EU261 & UK261 Flight Compensation Guide: How to Claim Your Full Payout
European Regulation (EC) No 261/2004 and the corresponding post-Brexit UK261 regulation establish strong statutory passenger rights when flights departing from the European Union/United Kingdom, or arriving on EU/UK carriers, suffer significant delays or cancellations.
Statutory Compensation Rates by Distance Band
- Short-haul (≤ 1,500 km): €250 (or £220) per passenger for delays of 3 hours or more.
- Medium-haul (1,500 to 3,500 km & all intra-EU flights): €400 (or £350) per passenger for delays of 3 hours or more.
- Long-haul (> 3,500 km between EU and non-EU): €600 (or £520) per passenger for delays of 4 hours or more (reduced to €300 if delay is between 3 and 4 hours).
Technical Defects vs. "Extraordinary Circumstances"
Airlines routinely send template rejection emails claiming that technical malfunctions or aircraft component failures represent "extraordinary circumstances" outside their control. In landmark rulings Wallentin-Hermann v Alitalia and van der Lans v KLM, the European Court of Justice explicitly held that technical problems inherent in the normal exercise of the activity of the air carrier are never extraordinary.
Claim Deadlines Across European Jurisdictions
- United Kingdom: 6 years from the flight date under the Limitation Act 1980.
- Germany: 3 years, calculated to the end of the calendar year (§ 195 BGB).
- Spain & France: 5 years statutory limitation.
- Italy: 2 years under the Navigation Code.