When your flight is delayed, cancelled or overbooked, EU Regulation 261/2004 entitles you to up to €600 per person.
EU Regulation 261/2004 protects passengers on all flights departing from EU airports and on flights to EU airports operated by EU airlines. When the airline is at fault you're entitled to a flat-rate payout – regardless of what you paid for the ticket.
Typical eligible cases: more than 3 hours' delay on arrival, cancellation with less than 14 days' notice, denied boarding due to overbooking, or a missed connection caused by the airline.
The payout amount is set by law and depends only on flight distance, not on ticket price – even on cheap tickets you receive the full statutory amount.
Important: in most cases you have up to 3 years to file your claim. Keep your boarding passes, booking confirmation and any delay or cancellation notices safe.
Flat-rate compensation per passenger – independent of ticket price
More than 3 hours' arrival delay caused by the airline.
Flight cancelled less than 14 days before departure.
Denied boarding even though you held a ticket.
Onward flight missed due to a delayed feeder flight.
Via our partner AirHelp you can have your compensation claim checked for free in 3 minutes. AirHelp handles all correspondence with the airline and goes to court if needed – you only pay a success fee when you actually get paid.
For delays over 3 hours, cancellation less than 14 days before departure, or denied boarding due to overbooking – provided the airline is responsible (not an "extraordinary circumstance" like ATC strike or severe weather).
€250 (short flights up to 1,500 km), €400 (1,500–3,500 km), €600 (over 3,500 km). Per passenger, regardless of ticket price. For cancellations you're additionally entitled to a refund or alternative routing.
In Germany 3 years from the end of the year the disruption happened. Example: delay in March 2024 → deadline 31 Dec 2027. Earlier is better for evidence (boarding pass, airline emails, photos at the gate).
On success AirHelp keeps a 35% commission – no money up front. On failure you pay nothing. You can also claim directly with the airline yourself for free, but it usually takes much longer and gets legally complex.
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