KLM owes €250, €400 or €600 by distance for a three-hour arrival delay, a cancellation with under 14 days’ notice, or denied boarding. It is licensed in the Netherlands, so EU261 covers every flight it operates out of the EU and into the EU. Claims go through KLM’s own compensation form; refusals go to the Dutch inspectorate.
Which figure applies is set by distance to your final destination, not by your fare — the bands are in the amounts table.
Which regime applies to your KLM flight
| Your flight | Regime |
|---|---|
| Departs an EU airport, or arrives in the EU from outside on KLM | EU261 — euro amounts, enforcement body of the country you left |
| Departs a UK airport | UK261 — sterling amounts, CAA route and AviationADR |
KLM is the airline in the case that killed the technical-fault defence
In van der Lans v Koninklijke Luchtvaart Maatschappij (C-257/14, 17 September 2015) the Court of Justice held that a technical problem which appears unexpectedly, is not caused by poor maintenance and was not spotted in routine checks is still not an extraordinary circumstance. Breakdowns are inherent in running an airline.
That is the single most useful citation on this page. If KLM refuses on a technical fault, you are quoting the judgment it lost, by name, against itself. Ask which component failed, and read extraordinary circumstances before you accept anything.
The claim form KLM publishes
KLM’s own compensation and reimbursement page is the route in, and we confirmed it opens on 6 September 2026. Give the booking reference, every flight number on the ticket, and the actual arrival time at your final destination — that time, not the departure delay, is what the Article 7 test turns on.
Compensation itself is money. Article 7(3) pays it in cash, by electronic bank transfer, bank order or cheque, and allows a travel voucher only with your signed agreement. If a voucher is offered, you can decline it and ask for the transfer without giving up the claim.
A Schiphol connection is one journey, not two
On a single booking the delay that counts is your arrival at the final destination, and the distance band is measured over the whole journey. A short first leg that makes you miss the Amsterdam connection can therefore produce a top-band claim, if you land three or more hours late. The €600 band needs more than 3,500 km with one end outside the EU; a flight with both ends inside the EU is capped at €400 by Article 7(1)(b). See connecting flights and the final destination.
Check the “operated by” line before you send anything. Article 2(b) puts the obligation on the airline that operated the flight, and a KL flight number does not always mean KLM metal — see which airline actually owes you.
Where a KLM claim goes after a refusal
- EU departures. The Dutch enforcement body is the Inspectie Leefomgeving en Transport (ILT), and its English online complaint form is the file itself. For a departure from another EU country, use that country’s body from the Commission’s list.
- UK departures. KLM is on the CAA’s list of airlines signed up to AviationADR. An ADR decision binds the airline, and you apply within 12 months of KLM’s final response.
Compensation and your money back are different claims. Article 7 is the fixed sum; Article 8(1)(a) is the refund or re-routing you choose on a cancellation or a delay of five hours or more, payable within seven days. Refusing one does not answer the other — see refund or re-route.
Does a technical fault let KLM out of paying?
Usually not. Van der Lans (C-257/14) holds that an unexpected technical failure, absent poor maintenance, is inherent in the carrier’s activity and not an extraordinary circumstance. The airline has to identify an event outside its operations, and prove it.
KLM offered a travel voucher. Can I insist on money?
Yes. Article 7(3) requires cash, an electronic bank transfer, a bank order or a cheque unless you agree in writing to a voucher. Say in the claim that you want payment by bank transfer and give the account details once, in the form.
My connection through Amsterdam was the problem. Does that count?
If you were on one booking and reached your final destination three or more hours late for a reason within KLM’s control, yes — and the amount is set by the total distance to that destination, not by the leg that was delayed.
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.