If your flight is delayed, start with these steps

Don't cancel the original booking or buy a replacement ticket in a rush. First confirm what changed, ask the airline to protect your itinerary, and find out whether it will provide food, accommodation, or transport.

For most U.S. flights, an ordinary delay doesn't automatically create a right to cash compensation, free meals, or a hotel. Help usually depends on the airline's policy, the cause of the disruption, your ticket terms, travel insurance, or credit card benefits. Flights covered by EU261 follow a different system and may include legally required care and compensation.

The first 10 minutes

1. Check the airline's app and the airport screens. Confirm the new departure time, gate, aircraft, and connection information. A third-party tracking app can help, but the airline's own record is more useful when you file a claim.
2. Ask for the specific cause. Weather, air traffic control, a late inbound aircraft, maintenance, and crew availability can lead to different outcomes. Save the airline's messages, screenshots, and any written explanation.
3. Ask for rebooking before leaving the airport. If you have a connection, ask the agent to protect every segment through your final destination.
4. Ask what the airline will provide. Request meal vouchers, a hotel, transportation, or rebooking. In the U.S., this is usually a policy question. On an eligible EU flight, ask for the care required by EU261.
5. Keep a record. Save your boarding pass, booking confirmation, delay alerts, chat transcripts, receipts, and the time you actually arrive at your final destination.
6. Report a delayed bag. Visit the baggage desk before leaving and get a report or reference number.
7. Clarify every offer. A meal voucher, reimbursement, travel credit, goodwill payment, and refund are different things. Ask whether accepting an offer affects any other claim.

What controls a U.S. delay claim

The United States doesn't have a general federal cash payment for an ordinary flight delay. A three-hour delay, by itself, doesn't guarantee money, meals, a hotel, or a replacement flight.

The terms that usually matter are:

• The airline's customer-service plan or published disruption policy
• The contract of carriage for the ticket
• The stated cause of the delay
• Travel insurance or credit card coverage
• Rules that apply if the delay becomes a cancellation or significant schedule change

A Federal Register notice on airline commitments for controllable disruptions describes airlines' general commitments to provide free rebooking, meals, or hotels for cancellations and significant delays caused by circumstances within the airline's control. It isn't a universal cash-compensation schedule, and an airline's policy may include limits or exclusions.

Find out whether the cause was controllable

Airlines commonly treat maintenance, crew availability, and some late-aircraft problems differently from severe weather, air traffic restrictions, or airport closures. The distinction can affect whether an airline's care commitment applies.

Don't settle for a vague explanation such as "operational issues." Ask the airline to identify the event in plain language and keep the response. A record showing weather may affect an expense request differently from one showing a maintenance or crew problem.

A refund is separate from delay compensation

A refund question isn't the same as a compensation question. If an airline cancels your flight or makes a significant change and you don't accept the alternative, you may be entitled to a refund under applicable U.S. refund rules. An ordinary delay doesn't necessarily let you abandon the trip and get your money back.

Before leaving the airport or buying another ticket, ask the airline to confirm in writing whether your reservation is being rebooked, canceled, or refunded. A flight-delay explainer from NerdWallet also summarizes the difference between refunds, travel credits, and delay compensation.

EU261 rights: care, refunds, and compensation

Regulation (EC) No 261/2004 may apply to your itinerary even when the airline doesn't owe cash compensation. The official EU261 text and Your Europe passenger-rights guidance set out the main rules.

Coverage commonly includes:

• A flight departing from an EU airport, regardless of the airline's nationality
• A flight arriving in the EU from outside the EU when operated by an EU airline
• Certain connecting flights, depending on the route and whether the flights were booked together

The operating airline, departure point, destination, and ticket arrangement all matter. UK261 is a separate regime, so don't automatically apply the EU table to a flight involving the United Kingdom.

When EU261 care begins

For a qualifying flight, the departure delay can trigger meals, refreshments, and communications at these points:

At five hours, you can generally choose not to travel and request reimbursement instead of continuing. Tell the airline about that choice before simply leaving, because choosing reimbursement can end the remaining transport arrangement.

EU261 cash compensation

Cash compensation is normally measured by the delay when you reach the final destination, not just by how late the aircraft leaves.

An arrival delay of three hours or more may qualify unless the airline proves extraordinary circumstances. If the airline reroutes you and you arrive within certain shorter delay windows, the compensation can be reduced by 50%.

Severe weather, air traffic control restrictions, security events, and some strikes outside the airline's control may be extraordinary circumstances. They can remove the cash payment, but they don't automatically remove the right to meals, refreshments, or a necessary hotel after the applicable care threshold is reached.

A technical problem isn't automatically extraordinary. Your Europe's passenger-rights FAQ says that a failure to correctly maintain an aircraft cannot be treated as an extraordinary circumstance on that basis alone.

Rebook without creating another problem

Tell the agent if you need to make a connection, attend a meeting, board a cruise, or reach another time-sensitive booking. Ask about:

• The earliest available flight to your final destination
• Partner or codeshare flights
• Nearby departure or arrival airports
• Whether your seat, checked bag, and onward segments will transfer
• Whether change fees can be waived
• What happens if the replacement flight is delayed again

A single reservation is usually easier to protect because the airline can see the complete itinerary. Separate tickets are different. The airline operating the delayed flight may not be responsible for a missed flight that you booked independently.

