How Much Can I Claim in Compensation for my Delayed Flight?

EU law states that you can claim up to 600€ per passenger as flight delay compensation when the plane arrives at destination at least 3 hours late.

(That's about £550, if you live in the UK)

The EU Regulation 261/2004 (or EC 261) acts as reference in cases of flight disruptions. It sets the rules of compensation - including how much you can claim when your flight is delayed. The UK also applies the majority of these rules.

While it is simple in theory, compensations for flight delays have enough specific cases to make things complicated.

This post will help you determine exactly the amount of the compensation that the airline owes you when your flight is canceled.

(Learn more about compensations for canceled flights here)

And with the Service app, you automatically submit claims when your flight is disrupted. You can get up to 600€ from the airline.

But first, you might wonder why it matters to know how much you can claim in compensation for your delayed flights. That's because, unfortunately, airlines won't always tell you the truth about how much you are owed.

Some even go as far as lying about your right to compensation. The more you know about your rights, the better.

Here's what we're going to cover in this post:

• Flight Delay Compensation Amounts: General Cases
• Intra-Community Flights: How Much Are You Entitled To?
• How to Calculate Your Flight Compensation: Other Specific Cases
  • How much can you get when you miss your connection?
  • Business trip: who gets the compensation?
  • Travelling as a group: how much money are we entitled to?
  • Can babies get flight compensation?

Flight Delay Compensation Amounts: General Cases

Since this is a European law, compensation amounts are expressed in euroes (€) - but you can get compensated in dollar if you live in the US.

In general, the amount of the compensation that you are entitled to is determined by the distance of the flight:

• 250€ for flights less than 1500km (£230)
• 400€ for flights between 1500 and 3500km (£368)
• 600€ for flights more than 3500km (£550)

However, the flight delayed compensation can be reduced by 50% based on the length of the delay.

The table below indicates exactly how much you money the airline owes you based on these two criteria.

You're confused with the EU Regulation, the compensation amounts, or the overall process? We've got you covered. Click here to know everything you need to claim compensation.

Also, keep in mind that although your flight is delayed, you may not be entitled to compensation. That's why you need to know why your flight is delayed and make sure that it wasn't extraordinary circumstances.

Intra-Community Flights: How Much Are You Entitled To?

Intra-Community flights are flights between 2 EU members or within the territory of an EU member.

For example, a flight from Paris to La Reunion, a French overseas territory, is regarded as an intra-Community flight.

The main difference is that with intra-Community flights, you are eligible to a maximum of 400€, even if the distance of the flight is superior to 3500km.

Let's get back to our example. A flight Paris, France - Saint Denis, La Reunion is about 9,400km (more than 3,500km):

• If the flight arrives between 3 and 4 hours late, you are entitled to 200€ (50% of 400€)
• If the flight arrives more 4 hours late, you are entitled to 400€

How to Calculate Your Flight Compensation: Other Specific Cases

How much can you get when you miss your connection?

When your first flight is delayed and you miss your second flight as a result, you are eligible to a missed connection compensation (provided that the airline is responsible for the delay).

How much exactly?

What matters to determine the amount of the airline delay compensation that you're entitled to, you must calculate the distance between your point of departure and your final destination - not the airport where you missed your flight, in the middle of your itinerary.

For example, let's imagine a journey from Sofia, Bulgaria to New York, USA with a connection in Paris, France.

Your first leg Sofia-Paris is delayed and you miss your second flight Paris-New York. If you don't reach New York within 3 hours of the initially scheduled time of arrival, you are still entitled to 600€, because the distance between Sofia and New York is longer than 3,500 km.

Your compensation is not calculated on the first leg only, Sofia-Paris, which is between 1,500 and 3,500 km and would result "only" in a 400€ compensation.

Business trip: who gets the compensation?

If your flight was delayed during a business trip, who gets the compensation?

In short, it doesn't matter who paid for the ticket: the passenger submits the flight delay claim and gets the compensation.

However, there are cases where the company could get a refund: read the post by clicking on the link above to learn more!

Travelling as a group: how much money are we entitled to?

You were traveling as a group? The compensation amounts stated in the previous sections are per passenger.

It means that if 5 people were on a flight of more than 3,500km that arrived 5 hours late, the group is entitled to 3,000€ (600€ for each of the 5 passengers) as airline delay compensation.

You would NOT get 600€ to split between 5 passengers.

Keep in mind that sometimes, when you submit a claim for several passengers who travelled under the same booking number, the airline will only send you a compensation for a single passenger. Claim the remaining compensation.

Or let ClaimCompass do it for you.

Can babies get flight compensation?

Babies on delayed flights might also be entitled to compensation.

It's not as simple as for regular passengers though, and your baby needs to have had a seat booked for him or her. If your infant was traveling on your lap, there is little to no hope for compensation.

Was your flight canceled? The compensation amounts are a bit different from those for delayed flights. This post should clear things up.

Note that in addition to your compensation, you are entitled to a flight delay refund or a rerouting if your plane is at least 5 hours late at departure.