EU261 Cancellation Rights: Plain-English Guide for 2026

EU rules cover flights within the EU, flights leaving the EU on any airline, and flights arriving in the EU from outside it when an EU airline operates the flight. The EU passenger-rights page also explains the EEA and Swiss coverage used for this rule.

The regulation separates denied boarding, cancellation and long delay. Eligibility depends on the route, operating carrier, notice, arrival delay and cause; a cancelled flight does not automatically create a fixed-compensation claim.

For a cancellation, the airline must offer one choice: reimbursement, rerouting at the earliest opportunity, or rerouting later under comparable conditions subject to seats. Choosing one option ends the right to the other two, although a separate compensation right may still exist.

Fixed compensation is generally not due when the airline informed you more than 14 days in advance. Different rerouting-time exceptions apply when notice arrives 7–14 days before departure or less than 7 days before departure; use the official table for the exact times.

Compensation is also not due when the carrier proves extraordinary circumstances that could not have been avoided even if all reasonable measures had been taken. Refund or rerouting rights for the cancellation remain a separate question.

The official EU table uses €250 for flights of 1,500 km or less, €400 for intra-EU flights over 1,500 km and other flights from 1,500–3,500 km, and €600 for other flights over 3,500 km. Rerouting that limits the arrival delay can reduce these amounts by 50%.

While you wait for rerouting, assistance can include reasonable refreshments, food, communication, accommodation when travel moves to the next day, and transport to that accommodation. Keep receipts when the airline does not provide required care and you pay necessary, reasonable costs yourself.

Complain to the operating airline first through its official complaint route. State which cancellation, rerouting, care or compensation remedy you are requesting.

If the airline does not resolve the claim, the official EU page links to the national enforcement body and alternative dispute routes. The correct authority depends on the journey and where the incident occurred.

A cancelled or already departed flight is not an unused booking to resell. Use the airline's remedy process for that flight. If you need a different future journey, treat browsing eligible listings as a separate decision and check the operating airline's transfer rule before buying.