the airline yourself: flight number, date, hours late, amount, bank details and a 14 day deadline.
If it refuses or stays silent for two months, use the free German conciliation bodies before thinking about court or a claims firm.

Checklist

Arrival at the final destination at least three hours late, measured when a door opens
Departure from an airport in the EU, or arrival in the EU on an EU airline
Confirmed booking and check-in no later than 45 minutes before departure
Reason for the delay requested from the airline in writing
Receipts for food, hotel and transfers kept
Claim sent before the deadline on 31 December of the third year after the flight

Common mistakes

Counting the departure delay instead of the arrival time at the final destination
Signing for a voucher or air miles without knowing you can insist on cash
Assuming a travel insurer pays the compensation instead of the airline
Hiring a claims firm straight away when the airline would have paid on the first letter
Going without food, a hotel or transfers at the airport because staff blamed the weather
Waiting years and letting the three-year deadline pass

Questions and answers

Frequently asked

When do I get money for a delayed flight?

From three hours late on arrival at your final destination. It is then EUR 250 up to 1,500 km, EUR 400 up to 3,500 km and EUR 600 above that, per person.

Does this apply to low cost airlines too?

Yes. The ticket price is irrelevant. What matters is that the flight departs in the EU, or arrives in the EU on an EU airline.

Does the airline owe me anything when the weather is bad?

Yes. Food, drinks, a hotel and transfers if needed, and a refund or re-routing are owed even then. Only the flat compensation falls away for extraordinary circumstances.

Is a technical defect an extraordinary circumstance?

Usually not. Defects arising in normal operation are part of an airline's business under the case law. A hidden manufacturing fault or sabotage can be judged differently.

Do I need insurance to get the compensation?

No. The claim comes from the EU regulation and is directed at the airline. Travel cover only helps with extra costs, a missed connection or cutting the trip short.

Can I claim in English in Germany?

Yes, most airlines accept claims in English. The German conciliation bodies work mainly in German, so ask us if a letter or a clause is unclear.

What does a claims firm keep?

Published comparisons quote about 20 to 36 percent of the payout, often plus VAT. Out of EUR 600 that often leaves EUR 350 to 480.

What applies if I booked a package holiday?

Your rights against the airline stay. On top, you can ask the tour operator for a price reduction if the delay seriously spoiled the trip. Amounts are set off, so you cannot collect twice.