Don't cancel the original flight before confirming the consequences. If the airline won't offer a workable option, ask the agent to record that fact and give you a case number. A replacement ticket bought without first contacting the airline may not be reimbursed.

Once you accept a new itinerary, check the confirmation right away. Verify the date, airport, connection time, seat, baggage status, and any special-service requests.

Meals, hotels, and expense reimbursement

On a U.S. flight

Ask for a voucher before paying for food or accommodation. If the airline says the delay isn't covered, check whether your travel insurance or credit card benefits apply. Reimbursement for an ordinary U.S. delay isn't guaranteed unless an airline policy, contract term, insurance plan, card benefit, or representative's approval covers it.

If you do have to spend money, choose basic options and keep itemized receipts. Alcohol, luxury hotels, room upgrades, and expenses unrelated to the delay are less likely to qualify unless the airline or insurer approved them in advance.

On an eligible EU flight

The airline should offer the required care. If it doesn't, record when and how you asked for help, then pay only for reasonable necessities. Keep the receipts and submit them through the airline's EU261 or expense-claim process.

An overnight hotel isn't automatically reimbursable just because the delay lasted through the night. A stronger request shows that:

• The applicable EU261 care threshold was reached
• The airline didn't provide a suitable hotel or transportation
• You tried to obtain assistance
• The hotel, meals, and transport were reasonable
• You have receipts and proof of the delay

Delayed baggage is a separate claim

A flight-delay claim doesn't automatically cover delayed, damaged, or lost baggage.

At the airport baggage office:

1. Report the bag and request a property irregularity report or equivalent reference.
2. Keep the baggage tag, boarding pass, and report number.
3. Ask where essential purchases should be submitted.
4. Save receipts for necessary clothing, toiletries, and other permitted items.
5. Check the airline's deadline for submitting the baggage claim.

Baggage rules depend on the route and the jurisdiction. For EU travel, Your Europe guidance on air passenger rights treats delayed and lost luggage as a separate liability issue with its own limits and proof requirements.

File the right type of claim

Don't describe every request as "compensation." Select the benefit you're actually seeking:

• Rebooking: the alternative flight or route
• Refund: money back for a canceled or significantly changed trip that you didn't accept
• Expense reimbursement: meals, hotel, transportation, or other approved necessities
• Statutory compensation: usually an EU261 or UK261 request, not a general U.S. delay payment
• Baggage reimbursement: essential purchases or other losses under the applicable baggage rules
• Insurance payment: covered expenses subject to the policy's waiting period, exclusions, and limits

Include:

• Passenger name and booking reference
• Flight number, date, and complete itinerary
• Scheduled and actual departure and arrival times
• The reason the airline gave for the delay
• Rebooking details, if any
• Each expense and its amount
• Receipts and screenshots
• The remedy you want

For an EU261 request, state the actual arrival time at your final destination and explain why the route appears to be covered. Departure delay alone isn't enough when the compensation test is based on arrival.

File as soon as practical. Deadlines vary by country, airline policy, and claim type, so check the applicable form instead of assuming there is one global deadline. Save the submission confirmation and all replies.

If the airline rejects the request, ask for the precise reason. For an EU claim, ask whether it is relying on extraordinary circumstances and what event caused the disruption. For a U.S. request, ask which customer-service policy or contract term excludes reimbursement.

If an airline doesn't resolve an eligible EU cross-border complaint, Your Europe's FAQ points passengers toward the relevant national authority or European Consumer Centre. Canada has a separate system; after you contact the airline, the Canadian Transportation Agency's complaints process explains the next steps.

Check insurance and credit card benefits before spending

The airline's app, email alerts, and airport information should be your first records. A flight-tracking service can show an inbound aircraft or a likely gate change, but it can't establish the legal cause of a delay or replace the airline's official record.

Before booking your own hotel, meal, or replacement flight, read the travel insurance and credit card terms. Check:

• The minimum delay before benefits begin
• Covered causes and exclusions
• Per-person and per-trip limits
• Whether the trip had to be paid for with that card
• Required documents and claim deadlines
• Whether the benefit reimburses expenses or pays a fixed amount

Insurance and card benefits are separate from EU261 compensation. Receiving one doesn't necessarily determine whether the other is available.

Common questions

Does a three-hour delay guarantee money in the U.S.?

No. A routine U.S. delay doesn't trigger a general federal cash payment. Check the airline's policy, contract of carriage, and any insurance or card coverage.

Do weather delays qualify for EU261 compensation?

Usually not for the cash-compensation portion when the weather is an extraordinary circumstance. Meals, refreshments, and necessary accommodation can still be due after the relevant delay threshold.

Can I book my own hotel?

In the U.S., reimbursement generally requires an applicable airline policy, approval, or insurance coverage. On an eligible EU flight, a reasonable hotel and transportation may be reimbursable when the airline failed to provide required care. Document your request for help before paying.

Can I get a refund instead of rebooking?

In the U.S., a refund is generally tied to a cancellation or significant change that you don't accept. Under EU261, a departure delay of at least five hours can allow you to choose reimbursement instead of traveling. Confirm the choice with the airline before abandoning the itinerary.

What if the delay makes me miss a connection?

When both flights are on one reservation, contact the airline immediately and ask it to protect the remaining itinerary. With separate tickets, contact each carrier because protection for the second ticket isn't automatic. Get the new itinerary and any case number in writing.