Separate from compensation, EU261/UK261 gives a right to care during a long delay or cancellation: meals and refreshments, hotel accommodation if you need to stay overnight, and transport to/from it. Crucially, this applies even in “extraordinary circumstances” — weather and strikes excuse compensation, not care. If the airline didn’t provide it and you paid yourself, claim it back.

[Your name / address / email / phone]
[Date]
[Airline] — Customer Relations / Claims

Re: Reimbursement of duty-of-care expenses — Reg (EC) No 261/2004, Art. 9
    Flight [number] — [origin] to [destination] — [date] — PNR [____]

Dear Sir or Madam,

My flight [number] on [date] was [delayed by [X] hours / cancelled and
rebooked to the next day]. The airline did not provide adequate [meals /
overnight accommodation / transport], so I paid out of pocket.

Under Article 9 of Regulation (EC) No 261/2004 (the right to care, which
applies regardless of the cause of the disruption), I claim reimbursement
of the following necessary and reasonable expenses (receipts enclosed):

    Meals / refreshments .............. EUR [____]
    Hotel ([night(s)]) ................ EUR [____]
    Transport to/from hotel ........... EUR [____]
    ----------------------------------------------
    TOTAL ............................. EUR [____]

Please reimburse EUR [total] to [payment details] within 14 days. This is
separate from any compensation due under Article 7.

Yours faithfully,
[Signature / printed name]

Notes

Keep every receipt. You can claim what’s reasonable and necessary — modest meals appropriate to the wait, a standard hotel, and transport. Airlines push back on alcohol, luxury hotels, and lavish meals.
When care kicks in (UK CAA thresholds): roughly a 2-hour wait for short-haul, 3 hours for medium, 4 hours for long-haul, and any overnight stay.
US flights are different. There’s no statutory care right; meals and hotels for controllable delays come from each airline’s own commitments (the DOT customer-service dashboard), not the law — see US passenger rights.
This is also separate from a Montreal Convention delay claim for larger proven losses — see the Montreal guide.

Care is owed even when compensation isn’t. If the airline says “it was the weather, so we owe you nothing,” that only defeats the fixed compensation — they still must reimburse reasonable meals and hotel costs under Article 9. Don’t let one “no” cover both.

Claim meals, hotel & transport during a long delay