Know Your Air Passenger Rights: US, EU, and Beyond

If your flight was delayed, canceled, or overbooked, you're not powerless, and you may be owed money. US Department of Transportation (DOT) rules guarantee a refund or rebooking, plus up to $2,150 cash if you're bumped against your will. On flights to or from Europe, EU261 and UK261 go further, paying up to $700 (€600) for delays, cancellations, and denied boarding. SkyRefund checks your claim free and pursues it on a no-win, no-fee basis.

Your passenger rights in the US

If your flight is within the US, or departs from or arrives in the US, you may have rights under US Department of Transportation (DOT) rules, whether you're flying with a US or foreign airline. These rules include the right to a refund or rebooking when a flight is canceled or significantly delayed in covered circumstances, and cash compensation if you're involuntarily bumped from an oversold flight. The bumping rule applies only to flights departing from a US airport.

Your refund doesn't depend on the cause; compensation does. If the airline cancels and you choose not to fly, you're owed your money back even for a weather cancellation. What “within the airline's control” decides is whether you also get cash compensation and extras like meals or a hotel: weather, security threats, and air-traffic-control problems remove those, not your refund or rebooking.

Refunds for significant delays and cancellations

If the airline cancels or significantly delays your flight and you choose not to travel, you're entitled to a full automatic refund, including any bag fees or extras, in your original form of payment. A delay counts as "significant" once it passes 3 hours for a domestic flight or 6 hours for an international one. The key point: a delay refund applies only if you give up the trip; if you accept the airline's replacement flight, you fly instead of getting your money back. Big US carriers (American, Delta, United, Alaska, Hawaiian, Southwest) also publish extra commitments, like meal vouchers or hotels, on the DOT's cancellation and delay dashboard.

US denied boarding compensation

If you're bumped involuntarily from an oversold flight, DOT rules pay 200–400% of your one-way fare, up to $2,150, in cash or by check at the airport. The amount depends on how late the bumping makes you arrive:

This applies only to involuntary bumping. If you accept a voucher to give up your seat, you've volunteered and waived the statutory payment. See our full guide to overbooked flight compensation.

Tarmac delay protections

If your plane sits on the tarmac, US airlines can't keep you aboard longer than 3 hours on a domestic flight or 4 hours on an international one without letting you off. After 2 hours, they must provide food, water, working restrooms, and medical attention if needed. The only exceptions are for safety, security, or air-traffic-control reasons.

Stronger rights on flights to and from Europe

If your trip touches Europe, EU261 and UK261 give you far more than US law, including fixed cash compensation. You're covered when your flight departs the EU or UK on any airline, or arrives in the EU or UK on a European or UK airline. EU261 applies across the 27 EU states plus Iceland, Norway, and Switzerland. So flying home to New York from Paris on Delta is covered (it departs the EU), even though Delta is American.

Under these rules you may be owed cash if:

• Your flight arrives 3+ hours late for a reason within the airline's control;
• Your flight is canceled with under 14 days' notice and no suitable replacement; or
• You're denied boarding because of overbooking or another airline-caused issue.

You also get the right to care (meals, drinks, and a hotel if needed) and the right to a refund, neither of which is canceled out by taking the other. None of this applies to genuine extraordinary circumstances like severe weather or strikes the airline couldn't control.

 Note: In June 2026, the European Parliament and the Council reached a provisional agreement to modernize EU Regulation 261/2004 while preserving the current compensation rules, including the 3-hour delay threshold and compensation amounts of €250–€600. The proposed reform would strengthen passenger rights, but it is not yet in force, and the current EU261 rules remain fully applicable until the new legislation is formally adopted and implemented.

How much European compensation can you claim?

The amount is fixed by flight distance, from €250 ($265) to €600 ($700), not by your ticket price:

The amount can be halved if a replacement flight gets you to your destination within 2 hours (short-haul), 3 hours (medium), or 4 hours (long-haul) of your original time.

Was your flight delayed or canceled?

You can be owed up to $700 compensation

Check your compensation

Downgrades and missed connections

If a European airline downgrades you, you're owed 30% to 75% of the ticket price back (30% under 1,500 km, 50% for 1,500–3,500 km, 75% over 3,500 km). And if a delay makes you miss a connection on a single booking and you reach your final destination 3+ hours late, you can claim as if the whole trip were delayed, up to €600 ($700), even if the missed leg wasn't in Europe. In the US, a missed connection carries no cash right, but the airline must rebook you for free on a single booking.

Lost or delayed baggage

On international trips, the Montreal Convention makes airlines liable for lost, damaged, or delayed bags up to about $1,800 per passenger. It doesn't pay flight compensation, but it's worth claiming separately if your luggage doesn't arrive with you. Keep receipts for anything you have to buy in the meantime.

