Your Air Passenger Rights in 2026: UK261 & EU261 Compensation

Under UK261 and EU261, you can claim up to £220–£520 (€250–€600) in compensation if your flight was delayed 3 or more hours, cancelled less than 14 days before departure, or overbooked — as long as the airline was at fault. SkyRefund recovers that money for you on a no-win, no-fee basis. Below you will find when you qualify, how much you are owed, what to do if the airline refuses, and how to claim.

What are UK261 and EU261?

Regulation UK261 is the UK Air Passenger Rights Regulation, the version of Regulation (EC) No 261/2004 kept in UK law after Brexit through the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018. EU261 is the original Regulation (EC) No 261/2004. It applies to flights leaving any airport in the EU, plus Iceland, Norway and Switzerland, and to flights into those countries on an EU-based airline. Both regimes give you almost identical protection.

Most travellers never claim what they are owed. The UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) found that only one in ten passengers feel fully informed of their rights when a flight is disrupted. Knowing the rules below is the difference between walking away with nothing and recovering up to £520 (€600).

Who is protected by UK261 and EU261?

UK261 and EU261 follow your route, not your nationality. You are covered if your flight departed a UK, EU, EEA or Swiss airport on any airline, or if it landed at one of those airports on a UK- or EU-registered carrier. The table below shows when you can claim.

One condition runs through everything: the disruption must be within the airline's control. Whether you flew Ryanair, Wizz Air or British Airways, an airline strike or a technical fault means you can claim. A disruption caused by extraordinary circumstances such as severe weather does not — more on that below.

How much flight compensation can you claim?

Compensation under Article 7 is a flat amount based on the distance of your flight, not the price of your ticket. The same three bands apply to delays, cancellations and denied boarding.

Two rules adjust these amounts. First, flights over 3,500 km that stay within the UK/EU are capped at £350 (€400), not £520 (€600). Second, if the airline re-routed you, and you still arrived within 2 hours (short-haul), 3 hours (medium-haul) or 4 hours (long-haul) of your original time, the compensation can be reduced by 50%.

Worked example: a flight delayed 4 hours from Paris to New York

Say your flight from Paris to New York landed 4 hours late because of a crew shortage. Paris to New York is over 3,500 km and departs the EU, so a 4-hour arrival delay within the airline's control puts you in the top band: £520 (€600) in compensation under Article 7. Moreover, because the delay passed 4 hours on a long-haul route, the airline owed you meals and refreshments under Article 9 while you waited. A crew shortage is the airline's responsibility, not an extraordinary circumstance, so the claim is valid.

When can you claim for a flight delay?

You can claim flight delay compensation when you arrive at your final destination 3 or more hours late and the cause was within the airline's control. Arrival means the moment a cabin door opens, not touchdown — a point the CJEU settled in Germanwings v Henning (C-452/13). The 3-hour threshold itself comes from Sturgeon (C-402/07).

Your rights grow with the length of the delay:

• After 2–4 hours: the right to care (Article 9) — meals, refreshments, and two phone calls or emails. The trigger is 2 hours short-haul, 3 hours medium-haul, 4 hours long-haul.
• After 3 hours at arrival: compensation of £220–£520 (€250–€600) under Article 7.
• After 5 hours: the right to abandon the trip and receive a full ticket refund (Article 8), including a flight back to your departure point if you are part-way through a journey.

When can you claim for a flight cancellation?

You can claim flight cancellation compensation if the airline cancelled your flight less than 14 days before departure, did not offer a suitable alternative, and the cancellation was its fault. You are also entitled to a refund or rebooking (Article 8) and to care (Article 9) while you wait.

Whether compensation is due depends on how much notice you were given and how close the replacement flight was to your original times:

If the airline does not provide care during your wait, keep your receipts and claim the cost back afterwards. And always submit a claim even if you were refunded — a refund (Article 8) and compensation (Article 7) are two separate rights, and accepting one does not cancel the other.

Expert note: a flight moved earlier within 14 days of departure also counts as a cancellation. If that happens, you are entitled to a refund and compensation. See our guide on flights brought forward.

Was your flight delayed or cancelled?

You can be owed up to £520 compensation

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When can you claim for denied boarding or overbooking?

If you were involuntarily denied boarding — usually because the airline overbooked the flight — you can claim the same £220–£520 (€250–€600) under Article 4, plus your choice of a full refund or re-routing, plus care. Airlines must first ask for volunteers; only when too few come forward do they bump passengers, and that is when denied boarding compensation is owed.

