Help about passenger rights and how to get compensation for a delayed or cancelled flight

Air passenger rights

Air passengers are protected by Regulation EC No 261/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council of February 2004 that establishes common rules on compensation and assistance to passengers in the event of flight disruption.

The European Union regulation 261/2004:

is intended to passengers who suffer delayed or cancelled flights, or boarding denial due to overbooking;
applies to all EU air passengers, no matter their nationatility and home country, children included;
provides a compensation of €250, 400€ or €600 per passenger;
forces the airline to provide care and assistance to passengers such as hotel, taxi, food, rerouting;
offers the right to withdraw from a flight if it is cancelled or delayed more than 5 hours;
obliges airlines to inform their passengers about flight delays and cancellations, and their rights.

Who does the EC Regulation 261/04 apply to?

It doesn’t matter whether the passengers are

The right to care

If you are at the airport waiting for your flight and more than 2 hours have passed since the scheduled departure time (either because your flight is delayed or because it has been cancelled and you are waiting for a new one), the airline must provide refreshments. Also food according to the hour of the day.
In case you have to stay overnight, the airline must provide also accommodation, as well as transportation to and from the airport. And also whatever you need for the night, like medicamenta, underware, phone charger, etc.
If they “forget” it, you can buy it yourself and later ask for a refund using Aireclaim’s services.
You are entitled to a refund as long as you present the receipts and your expenses can be considered necessary and reasonable.

The airline is obliged by the EU 261/04 regulation to take care of you

Two free phone calls
E-mail or free fax
Free meals and drinks
Hotel accommodation
Transportation to or form airport
Rerouted solution or refund

The right to rerouting or refund

The rerouting / refund right is due in case of flight cancellation .
You have the right to be refunded or rebooked without extra costs (not necessarily by air) as soon as possible or at another time if you prefer, either to the final destination or to the original airport of departure). This right is deployed after 5 hours departure delay if you ask to leave the flight, or upon earlier initiative of the airline. You have the choice between being refunded or rerouted using the alternative offered by the airline. In this case, the airline will pay all care expenses until you reach your destination, unless you refuse their alternative and choose to postpone your flight.
Extra payments shall never be demanded. In case of class downgrade a partial ticket refund is due.
If the trip lost its purpose you can ask to be delivered back to your original airport at no extra cost and receive refund for the unused flights.
Or you can ask to change the unused flights to another day.
If your booking includes more connected or return flights, these rules apply to all, as a set.
After this right is used, no more “care” is due (as also after arrival to the last destination in the booking).

The right to compensation

Consists of a cash payment (vouchers only if you agree) and is due in case of 3+ hour delay upon arrival or cancellation (unless informed more than 14 days before). The amount is 250, 400 or 600 euros (half in a few cases) for each person, and depends on the flight distance.
This right does not aplly if the airline cannot be blamed for the problem. Examples: bad weather, volcano ashes, terrorism, air traffic control orders, labor strikes (except those inside the airline). However compensation is due in case of technical or operational issues (ex: blown tire, bird strike, crew illness).

Flight delay

For airline delays, you are entitled to compensation if you arrived at its destination 3 or more hours late.

Flight cancellation

For airline cancellations, your are eligible for financial compensation if it has been cancelled less than 14 days prior to departure.

Flight misconnection

Flight compensation is due even if a small delay in the first flight causes you to miss the next one, provided that you arrive more than 3 hours late after rerouting and all the flights belong to the same booking .

Boarding Denial

In case of boarding denial due to overbooking, you're entitled to compensation plus the replacement flight, plus food and hotel until you reach your destination. Not if the fault is yours, missing documents or arriving late to the gate.

How much the airline has to pay you

Up to 1500 km

250€

From 1500 km to 3500 km

400€

More than 3500 km

600€

How to claim your rights

Check if you are entitled

Enter your flight details and check the amount of the compensation, if any.
Add your own food/hotel expenses.

Submit your claim now

Fast, no bureaucracy, no cost.
Airlines usually refuse to pay, so let the experts do all work and pay all expenses, even with Court.

Get your money

Just relax. When the airline pays, 75% is for you and 25% is for us. No win, no fee.

What people say about Aireclaim

Really good, really professional. It's not a quick process. And they take a decent chunk of the payout. But it's totally fair, all things considered. I really appreciate the help.

Dom Wintow

From Google reviews

Great job. It take time but in the end i was flying for free and get some extra 70e. If you ask me worth trying. You never know.

Marko Ivančić

From Google reviews

Highly recommended! From all the flight reclaiming companies I reach out to, they where the only one who successfully resolved my case. Got my money back. Thank you!

Mircea Rusu

From Google reviews

Check the Air Passenger Blog

by Craig Godspeed HOW AIRECLAIM CAN HELP YOU CLAIM YOUR FLIGHT COMPENSATION

by Craig Godspeed THE AIRLINE IS ON STRIKE. CAN I STILL CLAIM COMPENSATION FOR MY DELAYED OR CANCELLED FLIGHT?

by Craig Godspeed WHAT ARE EXTRAORDINARY CIRCUMSTANCES WHEN A FLIGHT IS DELAYED OR CANCELLED?

by Craig Godspeed EU 261/04 RIGHTS FOR FLIGHT COMPENSATION: THE COMPLETE GUIDE

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Aireclaim is an European company ruled by the laws of the European Union, with a long experience in the consumer rights protection field, providing information and support to air passengers and enforcing their rights.

Abiding to high professional standards and hard work, along the past years Aireclaim helped many thousands travellers getting legal compensation due to flight disruptions and conquered a very positive image as a highly trustful and reliable firm.

Aireclaim is funded by the European Union through the Norte Portugal Regional Operational Programme (NORTE 2020), under the PORTUGAL 2020 Partnership Agreement, via the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) with the purpose of the internationalization and promotion of the company, disseminating and expanding its consumer defence services in all countries of the European Union, in order to enhance its exports and turnover.

The company is committed exclusively to this area of operation and its workforce includes international lawyers, pilots and other highly qualified collaborators, so it can provide a great level of specialization, competence and success.