Flight Compensation

Flight Delay Compensation

Flight delay
Compensation calculator: Get up to €600

Flight delay, canceled flight or denied boarding

Have you on a flight been exposed to either flight delay, flight cancellation or denied boarding? Then you may be entitled to compensation and you can actually claim up to up to €600 per person for your flight delay, cancellation or denied boarding. Use our compensation calculator on this page to see how you can get the highest compensation.

Compensation for flight delay

If you have had a flight delay , then you may be entitled to compensation. If you have arrived at your final destination more than 3 hours later than scheduled arrival, then you may be entitled to compensation of up to €600. You are entitled to compensation if you submit the claim to the airline within 3 years of the delay.

The distance between the departure airport and the arrival airport determines how much compensation you are entitled to. If the distance is less than 1,500 km., then you are entitled to €250 if the distance is between 1,500 - 3,500 km. then you are entitled to a compensation of €400 and if the distance is over 3,500 km. then you are entitled to a compensation of €600. This compensation is always per passenger. If your flight includes a stopover purchased on a single ticket, it is the total distance from your departure airport to your final arrival airport.

Flight delay compensation overview

Distance Delay Compensation
Below 1,500 km. More than 3 hours €250
1.500 - 3.500 km. More than 3 hours €400
Above 3.500 km. More than 3 hours €600
In order for you to be entitled to compensation for the flight delay, you need to investigate what caused the delay. You are only entitled to compensation if the airline can be held responsible for the delay. The airline may be held responsible for flight delays such as delays caused by technical problems with the aircraft or operational problems. The airline cannot be held responsible for situations that are caused by force majeure (weather conditions, natural disasters, pandemics / epidemics) or strike at the airport.

flight delay

If you are entitled to compensation, you as a customer should contact the airline. You can either contact the airline yourself or or use a Claim Agency that will offer to run the case for you - against a percentage of your compensation if they win the case on your behalf (the fee is typically around 25-30%). The airline will (most likely) not contact you to make you aware that you are entitled to compensation, so you must check for yourself Flyselskabet vil (højst sandsynlig) ikke tage kontakt til dig, for at gøre dig opmærksom på at du har ret til kompensation, du skal derfor selv undersøge whether you are entitled to compensation.

You can use our free service to check if you are entitled to compensation for your flight delay , it will inform you if you are entitled to compensation, as well as how much you are entitled to and at the same time show you what options you have to receive compensation for your flight delay .

You are entitled to compensation for flight delay if:

  • You have arrived at your destination with a delay of more than 3 hours
  • The airline can be held responsible for the delay. Situations for which the airline can be held responsible are:
    • Usually most of the technical problems with the plane. These technical problems may be due to failure to maintain the aircraft.
    • The flight crew go on strike without notifying it. Such a strike could, for example, be caused by a sudden announcement of restructuring in the company.
  • The following must be met for the flight:
    • The flight is within the EU
    • The aircraft departs from the EU
    • The plane landed in the EU and the airline's European

You are not entitled to compensation for flight delay if:

  • The airline is not European and:
    • The aircraft departs from a country outside the EU and lands in the EU
    • The flight is outside the EU
  • You have arrived at your destination with a delay of less than 3 hours
  • The airline can not be held responsible for the delay. Situations for which the airline cannot be held responsible are:
    • Weather conditions
    • Natural disasters
    • Political uncertainty
    • War
    • Security incidents
    • Air traffic management decisions
    • Lockout
    • Strikes that have been planned and notified in advance

Compensation for canceled flights

If your flight have been canceled and there are less than 14 days for the flight to have taken place. As an air passenger, you have the right to receive compensation. This compensation can be up to €600 per person.

In order to receive compensation for a canceled flight, there are various things that must be met. One of the conditions to be entitled to compensation for a canceled flight, is when you have been told that the plane is canceled. The airline must personally inform you of the cancellation (eg via mail or SMS), and it is the airline that must prove that they have informed you of the cancellation and when they have informed you of the cancellation.

