EU flight compensation checker: which rule applies to your flight?

Check your flight

Answer three questions. The checker then says whether the EU rules probably cover your flight and what kind of situation it is, and links to Your Europe's official compensation table. It does not work out an amount, does not know about your own case, and stores nothing and sends nothing.

Which flights do the EU rules cover?

• Flights within the EU, whether the airline is from the EU or not.¹
• Flights leaving the EU for a country outside it, on any airline.¹
• Flights arriving in the EU from outside it, but only when an EU airline operates them.¹
• Flights to and from Iceland, Norway and Switzerland.¹

The rules do not apply if you have already received compensation, re-routing or assistance for the same journey under the law of a country outside the EU. The EU here includes places such as the Canary Islands, the Azores and Madeira, but not the Faroe Islands.¹

How much compensation can you claim, and when?

You can claim a fixed sum if your flight is cancelled and you were told less than 14 days before departure, if you are denied boarding against your will (for example because of overbooking), or if you reach your final destination 3 hours or more late.¹

The fixed sum is between €250 and €600, depending on the distance of the flight and how late you reach your final destination.¹⁴ Check the latest: European Commission, Air passenger rights We do not reproduce the amounts for each case: Your Europe sets them out in its official compensation tables for cancellations, denied boarding and delays at arrival. Check them for your own flight.

If the airline offered you re-routing and you reach your final destination with a delay, Your Europe says the compensation may be reduced; its tables show when.¹

If you arrived on time for check-in, Your Europe says you should always receive compensation when you are denied boarding. The only exception is when there were reasonable grounds to deny you boarding, such as health, safety or security concerns, or when you did not have the required travel documents.¹

For cancellations there is no compensation if you were told more than 14 days ahead. With shorter notice, there is none if the re-routing offered stays within set windows: if you were told between 2 weeks and 7 days ahead, the new flight must leave no more than 2 hours earlier and arrive less than 4 hours later than planned; if you were told less than 7 days ahead, no more than 1 hour earlier and less than 2 hours later.¹

On connecting flights booked as one reservation, compensation for a missed connection depends on arriving at your final destination 3 hours or more late. It is not due if you missed the connection because of delays at security or because you did not respect the boarding time at the transfer airport.¹

What counts as extraordinary circumstances?

Your Europe gives air traffic management decisions, political instability, adverse weather and security risks as examples. It says most technical problems that come to light during maintenance or come from failing to maintain an aircraft do not count, nor does a collision of mobile boarding stairs with the aircraft, nor a strike by the airline's own staff.¹

Strikes outside the airline, such as by air traffic controllers or airport staff, may count. To avoid paying, the airline must prove both that the event caused the delay or cancellation and that it could not have been avoided even with all reasonable measures, for example with logbook extracts or incident reports.¹²

Even when extraordinary circumstances apply, the airline must still offer reimbursement or re-routing, and care while you wait.²

Where do you complain?

1. Send your complaint to the airline that operated the flight first, using its complaint form.¹
2. If you get no reply within 2 months, or the reply does not satisfy you, complain to the national enforcement body in the country where the incident took place; it gives a non-binding opinion.¹
3. The European Commission publishes the list of national enforcement bodies, based on information from EU countries; the version we read was updated on 27 August 2026.⁶
4. If you live in the EU, Iceland or Norway and the trader is based in another of those countries, your European Consumer Centre can help you settle the dispute.⁷
5. Alternative dispute resolution is open to EU residents only. You can also use the European Small Claims procedure or the national courts; time limits for court action depend on each country's law.¹

This is not legal advice. For your own case, check with the national enforcement body or your European Consumer Centre.

What this page cannot tell you

• This is not legal advice. The checker only matches your answers to the rules as Your Europe summarises them; it does not decide your case. For your own case, read the linked official pages and check with the national enforcement body or your European Consumer Centre.
• No amounts. The checker does not work out an amount; Your Europe's compensation tables give the exact figure for each distance and delay.
• The 2026 reform is not in force yet. See what the reform changes.

Related: EU flight delay rights in full · Rules that changed in 2026.