Denied boarding compensation should be paid immediately at the airport, and the amount does not shrink just because your route leaves the UK or EU. You cannot claim if you gave up your seat voluntarily or arrived too late to check in.

What are your rights on international flights? 

Aside from domestic and European flights, you have air passenger rights worldwide. Different regulations guard your rights depending on where your journey takes you. Below we break down some of them. 

Your rights on Turkish flights

Flights with a touchpoint in Turkey fall under the jurisdiction of SHY Passenger Regulation. These laws apply to flights departing from Türkiye or landing in Türkiye but operated by a Turkish airline. Similarly to UK261, you're entitled to compensation between £220 and £520 depending on the distance of the flight. You can claim compensation in case one of the following issues disrupted your flight: 

• Flight delays over 3 hours at the time of arrival
• Flight cancellations within 14 days of departure without a suitable alternative flight
• Involuntarily denied boarding due to issues such as overbooking

Additionally, the disruption should be caused by issues under the airline's control, such as crew scheduling or technical issues. You're entitled to care regardless. 

Your rights on Canadian flights

Flights to, from, or within Canada, including connecting legs, are protected by Canada's Air Passenger Protection Regulations (APPR). In cases of flight disruptions within the airline's control, you can be entitled to financial compensation depending on the length of the arrival delay and the size of the carrier. 

In case of flight delays or cancellations, you can claim:

• Between CA $125 and CA $400 for delays between 3 and 6 hours
• Between CA $250 and CA $700 for delays between 6 and 9 hours
• Between CA $500 and CA $1,000 for over 9 hours

Additionally, for denied boarding your can claim between CA $900 and CA $2,400 regardless of the size of the carrier. 

Your rights on Saudi Arabian flights

If you're flying to or from Saudia Arabia, your rights are protected under the GACA Regulation. For flights landing in Saudi Arabia, compensation applies only to those operated by a Saudi carrier. You can claim compensation in cases of delays over 3 hours, cancellations within 60 days of departure, denied boarding, downgrading, and tarmac delays over 3 hours. 

Your compensation varies depending on the disruption:

• Flight delays between 3-6 hours can get compensation up to 50 SDR (~ €61) and up to 150 SDR (~ €183) for delays over 6 hours
• Flight cancellations between 60 days and 24 hours before departure are entitled to between 50% and 150% of the ticket price and a refund
• Denied boarding entitles you to up to 200% of the ticket price and a refund

In case of cancellations and denied boarding, you can claim the compensation only if you don't accept the alternative flight. 

Your rights on Brazilian flights

When you're flying to, from, or within Brazil, your rights are protected by ANAC Resolution No. 400/2016. The regulation applies to any scheduled flight (domestic or international) that departs from a Brazilian airport, regardless of the airline’s nationality. Charter flights are included when individual seats are sold to the public. 

In cases of flight delays and cancellations, passengers are entitled to material assistance in the form of meal vouchers and hotel accommodation if necessary, plus transportation to the hotel. 

You can claim financial compensation only in cases of denied boarding. For domestic flights you can claim up to 250 SDR (~ €310), and 500 SDR (~ €620) on international flights. Similarly to other regulations, you can claim compensation only if the airline is responsible for the disruption. 

Finally, on almost any international flight the Montreal Convention covers baggage that is lost, damaged or delayed — a right separate from delay compensation, with liability up to roughly 1,288 SDR (about €1,474 / £1,282) per passenger. Report damaged baggage within 7 days and delayed baggage within 21 days.

What are your rights for a missed connection?

If you missed a connecting flight because an earlier leg was delayed, and you reached your final destination more than 3 hours late, you can claim on the same £220–£520 (€250–€600) distance bands. The catch: every leg must sit under one booking reference. Separate tickets booked with different airlines are not covered. Check your confirmation email or the airline's site to see whether your flights share a reference number.

What are your rights if you are downgraded?

If the airline puts you in a lower class than you booked, Article 10 entitles you to reimbursement of part of that ticket's price:

• 30% for flights of 1,500 km or less.
• 50% for flights within the UK/EU over 1,500 km, and all other flights between 1,500 and 3,500 km.
• 75% for all remaining flights, including those over 3,500 km.

Reimbursement applies only to the downgraded leg, not the whole journey, and the airline must pay it within 7 days.

