EU261 Flight Delay Compensation Calculator

How to Calculate Your Flight Delay Compensation

EU Regulation 261/2004 entitles passengers to fixed cash payouts when their flight is delayed by 3 hours or more at the final destination, cancelled with less than 14 days’ notice, or when they are denied boarding due to overbooking. The UK retained identical rules post-Brexit as UK261, covering flights departing from UK airports or operated by UK-licensed carriers arriving in the UK.

Your payout is determined by two factors: the great-circle distance between departure and arrival airports (not the route flown), and whether the flight operates entirely within EU/EEA territory or crosses external borders.

Step 1: Identify Your Route

Enter your departure and arrival airports above. The calculator uses the Haversine formula on published IATA airport coordinates to compute the exact straight-line distance in kilometres.

Step 2: Check the Delay Threshold

Short-haul flights (up to 1,500 km) require a delay of 3 hours or more. Medium-haul flights (1,501–3,500 km, or any intra-EU flight over 1,500 km) also require 3 hours. Long-haul flights over 3,500 km between an EU and non-EU airport qualify at 3 hours for a reduced payout and at 4 hours for the full amount.

Step 3: Confirm Airline Responsibility

Airlines must pay when the disruption is within their control — mechanical failures, crew scheduling problems, IT outages, or operational decisions. They are exempt from cash payouts when the cause is genuinely extraordinary: severe weather, air traffic control strikes, or security incidents. Even in exempt cases, the airline must still provide meals, drinks, and hotel accommodation under the Right to Care provisions.

Eligibility Rules: When Are You Owed Up to €600?

The regulation applies based on where you fly from, where you fly to, and which airline operates the flight. Here’s the breakdown:

Extraordinary Circumstances vs. Airline Fault

Airlines frequently reject valid claims by citing “extraordinary circumstances.” The regulation and court rulings draw a clear line:

Airline Is Liable (Must Pay)

• Technical or mechanical faults — engine problems, avionics failures, hydraulic leaks. The CJEU ruled in Wallentin-Hermann v. Alitalia (C-549/07) that technical problems inherent to aircraft maintenance are not extraordinary.
• Crew shortages — pilots or cabin crew calling in sick, rostering errors, or crew exceeding duty-hour limits.
• IT system failures — airline check-in or booking system outages.
• Operational decisions — aircraft repositioning, commercial schedule changes, or fuel-related delays.

Airline Is Exempt (Extraordinary Circumstances)

• Severe weather — storms, heavy fog, volcanic ash, or ice that makes flying unsafe. Routine rain or light snow does not qualify.
• Air traffic control restrictions — ATC-imposed ground stops, sector closures, or slot delays beyond airline control.
• Political instability or security threats — airport evacuations, bomb threats, or government-imposed airspace closures.
• Bird strikes — generally treated as extraordinary, though some national courts have ruled otherwise for repeat incidents.

Even when the airline is exempt from cash compensation, EU261 Article 9 Right to Care still applies: the airline must provide meals and refreshments proportionate to the wait, two phone calls or emails, and hotel accommodation plus transport if an overnight stay is needed. Use the Travel Budget Calculator to estimate out-of-pocket costs if the airline fails to provide these.