Your Rights Under EU261
EU Regulation 261/2004 is one of the strongest passenger protection laws in the world. It covers flights departing from any EU airport and EU airline arrivals into the EU, regardless of whether the airline is based in Europe.
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Who is covered
EU261 applies to: (1) any flight departing from an EU airport, regardless of the airline, this includes US carriers like Delta or United flying out of EU airports; and (2) flights arriving at an EU airport operated by an EU-based airline. If you fly London to Paris on Air France, both legs may be covered. If you fly New York to Paris on Delta, only the return leg (Paris departure) is covered.
Fixed compensation amounts, not based on your ticket price
Unlike US DOT rules, EU261 compensation is a fixed amount that has nothing to do with what you paid for your ticket. A passenger on a €50 budget flight gets the same compensation as someone who paid €500 for the same route.
Under 1,500 km
€250
e.g. Paris to London
1,500 to 3,500 km
€400
e.g. London to Cairo
Over 3,500 km
€600
e.g. Paris to New York
When you qualify
EU261 compensation is triggered by three situations: (1) your flight arrives 3 or more hours late; (2) your flight is canceled with less than 14 days' notice; or (3) you are involuntarily denied boarding due to overbooking. For cancellations, the airline can reduce or eliminate compensation if they offered you a rerouted flight that arrived within 2-4 hours of your original scheduled arrival, depending on distance.
Extraordinary circumstances, airlines overuse this defense
Airlines can refuse EU261 compensation if the disruption was caused by 'extraordinary circumstances', events outside the airline's control that couldn't have been avoided even with all reasonable measures. Genuine examples: severe weather, political instability, air traffic control strikes, security incidents. What is NOT extraordinary circumstances: mechanical failures (airlines are responsible for aircraft maintenance), crew shortages, technical problems discovered during routine checks. Airlines routinely try to claim these as extraordinary circumstances. Courts across the EU have repeatedly ruled against airlines on this, but only when passengers push back.
How far back can I claim?
EU261 doesn't set a single claim window. It defers to each country's limitation period for contract or tort claims. This means an old flight might still qualify depending on where your case would be heard:
United Kingdom
6 years
England, Wales, Northern Ireland
Ireland
6 years
Statute of Limitations Act
France
5 years
From date of flight
Germany
3 years
Calendar year + 3
Netherlands
2 years
Shorter than most EU countries
Airlines deny valid EU261 claims more than you'd think
Studies suggest airlines deny or ignore valid EU261 claims on first submission roughly 30-40% of the time. The strategy is straightforward: most passengers accept the first 'no' and move on. Airlines know that escalating a claim to a National Enforcement Body or court costs them more than the compensation itself, but only if you actually escalate. Persistence is the most powerful tool a passenger has. TravelStacks escalates automatically.
How TravelStacks helps
TravelStacks checks your flight's eligibility against EU261 criteria, calculates your exact compensation based on route distance, and handles the claim with the airline, including escalation if they deny or ignore it. We charge 25% of what we recover, nothing if we don't. No paperwork, no chasing airlines, no waiting on hold.
Check my EU flightEU261 passenger rights, frequently asked questions
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Check my EU flightWorks for past flights too. US DOT: up to 1 year. EU261 and UK261: up to 6 years back.