EU261 covers any airline departing an EU airport, and only EU carriers arriving in the EU from outside. Emirates owes up to €600 on Frankfurt to Dubai and nothing on Dubai to Frankfurt. Same aircraft, same delay, opposite answer — the direction of travel decides it.
The rule in Article 3(1)
Regulation (EC) No 261/2004 applies to:
- passengers departing from an airport in an EU member state — whatever airline operates the flight; and
- passengers departing from a non-EU airport for an airport in an EU member state, but only where the flight is operated by a Community (EU) carrier, and only if you did not already receive benefits or compensation in that non-EU country.
EU261 also applies in Iceland, Norway and Switzerland, which sit inside the zone for this purpose.
Two worked examples
Turkish Airlines, a non-EU carrier.
| Flight | Distance | Covered? | What you can claim |
|---|---|---|---|
| Frankfurt to Istanbul | about 1,840 km | Yes — departs an EU airport | €400 band |
| Istanbul to Frankfurt | about 1,840 km | No — arriving from outside on a non-EU carrier | Nothing under EU261 |
Emirates, a non-EU carrier.
| Flight | Distance | Covered? | What you can claim |
|---|---|---|---|
| Frankfurt to Dubai | about 4,840 km | Yes — departs an EU airport | €600 band |
| Dubai to Frankfurt | about 4,840 km | No — arriving from outside on a non-EU carrier | Nothing under EU261 |
The pattern to remember: leaving the EU, everyone is covered; arriving into the EU, only EU airlines are. Turkish Airlines and Emirates are only two of the non-EU carriers this affects — the same directional split governs Pegasus, Qatar Airways, Etihad, Delta, United Airlines and American Airlines, and the Turkish Airlines and Emirates pages themselves cover their own claims routes.
Where an EU airline flies you in from outside
An EU carrier flying into the EU from a non-EU airport is covered — a Lufthansa flight from Chicago to Munich, an Air France flight from São Paulo to Paris, an Iberia flight from Buenos Aires to Madrid. That is the single most valuable line in Article 3(1): it is what makes a long-haul inbound delay on a European carrier worth €600.
Departing the UK and arriving in the EU on an EU carrier
Since Brexit the UK is a third country for EU261, and it runs its own retained version. That creates an overlap that the coverage tables on most sites miss:
- UK261 applies because you departed a UK airport (any airline).
- EU261 also applies because you arrived at an EU airport on a Community carrier.
A London to Barcelona flight on a Spanish airline, for instance, sits under both. You claim once. Choose the currency and the regulator that suit you — sterling and the UK CAA’s approved ADR route, or euros and the enforcement body of the arrival country — and name the regime you are claiming under in the letter. The full coverage grid is in the amounts table.
You cannot be paid twice for the same flight. Naming both regimes in one letter as if they were two claims gets the whole thing rejected. Pick one, state it, and keep the other in reserve if the first regulator declines jurisdiction.
Connecting trips
Apply the rule to the journey as a whole, using the first departure airport and the final destination on that booking, and measure any delay at the final destination. A trip that starts at an EU airport is in scope whoever flies the later legs.
There is more: on a single reservation, an EU carrier that operated the first leg can be liable for a delay caused on a later leg flown by a non-EU partner outside the EU — CS and Others v České aerolinie (C-502/18, 11 July 2019). So a Paris–Doha–Bangkok trip on one ticket, delayed on the second leg, may still be a claim against the European carrier that flew you out of Paris.
Is a codeshare on an EU number enough?
No. Coverage follows the operating carrier, not the code you booked. A flight into the EU sold under an EU airline’s number but flown by a non-EU partner is not covered on the inbound direction. Check the “operated by” line — see which airline actually owes you.
The UK261 parallel
The retained regulation mirrors the same logic, enforced by the UK CAA:
- departing a UK airport — any airline is covered;
- arriving in the UK from outside — only UK or EU carriers are covered.
So a route can fall under EU261, UK261, both, or neither, purely on its endpoints and the operator.
Rules in force today
This is the law that applies to a flight you take today. A revision of Regulation 261/2004 was adopted in July 2026 — the Parliament approved the conciliation text on 7 July 2026 and the Council gave final approval on 13 July 2026 — and it is not yet in force: it applies 12 months after it enters into force following publication in the Official Journal, and the final text sets the details. See what the 2026 EU261 reform changes.
Covered? Confirm your distance band, then send the delay or cancellation letter. US-only itineraries have no equivalent scheme — see US passenger rights.