Canceled flight

You are entitled to compensation for a canceled flight if:

  • You have been notified of the cancellation less than 2 weeks prior to scheduled departure and you have not been offered to reschedule the trip
  • You have been notified of the cancellation between 2 weeks and 7 days prior to scheduled departure and you have been offered a rescheduling of the trip where:
    • Your new departure time is more than 2 hours before the original departure - or
    • Your new arrival at the final destination is more than 4 hours after the original time of arrival
  • You have been notified of the cancellation less than 7 days prior to scheduled departure and you have been offered a rescheduling of the trip where:
    • Your new departure time is more than 1 hour before the original departure - or
    • Your new arrival at the final destination is more than 2 hours after the original time of arrival
  • The following must be met for the flight:
    • The flight is within the EU
    • The aircraft departs from the EU
    • The aircraft is landed in the EU and the airline is European

You are not entitled to compensation for a canceled flight if:

  • The airline is not European and:
    • The aircraft departs from a country outside the EU and lands in the EU
    • The flight is outside the EU
  • You have been notified of the cancellation over 14 days in advance
  • You have been notified of the cancellation between 2 weeks and 7 days prior to scheduled departure and you have been offered a rescheduling of the trip where:
    • Your new departure time is less than 2 hours before the original departure - or
    • Your new arrival at the final destination is less than 4 hours after the original time of arrival
  • You have been notified of the cancellation less than 7 days prior to scheduled departure and you have been offered a rescheduling of the trip where:
    • Your new departure time is less than 1 hour before the original departure - or
    • Your new arrival at the final destination is less than 2 hours after the original time of arrival

What flights can you get compensation for?

There are some general conditions that must be met before it is possible to get compensation for a flight delay or for a canceled flight. One of these conditions is where the flight took place, and there is also a difference between whether the airline has its headquarters inside or outside Europe.

European airline Not European airline
The flight is within the EU Yes Yes
The aircraft departs from the EU Yes Yes
The plane has landed in the EU Yes No

European airline

If the airline has its headquarters in Europe, the airline is considered to be European. This means that you are covered under better conditions than if the airline was not European.

If the airline is European, then you are entitled to compensation for flight delay if one of these points is met:

  • The flight is within the EU
  • The plane has landed in the EU
  • The aircraft departs from the EU

Non-European airline

If the airline has its headquarters outside Europe, the airline is not European. Though the airline is non-European, you still have rights as air passengers, but the rights differ according to where the aircraft departed and where the aircraft landed.

You are entitled to compensation for your flight delay if one of these points is met:

  • The flight is within the EU
  • The aircraft departs from the EU

Even if the airline is not European, you still have the right to compensation for some of your flights the airline. Once the aircraft has departed from an EU airport, European legislation on compensation for this flight applies. Therefore, if you have experienced flight delay on your flight departing from the EU, you are entitled to compensation. The same applies if your flight from the EU has been canceled or you have been denied boarding, you also have the right to compensation.

If the airline is a non-european airline, then you are not entitled to compensation if:

  • The aircraft has departed from a country outside the EU and lands in the EU

If the airline is non-european, other rules apply when the aircraft departs from an airport outside the EU and lands in the EU. Therefore, the rules for compensation for flight delays, cancellation or denied boarding do not apply if your flight has landed in the EU from an airport outside the EU, because the airline is not European.

European airline

Passenger rights vary depending on whether the airline is European or not. When the term European airline is used, then it is an airline having its headquarters in one of the following countries:
The 27 EU member states: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech republic, Cyprus, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France (including Guadeloupe, French Guiana, Martinique, Réunion, Mayotte and Saint-Martin), Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands (including Sint Maarten), Poland, Portugal (including Azores and Madeira), Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain (including The Canary Islands) and Sweden.
Iceland, Norway, Switzerland or United Kingdom (England, Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland).

Airlines headquartered in either the Faroe Islands, Greenland, the Isle of Man and the Channel Islands are not considered European.

Map: European airline

flight delay europe map