How Much Flight Delay Compensation? EU261 & UK261 Amounts

EU261 pays €250 up to 1,500 km, €400 from 1,500–3,500 km and for any intra-EU flight over 1,500 km, and €600 over 3,500 km. UK261 pays £220, £350 and £520. The trigger is a three-hour arrival delay, a cancellation with under 14 days’ notice, or involuntary denied boarding. Distance is great-circle, to your final destination.

Where the three-hour rule actually comes from

Article 7 of Regulation (EC) No 261/2004 names only cancellation and denied boarding. The right to the same fixed sum after a three-hour arrival delay comes from the Court of Justice in Sturgeon (C-402/07 and C-432/07, 19 November 2009), upheld in Nelson (C-581/10 and C-629/10, 23 October 2012). Airlines no longer dispute it. If one tells you Article 7 does not cover delays, those are the two cases to name. In the UK the rule is now written into the statute itself: Article 6(3) of the retained Regulation, inserted on 14 December 2023 by the Aviation (Consumers) (Amendment) Regulations 2023 (S.I. 2023/1370), says that a delay of three hours or more in reaching the final destination gives the right to Article 7 compensation, subject to the extraordinary-circumstances defence in Article 6(4). For the plain-language walkthrough, see the 3-hour delay explainer. The amount is the same whichever airline flew you — Ryanair, easyJet, Wizz Air and Lufthansa each have their own page on how that carrier prefers to be claimed against.

EU261 amounts (Article 7(1))

An intra-EU flight is capped at €400 however long it is. The €600 band applies only to flights over 3,500 km with one end outside the EU. EU261 also applies in Iceland, Norway and Switzerland.

UK261 amounts (retained Article 7(1))

The sterling figures are in the retained Regulation as amended by the Air Passenger Rights and Air Travel Organisers’ Licensing (Amendment) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019 (S.I. 2019/278) and the Aviation (Consumers) (Amendment) Regulations 2023 (S.I. 2023/1370), and the UK CAA states the same amounts.

The 50 per cent reduction, stated once

Article 7(2) is a re-routing rule, not a delay rule. The airline may halve the amount only when it re-routes you and you arrive within 2 hours (1,500 km or less), 3 hours (intra-EU over 1,500 km, or other flights of 1,500–3,500 km) or 4 hours (all other flights) of your original scheduled arrival. Halved, EU261 is €125, €200 or €300; UK261 is £110, £175 or £260. The Court in Sturgeon (paragraph 63) applies the same reduction to a flight of more than 3,500 km involving an airport outside the EU that arrives less than four hours late, giving €300.

A halved payment needs a re-routing that met the window. If nobody re-routed you, or the re-routing still landed you outside the 2, 3 or 4-hour window for your band, the full amount is due. Ask the airline which limb of Article 7(2) it is relying on and what your re-routed arrival time was.

Which flights are covered

When both regimes apply you claim once. Pick the currency and the regulator that suit you, and say in the letter which one you are claiming under. The direction rules are set out in full in does EU261 cover non-EU airlines?.

What else you are owed, whatever the cause

Compensation can be excused by extraordinary circumstances. Two rights cannot be:

• Care — meals, refreshments, two calls or emails, and a hotel with transport for an overnight wait. The thresholds are in Article 6(1): 2 hours for flights of 1,500 km or less, 3 hours for intra-EU flights over 1,500 km and other flights of 1,500–3,500 km, 4 hours for everything else. Claim it with the expenses letter, after working out the numbers with the care and expenses calculator.
• Refund or re-routing — your choice on a cancellation or a delay of five hours or more. Article 8(1)(a) with Article 7(3) means reimbursement within seven days, in cash or by bank transfer, and a voucher only if you agree to one in writing. See refund or re-route.

How much compensation for a 3-hour flight delay?

Under EU261, €250 for flights of 1,500 km or less, €400 for intra-EU flights over 1,500 km and other flights of 1,500–3,500 km, and €600 over 3,500 km. Under UK261, £220, £350 or £520. The delay is measured on arrival at your final destination.

How much for a 4-hour delay?

The same fixed amounts as a three-hour delay: €250, €400 or €600, or £220, £350 or £520. There is one threshold, at three hours of arrival delay, and no higher band for a longer wait. Only the Article 7(2) re-routing reduction can change the figure.

How long do I have to claim?

There is no EU-wide deadline. The Court held in Cuadrench Moré (C-139/11, 22 November 2012) that the period is set by each member state’s own limitation rules. In England, Wales and Northern Ireland it is six years (Limitation Act 1980, section 9); in Scotland five years (Prescription and Limitation (Scotland) Act 1973, section 6). For any other country, check the statute there or ask the national enforcement body — do not rely on a number you cannot source. Baggage is different and far shorter: see the Montreal Convention deadlines.

Rules in force today

Everything above 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 — but 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.

Know your amount? Send the delay letter, the cancellation letter or the denied-boarding letter — or, if the cancellation came less than 14 days before departure, check what a short-notice cancellation means for your claim first. US flights work on a different system entirely — see US passenger rights. Not sure which letter fits? The what happened finder picks the right one from a few questions.