EU261 and UK261 can provide a fixed payment after a serious flight delay or cancellation. They can also cover meals, a hotel, a refund, or rerouting.

Your departure delay is only the starting point. Turns out, arrival at your final destination usually decides a delay claim. Route, operating airline, notice, and cause fill in the rest.

For a US traveler, citizenship is not the test. The itinerary must fit one scheme's coverage rules.

Which scheme covers your flight?

Check the disrupted flight's departure airport first. That usually tells you which rule to test.

EU261 generally covers a flight leaving an EU airport, regardless of the operating airline. A flight from outside the region can also qualify if it arrives in the EU on an EU airline.

UK261 works similarly for flights leaving a UK airport. It can also cover a flight arriving in the UK from outside the UK when a UK airline operates it. EU passenger-rights guidance also treats relevant flights involving Iceland, Norway, and Switzerland under the same framework.

Codeshares can muddy the answer. The airline that sold the ticket may not be the airline responsible for the disrupted leg. Check the operating carrier on your boarding pass or booking record first.

An itinerary can touch both the EU and the UK. That does not normally create two payments for the same disruption. Assess the covered departure, operating carrier, and final destination for each affected leg.

How much delay compensation can you claim?

Measure the delay at your final destination, not just at takeoff. Under EU261, arriving at least three hours late is the usual compensation threshold.

The airline can avoid fixed compensation only if it shows that extraordinary circumstances caused the delay and reasonable measures could not have prevented it. Distance is based on the relevant airports. Ticket price does not change the band.

The reduced payment applies in specific rerouting situations. It is not an automatic discount for every delayed passenger.

UK261 pays in pounds. The UK Civil Aviation Authority's delay guidance lists these amounts:

Use the table for the scheme covering your flight. Don't combine currencies or distance bands.

A cancellation gives you choices

A cancellation creates a choice before it creates a compensation question. You can generally select:

• a refund for the unused ticket and, where relevant, a return flight to your original departure point;
• rerouting to your destination at the earliest reasonable opportunity; or
• rerouting on a later date that suits you, subject to available seats.

A voucher is not the same as a cash refund. Read its terms before accepting it.

Compensation is separate from your refund or rerouting choice. More than 14 days' notice normally removes fixed compensation, while shorter notice makes the replacement flight's timing important.

Check the exact notice date. Check both replacement-flight times, too. If the airline misses these conditions, compensation may be due unless it proves extraordinary circumstances.

Meals, hotels, and other care

Care can start before a fixed-compensation claim. The cause of the disruption does not always change that.

Care can include reasonable refreshments and two communications. Overnight accommodation may also be due, along with transport between the airport and hotel.

If the airline gives you no voucher, keep itemized receipts for modest, necessary expenses. A receipt is easier to use than a later estimate. Ask the airline before paying where you can.

Don't assume an expensive hotel upgrade or alcohol will be reimbursed. Those costs are harder to justify.

Bad weather or an air traffic control disruption may remove fixed compensation without removing care. Meals, rerouting, or a hotel may still apply. If you accept a refund and abandon the trip, ask what assistance remains available.

When an airline can refuse cash compensation

An extraordinary circumstance can block fixed compensation. The airline still needs to connect that event to your delay and show that reasonable measures could not have avoided it.

Severe weather, air traffic control decisions, airport security problems, and some political or safety events may qualify. The facts decide the issue.

Routine technical faults and ordinary maintenance problems usually point toward airline responsibility. Crew shortages, a late incoming aircraft, and the airline's own industrial action usually do too. An external air traffic control or airport-worker strike may be treated differently.

Thing is, an email that says only "operational reasons" gives you little to test. Ask what happened, when it happened, how it affected your flight, and why the airline could not reasonably avoid the delay.

Be wary of a 2026 claim that every airline strike automatically triggers compensation. The Your Europe passenger-rights FAQ still distinguishes airline-controlled disruption from external events.

Connecting flights need one booking

A missed connection may qualify when the flights were sold on one reservation and the journey falls within EU261 or UK261. The important delay is usually your arrival at the final destination.