When you can't claim: extraordinary circumstances

Compensation under Article 7 disappears when a disruption is caused by extraordinary circumstances — events outside the airline's control. The CJEU defined the test in Wallentin-Hermann v Alitalia (C-549/07). Common examples include:

• Severe weather, such as storms, fog, snow or high winds.
• Air traffic control restrictions or strikes.
• Security threats, political unrest, and airport-staff strikes.
• Bird strikes and medical emergencies on board.

Two things are not extraordinary, so compensation is still owed: strikes by the airline's own staff (pilots or crew), and routine technical faults that good maintenance should have caught. And even when circumstances are extraordinary, your right to care (Article 9) remains — the airline must still feed and, if needed, accommodate you.

What if the airline refuses to pay?

Airlines reject valid claims more often than you might expect, often by wrongly calling a disruption an extraordinary circumstance. A refusal is not the end of the road — you have several options:

• Escalate to the regulator. In the UK, the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) oversees UK261; each EU country has its enforcement body, and ECC-Net helps with cross-border disputes.
• Use ADR or go to court. Many airlines belong to an approved Alternative Dispute Resolution scheme, and as a last resort UK261 and EU261 claims are enforceable in court.
• Claim with SkyRefund. Hand the whole dispute to us — we take on the airline, including the court stage if required, on a no-win, no-fee basis. Start with the flight compensation calculator.

Should you claim yourself or use a service?

You can claim flight compensation yourself, for frees, by writing to the airline directly — and for a clear-cut delay that the airline accepts, that is often the quickest path. You do not need a lawyer to start a claim.

A service or legal team earns its fee when the case is not straightforward: the airline disputes the cause, ignores you, or the claim has to go to court. That is when many people give up. SkyRefund works on a no-win, no-fee basis, so you risk nothing by letting us assess it — and if you would rather understand the company first, read whether SkyRefund is a safe and legitimate partner for flight disruptions.

Are you eligible? A 4-step check

Run through these four questions in order. If you answer yes to all four, you are likely owed compensation.

1. Did your flight depart the UK/EU, or arrive in the UK/EU on a UK/EU airline? If no, check the international regulations above instead.
2. Were you delayed 3+ hours at arrival, told of a cancellation less than 14 days out, or denied boarding? If no, you may still be due a refund or care, but not compensation.
3. Was the cause within the airline's control, rather than extraordinary circumstances? If no, compensation does not apply, but care still does.
4. Did it happen within the last 6 years (5 years in Scotland)? If no, the claim is time-barred.

Four yeses? You are likely owed £220–£520.

Confirm the exact figure with the flight compensation calculator

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Is EU261 changing? The June 2026 reform

On 15 June 2026, the European Parliament and Council reached a provisional agreement to reform EU261 for the first time since 2004. For now, nothing about your claim changes. The deal keeps the 3-hour delay threshold and the €250–€600 (£220–£520) compensation amounts intact, after earlier proposals to raise the threshold to 4 or 6 hours were dropped.

It also adds passenger-friendly measures, such as a free cabin bag in the base fare and a clearer, codified list of extraordinary circumstances. The reform still needs a final Parliament vote, expected in July 2026, and is not due to take effect until the second half of 2027, so today's rules apply in full. Read our full breakdown of the EU261 reform.

How to claim with SkyRefund

1. Check your eligibility. Enter your route and disruption into the flight compensation calculator to see what you are owed in under two minutes.
2. Gather your documents. Have your boarding pass, booking confirmation, any messages from the airline, and receipts for extra costs (meals, hotel, transport) ready.
3. Submit your claim. Send it to SkyRefund, and we handle the airline, the paperwork and, if needed, the court case. Simple claims can settle in a few weeks; disputed ones that go to court take longer, but you are kept informed throughout.

How can SkyRefund help? 

Experiencing a flight disruption can be very stressful, which is why we’re here to make it easier for you. With more than 8 years of claiming compensation for passengers around the world, SkyRefund’s team is experienced in fighting for passenger rights.

In the UK, some of our successful stories include helping a couple whose flight from London to Paris was cancelled within 1 week of departure. Our legal experts were able to obtain the full amount of compensation for the passengers who used it to travel to Rome for their second honeymoon. 

In Germany, another one of our clients had missed their connecting flight due to a delay in the first leg of their journey. The airline had denied that there was a causal connection. But SkyRefund was able to argue that in court, and we won, getting the full amount of the compensation owed to the passengers.

Your flight disruption can also be a successful story. All you have to do is submit a compensation claim with SkyRefund and our team will take care of the rest. And best of all, we work on a “No win, No fee” basis, so we only get paid if you succeed in claiming your compensation.