Is EU261 changing? The June 2026 reform

In June 2026, the European Parliament and Council reached a provisional agreement to reform EU261, introducing stronger passenger rights while keeping the existing 3-hour delay threshold and €250–€600 compensation unchanged. The proposed changes include faster rerouting, a free cabin bag in the base fare, better protection for vulnerable passengers, and a clearer list of extraordinary circumstances. If formally adopted, the new rules are expected to apply from the second half of 2027. Until then, the current EU261 rules remain fully in force.

Your rights on other international flights

Beyond Europe, Canada, Türkiye, Brazil, and Saudi Arabia all protect disrupted passengers:

United Kingdom (UK261)

Near-identical to EU261 for flights leaving a UK airport (any airline) or arriving in the UK on a UK or EU carrier: up to £520 ($700) for a 3+ hour delay, a short-notice cancellation, denied boarding, or a downgrade.

Canada (APPR)

On flights to, from, or within Canada, an airline-caused delay or cancellation pays up to CA$1,000 (US$740) from a large carrier, and involuntary denied boarding pays up to CA$2,400 (US$1,740).

Türkiye (SHY)

The SHY regulation covers any flight leaving a Turkish airport on any airline: up to €600 ($700) by distance for delays, short-notice cancellations, and denied boarding, plus meals, hotel, and transport.

Brazil (ANAC 400)

The ANAC 400 regulation covers flights leaving Brazil on any airline. Denied boarding pays 250 SDR (≈$360) on domestic flights and 500 SDR (≈$720) on international ones; delays and cancellations bring material assistance plus a refund or rebooking.

Saudi Arabia (GACA)

Under the 2023 GACA regulations, delays pay 50 SDR (≈$67) for 3–6 hours and 150 SDR (≈$201) beyond that; cancellations pay 50–150% of the ticket value by notice; and denied boarding pays up to 200% of the unused ticket value, all on top of a refund.

How to claim your compensation

Claiming with SkyRefund takes three steps:

Step 1: Check your eligibility

Enter your flight into our free compensation calculator. It identifies the regulation that applies, confirms whether the cause was within the airline's control, and shows what your claim could be worth, in about two minutes.

Step 2: Gather your documents

Have your boarding pass or e-ticket, booking confirmation, the airline's notice about the disruption, a valid passport or ID, your booking reference, and receipts for any extra costs.

Step 3: Submit your claim

Send it to SkyRefund and the legal team takes over, handling the airline and escalating to court if needed. It's no-win, no-fee, so you pay nothing unless the claim wins. Start your claim.

How SkyRefund helps

With a 98% success rate and a team that's helped over 1 million passengers since 2017, SkyRefund enforces your rights across 6 jurisdictions in 12 languages, under EU261, UK261, the US DOT rules, APPR, SHY, ANAC, and GACA. We work no-win, no-fee, with a standard fee of 35% of the compensation recovered, and we take airlines to court when they refuse to pay.

When a couple was stranded in Türkiye for days after a 2023 airport shutdown, their airline offered just €60 each. As they wrote in their Trustpilot review, SkyRefund "got us several hundred euros each." 

Air passenger rights FAQ

Can I get compensation if my flight was delayed by bad weather?

No. Weather is an extraordinary circumstance outside the airline's control, so it doesn't trigger cash compensation under US, EU261, UK261, or similar rules. The airline must still provide care, such as meals or a hotel, on a long delay, and a refund if you choose not to travel.

Can I get a refund if I decide not to travel after a disruption?

Yes. In both the US and Europe, if your flight is canceled or significantly delayed and you choose not to fly, you're entitled to a full refund of the unused ticket, including taxes and bag fees. In Europe, Canada, the UK, and other regions you may also be owed cash compensation if the cause was within the airline's control.

How much can I claim for a delayed or canceled flight?

Domestic US flights carry no fixed cash compensation, only a refund or rebooking. Flights to or from Europe pay €250 to €600 ($265–$700) by distance. Because every Europe-to-US route is over 3,500 km, those reach the top €600 ($700) band.

How long do I have to file a claim?

It varies by country, usually 2 to 6 years. US claims typically run 2 to 4 years by state, UK claims up to 6 years (5 in Scotland), most EU countries around 3 years, and Canada about 1 year. A disruption from an older trip is often still claimable, so it's worth checking.

Explore your rights in detail

• Flight delay compensation — up to $700 for a 3+ hour delay
• Flight cancellation compensation — refunds and cash for canceled flights
• Overbooked flight compensation — what you're owed when a flight is oversold
• Denied boarding compensation — your rights when you're bumped
  
  

Sources

• US DOT — Aviation Consumer Protection
• 14 CFR Part 250 — Oversales (eCFR)
• Regulation (EC) No 261/2004 (EU261); UK261; APPR (Canada); SHY (Türkiye); ANAC 400 (Brazil); GACA 2023 (Saudi Arabia); Montreal Convention 1999