A short first-leg delay can be enough. If it causes a missed connection and you arrive four hours late, you may have a claim when the itinerary was one booking and no extraordinary circumstance caused the problem.

Separate tickets change the analysis. Each ticket may be assessed on its own, and the airline operating the first flight may not be responsible for a separately purchased connection.

Keep the records. All of them. Save the original itinerary, boarding passes, rebooking messages, and receipts. For a single-booking connection, distance is often assessed from the first departure point to the final destination.

Baggage claims follow different rules

Baggage is a separate claim. EU261 does not create a fixed payment for delayed luggage.

The Montreal Convention normally governs delayed, damaged, or lost baggage. You claim proven loss or necessary expense instead of using the flight-delay bands.

EU guidance describes a liability limit of approximately EUR 1300 for lost, damaged, or delayed checked baggage. The legal limit is set in special drawing rights and can change, so check the current limit before making a high-value claim.

Report the problem at the airport. Keep the baggage report number.

For delayed checked baggage, a written claim is generally due within 21 days after the bag is returned. Damage claims generally have a shorter seven-day deadline.

Keep the baggage claim separate from the flight-delay claim. One does not replace the other.

Filing a claim without paying a middleman

A straightforward request can usually go directly to the operating airline. You don't need a claims company for the first request.

1. Identify the rule and airline. Check the departure airport, destination, operating carrier, and whether the booking was one itinerary.
2. Record the arrival delay. Save the scheduled and actual arrival times at the final destination. If the records look wrong, note when the aircraft doors opened.
3. Gather the evidence. Keep the booking confirmation, boarding passes, cancellation notice, rebooking details, airline messages, and receipts for necessary care.
4. Ask for the cause. Request a specific explanation instead of accepting a general reference to an operational problem or extraordinary circumstances.
5. Submit the written claim. Use the airline's official form or portal. Name each passenger, identify the flight, state the final arrival delay, and refer to EU261 or UK261 as appropriate.
6. Claim expenses separately. List meals, accommodation, and transport costs separately from the fixed Article 7 compensation request.
7. Save the submission record. Keep the confirmation number, screenshots, attachments, and every reply from the airline.

There is no single EU-wide 28-day response deadline for every airline claim. Follow up in writing if the reply is missing or vague.

Court deadlines depend on national law. In England, Wales, and Northern Ireland, flight claims are commonly subject to a six-year limit. Scotland commonly uses five years. EU countries have different rules, and an online form may not stop a limitation period.

To be honest, self-filing avoids a commission. A representative may help with a rejected claim, but read the fee agreement carefully. Check whether it covers only settlement or court action too.

Ryanair and easyJet portals

Ryanair has an official claim compensation page. easyJet has a passenger rights page.

A portal changes the paperwork, not the legal test. Use the official airline domain, copy what you submitted, and save the reference number.

The brand doesn't decide the scheme. The departure point, arrival point, and operating carrier do.

If the airline says no

Read the stated reason against your own records. A short rejection may leave important details untested.

For an EU claim, the relevant national enforcement body or an approved dispute-resolution service may help. The Your Europe passenger-rights guidance sets out complaint routes.

In the UK, check whether the airline belongs to an approved ADR provider. The CAA delay guidance can help identify the next route.

A regulator may assess compliance without recovering your individual payment. ADR or a court may be needed for a personal award.

Questions that affect a claim

Is a three-hour departure delay enough?

No. The usual EU261 and UK261 compensation test concerns arrival at the final destination.

A flight that leaves three hours late but makes up time may not qualify.

Can I claim if the airline blames weather?

Possibly. Severe weather can be an extraordinary circumstance.

You may still have rights to care, rerouting, or a refund even when fixed compensation is unavailable.

Can a US traveler claim EU261 or UK261?

Yes, if the route and operating carrier meet the relevant rules. Nationality is not the deciding factor.

What if I booked through a travel agency?

The operating airline normally handles a delay or cancellation compensation claim. The agency may have a separate role in arranging a ticket refund, so keep both parties' records.

Open your booking confirmation first. Write down the scheduled arrival, actual final arrival, operating carrier, and cancellation notice date. Then send a dated claim through the official portal and save every receipt.