Your rights as a passenger

When are you entitled to compensation?

EU261/2004 entitles passengers to fixed compensation for:

• Arrival delay of 3 hours or more (based on the Sturgeon ruling of the EU Court of Justice, C-402/07);
• Cancellation less than 14 days before departure (without suitable rebooking);
• Denied boarding against your will (overbooking).

Which flights does this apply to?

1. All flights departing from an EU airport (incl. UK, Iceland, Norway, Switzerland) - regardless of the airline;
2. Flights to an EU airport only if the operating airline is EU-established.

Non-EU airlines (such as Turkish Airlines, Emirates) on flights from outside the EU to the EU are not covered by EU261.

How much compensation?

Distance	Compensation	Halved when
Up to 1500 km	€250	2-3 hours (€125)
1500 - 3500 km or within EU	€400	3-4 hours (€200)
More than 3500 km - intercontinental	€600	3-4 hours (€300)

When NOT (extraordinary circumstances)

No compensation due for:

• Extreme weather conditions (storm, volcanic ash);
• ATC or airport staff strike (not airline's own staff);
• Political instability, security threats;
• Airspace closure imposed by authorities.

Yes compensation for: technical fault, own-staff strike, no-show crew, airline operational choices.

Limitation period

The limitation period for an EC261 claim is set by national law and varies by country. FlightMoneyBack provides a definitive deadline only after reviewing the applicable country policy version.

Other rights besides compensation

• Right to care: in case of delay, right to meal, drink, phone call, possibly hotel (Art. 9);
• Rebooking or refund: choice upon cancellation (Art. 8);
• Compensation for additional costs: separate claim in addition to EU261 compensation.

Wat is een EC261-claim?

An EC261 claim is a request for compensation under Regulation (EC) No 261/2004. It may apply to a delay, cancellation or overbooking when the route, carrier and cause meet the conditions.

Wanneer kun je EU-vluchtcompensatie claimen?

You may be able to claim if you arrived at least three hours late, your flight was cancelled shortly before departure, or you were involuntarily denied boarding. The route, airline, delay, rerouting and cause determine whether EC261 applies.

Hoe FlightMoneyBack helpt

FlightMoneyBack checks the flight data and applicable policy version, prepares a deterministic claim letter and follows the airline correspondence. You pay only a 25% all-in success fee after confirming an actual payout.

• Check delayed, cancelled and overbooked flights.
• Record every assessment with a version of the EC261 rules and country policy.
• Start a claim without managing all airline correspondence yourself.